Your Neighbourhood Officers can support you with many things, from managing your tenancy to signposting to relevant partner agencies such as your local authority, fire and rescue services, Citizens Advice and other relevant support services.
You may see your Neighbourhood Officer only a couple of times when you live in your home. Or if you need extra support to manage your tenancy then you might see members of our team more often.
We’re here to help you and make sure you are satisfied with the services you receive. Here’s what your Neighbourhood Team can help you with.
- Moving into your home and supporting you to make sure you home remains suitable for you for as long as possible. To find out more, visit the “Your home” section by clicking here.
- Advising on what to do if there is an issue in your neighbourhood such as tenants struggling to maintain their home or garden, graffiti, pests and abandoned homes
- Signposting you if you need extra help from partners such as the local authority and voluntary services, for example Mustard Tree
- Advising you on what to do if you would like to buy your home, make improvements to your home or require adaptations
- Providing support, advice and signposting if you would like to move home
- Do walkabouts and inspect communal areas to see where areas need to be improved.
1
Do ForHousing have a supply of temporary homes available?
We do not hold empty homes to use as temporary accommodation. If you need to be temporarily moved out of your home for a short time because of essential repairs or exceptional circumstances such as floods and fires, we will use hotels and Airbnb.
If it is unsafe for you to live in your home because of criminal behaviour and this is confirmed by the Police, we will support you to work with local housing options teams for temporary accommodation.
2
Do you allocate most of your empty homes to immigrants and asylum seekers?
We have legal agreements with local councils to allocate most of our empty homes through the council’s choice-based lettings system. This will make sure that we offer a fair way of doing things.
The council’s system is based on your needs, depending on what these are, you will be given points so that you can bid on advertised homes. If you are awarded more points based on your circumstances and needs, you will have a higher priority when bidding on homes. For example, you may be given more points if you are homeless.
3
My home no longer suits my needs, how can I apply for a new one?
You do have a few options if you need to change your home. You can swap your home with another social housing tenant, reapply for choice based lettings and we also have transfers that are only authorised is exceptional circumstances, due to significant issues at your home, and where there is no other solution.
If you would like to learn more about what you can do, click here.
4
There is an abandoned home in my neighbourhood, how can I report this?
If you think that one of your neighbours is no longer living in their home, you can report this to us by calling the Customer Connect Hub on 0300 123 5522 or Live Chat that can be found in the right-hand corner of this page.
5
Can a family member take over the tenancy of a home if the tenant passes away?
This is usually known as succession rights where you can take over a tenancy when someone dies. This can only happen once in that home. We know how difficult it is when a family member passes away and we will work with you every step of the way to help you understand your rights and what support is available. If there is a joint tenancy agreement when a tenant dies, it will automatically pass to the other named tenant.
If there is no joint tenant, a partner or close family member can sometimes take over the tenancy if they:
- Have lived in the home for at least 12 months before the tenant passed away
- Do not hold a tenancy themselves for another home
6
I need to make an adaptation to home for my medical needs. What do I need to do?
We can install adaptations based on your unique needs. Major adaptations will be carried out by the local authority accessible accommodation service, with ForHousing providing approval in line with our Adaptations policy.
ForHousing is proud to work in partnership with Occupational Therapy, who’ll carry out an assessment and help us find the right equipment or you. Specialist advice can be found through your local authority, Community Occupational Therapy or a specialist housing service.
If you would like to speak to us about this please contact us.
7
Can I store my mobility scooter / bicycle / belongings in the communal stair well or landing?
We take your safety very seriously. To help to keep you and your neighbours safe we have a Communal Areas Policy. This will make sure all communal areas are kept clean and clear at all times as they can:
– Contribute to the spread of fire
– Create accidental fires by their explosive nature
– Prevent or reduce your ability to escape in the event of fire
– Produce smoke
– Hinder or prevent Emergency Services access
– Injure people by causing trips and falls
This Policy is to help keep you and others safe from harm. We will do all we can to work with and support you to store your items in a safe place in your home
If you would like to read more about this, click here.
8
In the past you have provided skips for our neighbourhoods, why do you not do this anymore?
Unfortunately, when we publicised the date and location of skips, we found that large volumes of fly tipping, including commercial waste, would be dumped in the location in the days leading up to and directly after the skip day. This caused a health and safety hazard for local residents. We now work with the local authority to organise clean up days where bulky waste collection is free for a set period.
9
Will my Neighbourhood Officer do a walkabout in my neighbourhood? If so, are they publicised?
Neighbourhood Officers walk around their assigned neighbourhoods monthly to check areas and report anything that needs to be picked up by ourselves or the local authority.
We no longer publicise these, as they are not group walkabouts and tend to be added to calendars to fit around other responsibilities. We do, however, share what has been seen and reported on social media.
10
If my neighbour is causing nuisance or anti-social behaviour, can they be evicted?
Evicting a tenant from their home is the last thing we want to do. We will at first, work with you and others to resolve the problem. If there are no changes to the situation and we have tried everything we can, this is when it may go to court.
If it does go to court, it usually takes up to 18 months depending on how complex it is. It’s the judge’s decision if a tenant can stay in their home or not.
11
I am concerned about my neighbour's welfare, how do I report this?
You can get help from your local authority, Police and NHS depending on what your concern is about. We’re also here if you need advice on where you can get the right help. Here’s some useful links that may help you:
– Salford
– Knowsley
– Oldham