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Oct 12
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Service standards

Home > Service standards

We’re here to provide you with well-maintained, quality homes where you can truly thrive and feel safe and we want to put you, our tenants, at the heart of all we do and ensure you feel listened to and treated with respect.

Our promises

We want you to be satisfied with the services you receive from us and to be able to trust us to deliver on what we say we will do.

We know we don’t always get it right but by working together with you we can keep improving and provide the highest level of customer service possible.

We worked closely with a group of tenants and listened to what matters most to them, to create seven promises around how we will deliver all our services to you.

Our promises

We will:

When you reach out to us with questions or concerns, we’ll always be polite and treat you 
fairly and with respect.

We understand your personal space and privacy are important to you, and we’ll always respect this.

When you have an enquiry or need something done, we’ll take full ownership of it until 
it’s sorted.

We want you to feel listened to and treated with respect. Your home is your sanctuary, and we’ll treat it with respect and care.

We’ll make sure we communicate with you in a way that’s easy to understand and on the things that matter to you.

We have timescales set out below for getting things done for you. We promise to meet these.

Understand and respond to the different needs of individuals

Understand and respond to the different needs of individuals

We are committed to providing you with accessible information about your rights and our responsibilities as your landlord. This includes our responsibilities for your homes and other facilities and services we provide.

We know that one size does not fit all, and our aim is to understand the diverse needs of our tenants, so we can deliver people-centred services that put you first. This includes making changes, often called reasonable adjustments, to the services we provide where these do not meet your needs – for example, owing to a different need related to a disability. This helps ensure that none of our tenants are disadvantaged by how we do things and that our services are delivered equally and fairly to you all.

The seven commitments above are reviewed every two years by tenant groups who regularly check in on our performance against these promises, for example through inspections and surveys. This helps us to make positive changes.

If you'd like to be part of the group that reviews our performance, please click here To see our performance, please click here

We ask that you:

  • Are considerate and respectful to our colleagues, your neighbours and people in your communities at all times.
  • Regularly update your contact information with us so we can deliver a right first-time solution to best meet your needs.
  • When you have an issue with your home, you let us know as soon as you can.
  • If you see something you think might be unsafe, you let us know as quickly as possible, so we can fix it to keep your home safe.
  • Tell us if you’re struggling with your rent or any other issues so we can support you, we’re here to help you.
  • Let us know if things go wrong, so we can work together with you to put them right.
  • Keep to the terms and conditions of your tenancy agreement.
Our timescales

Our timescales

We listened to your views through tenant surveys and focus groups and then agreed on these timescales with you. Below are details of how long it will take for us to deliver a service to you.

Delivering a great experience to you so you can be happy and safe in your home is important to us. But we know that sometimes we may not get things quite right, so if that happens, we’ll always work together with you when you tell us you’re unhappy. We’ll listen, learn and take action to fix it as quickly as possible.

We will:

  • Always be polite and treat you with respect when dealing with your complaint. We will always handle your complaint sensitively and fairly considering all the information
  • Agree with you how often we will contact you and agree to contact you in ways that are suitable to your needs
  • Always handle your complaint within the timescales set out below for investigating your complaint, unless an extension is agreed with you.
  • Respect your right to privacy. We understand your personal space and privacy are important to you and we’ll always respect this whenever you make a complaint.

 

We want you to be satisfied with the way we handle your complaint. We promise that:

  • When you first tell us you’re unhappy we will be in touch with you by phone, email or letter to let you know we have received your complaint within one day.
  • We will then contact you by phone, email or letter to acknowledge your complaint within five working days.
  • We will investigate your complaint at stage one and write to you to let you know the outcome within 10 working days. If we need longer to, and with your agreement we may ask to extend the investigation by a further 10 working days (maximum).
  • If you’re happy with the outcome your complaint is resolved.
  • If you’re still unhappy and wish to escalate your complaint we will be in touch with you by phone, email or letter to let you know we have received your wish to move to a stage two investigation within one day.
  • We will then contact you by phone, email or letter to acknowledge your stage two complaint within five working days.
  • At stage two we will investigate and provide an outcome of the complaint within 20 working days. If we need longer we will let you know and with your agreement we may extend the investigation by a further 20 working days (maximum).
  • If you’re happy with the outcome your complaint is resolved. If you’re still unhappy with the outcome of the stage two complaint you can escalate your complaint to the Housing Ombudsman Service.

