Routine repairs

The council's repairs service is provided by our partners Uttlesford Norse Services Ltd (UNSL) and also external partners. The repairs service can be accessed by phone, email, letter, or by a personal visit to the Saffron Walden offices.

We will:

• publish our priority times for completion of repairs ranging from Emergencies to urgent and routine jobs. When you contact us we will advise you of what category your repair comes under
• offer appointments for all Emergency, Urgent and Routine jobs and where possible arrange these to suit your requirements. If the first appointment slot is not convenient, we will offer an alternative date. A full list of jobs that can be appointed will be provided on request
• discuss and agree with you acceptable procedures to include the operatives' “Code of Conduct, the “Quality of work” you will be provided, and “Health and Safety guidance”
• carry out “post inspections” on a percentage of completed jobs and publish subsequent results
• work with the Tenant and Leaseholder Panel to identify improvements to the service
• provide an Out of Hours emergency service. However, we will not send out engineers to deal with routine repairs that can be appointed during the normal working day

Visiting your home

We will:

• ensure that all members of staff and contractors display their identification so you can be sure of whom we are at all times

Dealing with planned works

We will:

• discuss with you all proposed planned programmes of work at least a year in advance and review the programme with your consent if changes have to be made
• agree with you how your heating appliances are to be serviced to make sure they are inspected on a yearly basis so they comply with the current health and safety legislation
• update the Councils Housing Asset Register on an annual basis so that all of the relevant data is current and correct
• regularly review the Letting Standard of our empty properties and make sure we incorporate the latest best practise policies and procedures
• consult with residents regarding choice of colour schemes within our sheltered accommodation, and general needs re-let units
• encourage and endorse use of sustainable materials wherever possible and also report to you for approval energy efficiency options that would be beneficial and applicable to your home (subject to funding)
• carry out quality inspections on all planned programmes of work to ensure the service standards meet your expectations, and we will also encourage you to report to us any concerns you may have
• encourage the Tenant and Leaseholder Panel to participate in being a part of the decision making process when we let new contracts

Quality control

The council's Sheltered Housing Service uses a quality control system.

We will make sure that you are:

• kept fully informed and involved in service delivery, by newsletters and consultation
• kept safe from abuse
• treated fairly, professionally and with respect
• given independence and choice
• provided with a swift response time to certain repairs dependant on your needs
• provided with a weekend and out-of-hours response service

Support services

We will provide a high quality sheltered housing service to older people which enables sheltered housing tenants to live as independently as possible.

To do this we will provide a range of housing support services tailored to meet individuals’ needs by offering:

• a daily weekday visit from your Sheltered Housing Officer, to check if there are any Health and Safety issues in your property. If you do not wish to receive the daily visit, you can opt out of this part of the service. To opt out of the daily visit you need to sign a disclaimer with your Sheltered Housing Officer
• full access to an emergency response system, including a weekend and out of hours response service, as well as all other housing services agreed in your tenancy

Our promise to you

We will promise to:

• provide a person-centred approach to assessments and delivery of support working in conjunction with partner agencies, when appropriate
• provide a service where the dignity and right to privacy of all tenants is paramount
• provide opportunities for life-long learning which promotes social inclusion and encourages every tenant to realise their full potential
• ensure that all tenants are kept informed and have access to information in respect of their rights and choices
• agree a support plan with you and reviewing it annually or more frequently if there areany changes in your circumstances
• aim to answer 98.5% of emergency calls within 60 seconds of the call reaching the control centre, which exceeds the TSA (Telecare Services Association) platinum service levels
• ensure an adequate and timely response is given to all emergency calls (90% response time in 45 minutes – average response time 32 minutes). This may include; a visit to your home, a call to the emergency services or contacting a family member to the emergency and checking to ensure that your property is safe and secure
• in the absence of a family or friend, provide a prescription collection service for urgent-only prescriptions issued by GPs on home visits
• assist with social activities throughout the year at individual schemes. Also at standalone schemes we can help facilitate social activities, e.g. trips and days out
• test all sheltered schemes pull cords and smoke detectors on a quarterly basis and pendants every month
• test sheltered schemes’ fire alarms weekly at schemes that have communal areas
• test (where installed) sheltered schemes’ lifts every mont
• carry out annual sheltered scheme risk assessments
• undertake communal area visual premises safety inspections monthly
• access residents homes to check on their wellbeing and in emergency situations. Thie includes doing required safety tests. A card will be left to say a Sheltered Officer has called
• listen.and act on customer feedback

