Our Service Standards

When contacting us

We will process emails to the Customer Experience Team within 3 working days.

Resolving things

We will attempt to resolve things at first contact. If we need to pass queries on, we will let tenants know who is dealing with them and keep in contact.

Complaints policy

We will publish a clear Complaints Policy and information about how we are performing in terms of dealing with complaints.

Responding to complaints

We will respond to complaints at Stage 1 within 10 working days and those at Stage 2 within 20 working days.

• We will make sure that all our health and safety checks are done on time. These include gas, fire, asbestos, water (legionella), and lifts.
• We will have evacuation plans for blocks of flats and independent living schemes in case there is a fire.
• We will work with partner agencies such as Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue to help you better understand the things you can do to keep yourself safe in your home

Keeping you in the loop

We will let you know each year if there is going to be any major work to your home (e.g. kitchen or bathroom replacement) over the next 12 months, or before you move into a new home.

Investing in your homes

We will publish information every year about how we are investing in your homes and what we are spending on repairs and maintenance.

We will use the following to monitor that we are meeting the standard of service set:

• Feedback from surveys
• Data from our IT systems
• Tenant scrutiny

We will let tenants know how we are performing via our website and our Annual Report to Tenants.

Grounds Maintenance

We will maintain all communal grassed areas across our neighbourhoods.

Through April– October we will:

• Cut all grassed areas.
• Keep adjacent pathways clear of cuttings.
• Ensure all edges are kept trimmed and tidied and areas are clear of any rubbish/obstacles.

Through October - March we will:

• Prune all shrub beds as required.
• Clear soil surfaces of rubbish and weed growth.
• Leave all areas adjacent to hard surfaces neat and tidy.

Caretaking Services

• Clear, clean and disinfect where required including block entrances, stairwells, handrails and ramps
• Unblock refuse chutes as notified/discovered
• Removal of graffiti
• Removal of fly tipping
• Check, clear and clean play areas, garage sites and parking areas. Check for any health and safety hazards
• Complete fire safety checks to communal areas
• Check for and report any required repairs to communal areas

 

 

Paying your rent

We will offer different ways for you to pay your rent (examples – direct debit, online, over the phone).

Service charges

We will provide you with a detailed annual breakdown of what your service charges pay for.

Notice period

We will give you at least one month’s notice of a change in either your rent or service charges.

24 hour access

We will provide you with 24 hour access to your rent statement online.

Rent arrears

If we see, or you let us know, that you are struggling to pay your rent, we will contact you quickly to discuss how we can help and support you to get back on track.

Money advice

We will run campaigns throughout the year to let you know about changes to benefits and help you maximise your income

• We will send you a survey in the first week of your tenancy so that you can let us know what you think of your new home, and commit to following up with you on anything you’re not happy with or we can help support you with.
• You will have the opportunity to see your new home before you move in.
• You will get a clean, safe and secure home that matches your needs.
• We will provide you with a copy of our Empty Homes Standard when you move in so that you know what work we’ve carried out and when any work that still needs doing will be done.
• We will talk you through your Tenancy Agreement so that you are clear about your responsibilities and ours.
• When you move in, we will let you know which repairs we will do, which you need to do and which you will be charged for.

We will visit you for repairs:

• Within 24 hours for repairs classed as Emergency (e.g. no heating or hot water, no electrics, an uncontrollable leak).

• Within 5 working days for repairs classed as Urgent (these are usually follow on work from emergencies).

• Within 20 working days for repairs classed as Routine (e.g. routine electrical or joinery, roof repairs).

All other planned/programmed jobs will be by mutual appointment (e.g. fencing, plastering, gutter cleans)

We will publish the average time it is currently taking to complete different repairs on our website.