We are here to help make sure your home is well maintained by completing any repairs quickly.

Below is a description of the type of repairs we do:

  • Emergency repairs: This is a repair that, if left undone, would be a danger to you or your community, or cause major damage to your home. Think gas leaks, hazardous electrical faults, and major water leaks. Sometimes, depending on the repair, we may not be able to completely fix the problem, but we will always make it safe within 24 hours.
  • Urgent repairs: This type of repair causes disruption to your home, and may affect your health, safety, or security – meaning they need to be done quickly and easily. This could be a partial loss of electrical power or gas supply, a blocked bath, or an unsecured external door.
  • Routine repairs: These are repairs that are not unsafe, but if left for a long period of time may get worse and become a hazard. Think loose taps, faulty guttering, or minor plumbing repairs.
  • Replacements: This type of repair is usually the replacement of items that need pre-inspection, ordering, and manufacture so they take a little longer.

 

We will ensure that:

  • Emergency repairs or work on safety concerns will be completed within 24 hours.
  • Urgent repairs will be attended within three working days.
  • Routine repairs will be taken care of within 30 working days.
  • Approved adaptations costing up to £1,000 will be completed within 27 calendar days.
  • For approved adaptations costing up to £6,000, we’ll finish them in under 180 calendar days.
  • We will ensure that 100% of homes have an annual gas safety check.
  • We will ensure that 100% reinspection’s are carried out to communal areas.
  • We will ensure that 100% properties that are required to have a fire risk assessment are carried out.
  • We will ensure that 100% passenger lifts have a monthly service and a six monthly Loler (Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations) inspection.

 

For any damp and mould repairs, we promise to:

  • Arrange an inspection for all reported cases of damp and we will carry these out within 10 working days of being reported, but aim to be with you sooner
  • Aim to complete 90% of all damp repairs within 40 working days, allowing space for those longer-term solutions
  • Give you the opportunity to let us know if you’re satisfied with your repair before the repair job is closed
  • Follow up with you in 3 months’ time to check that everything is still ok

We want you to feel happy and safe in your home and in your community. We promise that:

  • New tenants will be contacted within the first month of moving into their new home to make sure they are settling in and getting the support they need
    Graffiti reported or identified will be removed within one week, unless being investigated by the police.
  • We will investigate fly tipping on ForHousing owned land, to identify the person responsible and request removal. If the rubbish is not removed, we will arrange for the removal and recharge those concerned.
  • We’ll acknowledge and assess reports of anti-social behaviour within two working days.
  • If it’s serious anti-social behaviour, including violence, threats, harassment, hate behaviour, or domestic abuse, we’ll speak to you either over the phone or in person within one working day.
  • We’ll discuss all other instances of anti-social behaviour with you within five working days.

You can find out more about how to report anti-social behaviour by clicking here.

We are here to support you on your journey to homeownership. You can find out more about if you are eligible to buy your home here. We know how exciting it can be when you are looking into buying your home. We promise to get you the information you need as quickly as we can.

  • When you ask for a sales enquiry pack, we’ll send it to you within five working days.
  • We’ll confirm we’ve received your application within five working days.

What can you do if you are unhappy about a service?

We know we can always do better and that we don’t always get things right. Your feedback is invaluable in helping us keep our promises and holding us to account. So please let us know if you have a complaint or any feedback to share with us here so we can make positive changes.

Click here to share feedback
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