Your promise to us

You will promise to:

• ensure that the Sheltered Housing Team can gain access to your property via their master keys at all times. No chains or bolts are to be fitted to your door
• inform the Sheltered Housing Officer when you are going away and inform them on your return that you are home
• provide basic details i.e. name, date of birth, medical details, telephone number and any contacts so the monitoring centre can provide an effective response
• respect the rights of council staff to carry out their duties free from harassment or abuse
• respect your neighbours right to privacy and the quiet enjoyment of their home
• not smoke or allow any visitors to smoke in scheme communal areas

We will inform and consult you on any changes to the service which may be proposed due to changes in funding, best practice or regulation.

Making a housing application

When you make a housing application to the council:

• you will be asked to complete an online application form. If you need help with this process then you can contact the Housing Option team who will be able to help you
• if you do not submit all the required supporting documents within 28 days from the date you submitted your application, your application will be cancelled 
• if, having received your completed application and supporting documents, we believe you are not eligible for inclusion to the housing register, we will write to you to explain our decision and how to appeal if you believe the decision to be wrong
• your fully completed application form will be processed in line with the council's allocation policy within 28 days from receipt of all requested documents
• once your application has been assessed you will be sent a welcome letter, this will give you your Band and your priority date, it will also explain how to access the online scheme user guide
• a housing officer is always available during normal working office hours to advise/assist you with any aspect of your housing application

The Housing Register

While you are on the Housing Register:

• you will be contacted once a year, around the anniversary of your acceptance onto the Housing Register, to confirm that you wish to remain on the Housing Register, and to check for any change in your circumstances
• we will update your application within 14 days of receiving details of a change of circumstances. If this affects your Band we will confirm this in writing

Cancelling your application

We will:

• cancel your application if we consider that you are no longer eligible for housing, or if you fail to renew your application when prompted to do so, or if you fail to provide any requested further information
• also cancel your application if you are re-housed, or if you request us to

Appealing against our decisions

If you want to appeal against any decision made about your housing application, a housing officer will be able to provide you with details of what you need to do.

Mutual exchanges

We will subscribe to the 'HomeSwapper' service and endeavour to visit tenants within 10 days to complete all relevant checks and paperwork

Opening times

We will provide:

• an assessment service Monday to Friday, and will advertise our opening times
• a 24 hour service for emergencies

Contacting us

When you contact us for assistance:

• we will, whenever possible, try to prevent you from becoming homeless
• we will provide a service offering advice and information on a range of issues, e.g. housing option, debt, threat of eviction etc.
• we will offer immediate or pre-arranged appointments with a housing options/homelessness prevention officer
• if you are unable to attend the offices then a home visit will be arranged
• if appropriate we will ask you to complete an online Housing Register application form and once we have received all the required documentation it will be assessed within 28 days
• we will liaise with other service providers and agencies, as appropriate, to ensure that you receive any necessary support
• if we are unable to prevent your homelessness we will complete our enquiries into your homelessness approach within 33 working days (subject to us receiving all necessary information)
• we will issue a decision letter within three working days of this decision being made

Domestic violence

We have officers whose area of responsibility will be to deal with people who have been subjected to domestic violence, and who have received additional training in this area.

Emergency accommodation

Temporary accommodation may be offered to homeless clients during the assessment of their application, and may be extended if their application is accepted.

We will:

• offer temporary accommodation suitable to the needs of the household
• offer advice and support to people placed in temporary accommodation
• contact 'floating support' agencies for people who are placed in temporary accommodation
• monitor the condition of the temporary accommodation on a regular basis
• take action against anyone not keeping to the 'conditions of occupation'

Finding a home

A housing officer will support you in finding a home, either through HomeOption, or in the private sector.

If you are given limited time to make expressions of interest and are not making any, we will contact you to make sure you know what you need to do and/or make expressions of interest on your behalf.

Appealing against our decisions

You will be told in writing if you have the right to appeal against our decisions on your homeless application.

If you want to appeal and are unsure about the process, a housing officer will provide you with details of what you need to do

Your rent

We will:

• issue a statement of your rent account at least once a year
• advise you in writing of any change in your gross rent at least 28 days before any change is implemented
• keep you informed of any changes to the service that will affect you
• work with you to improve the rent service by monitoring your comments, compliments and complaints
• if you request a home visit to discuss your rent, we will arrange to see you within two working days
• if for any reason we cannot keep an appointment with you, we will re-arrange an alternative appointment straight away
• offer help and advice on debt management and benefits if you get into difficulty with paying your rent
• provide a range of payment methods to make it easier for you to pay
• charge all heating/sewerage and general service charges in-line with actual costs at all times

Getting you involved

How we will promote and support your involvement in our housing service.

We will:

• publish a tenants' newsletter at least twice a year
• consult with you in various ways about matters that affect you and take your views into account when we make decisions
• carry out surveys to obtain your views on different aspects of our service and to act on those results where possible
• make sure equal and genuine opportunities are provided for you to become involved in the planning, delivery and monitoring of our housing service
• establish and develop a range of ways for you to become involved in developing our services
• provide training for tenants as required
• support the Tenant and Leaseholder Panel in all aspects of their work

We aim to:

• provide all new leaseholders with an information welcome pack following notification that they have completed the purchase of a leasehold property via the Right to Buy scheme of Assignment of Lease
• provide a detailed breakdown of your estimated annual service charge at least 30 days before the beginning of the financial year
• provide a detailed breakdown of your actual annual service charge within 6 months after the end of the financial year
• on request offer Leaseholders the facility to settle service charge or major works accounts via an instalment plan in line with the charge
• consult you on proposed major repairs and improvements (over £250) and details of the proposed contractors to provide tender prices at least 30 days before seeking tenders. We must do this by law
• consult you on the estimated cost of major repairs and improvements before commencing the work, and give you at least 30 days to provide any comments you may have, which we will take into account. We must do this by law
• provide you, 'on request', with a copy of your current service charge account and other relevant information (perhaps if you wish to sell on the leasehold) for a fee within 2 weeks of your request
• support a district-wide leaseholders association and ensure that it meets at least 4 times each year

We will not tolerate anti-social behaviour

In response to anti-social behaviour we will apply the minimum standards to:

• work to ensure reporting anti-social behaviour is as easy as possible. Take all reports seriously, by recording and investigating all cases, and keep victims informed of action taken
• ensure that all victims and witnesses are treated fairly, with dignity and respect; listen to victims and provide ongoing support where appropriate, particularly to those victims considered vulnerable
• provide practical support in partnership with victim support agencies to address victim's needs
• share relevant information and intelligence on anti-social behaviour with partners; analyse information to identify repeat victimisation, known perpetrators and affected parties and respond speedily to such intelligence
• tell the public what we are doing to tackle anti-social behaviour so they have the confidence to report issues, offer the community feedback through community forums and encourage residents to play their part to reduce anti-social behaviour
• provide suitable routes via which communities or individuals can raise concerns where it is considered that anti-social behaviour is not being tackled positively
• through education and early intervention, work to reduce and where possible prevent anti-social behaviour and the perception that anti-social behaviour is a problem in our communities
• respond in a timely manner to reports of breaches of anti-social behaviour enforcement measures