Our service standards

We want your home to be warm, safe, secure and a comfortable place to live in. 

We will…

• be clear which repairs we look after, and which are your responsibility in accordance with your tenancy agreements or leases. Please refer to our repair’s matrix for more information.
• prioritise your repair as either an emergency or non-emergency. This will be assessed with you when the repair is raised. Please click here for more information.
• attend and make safe all emergency repairs within 24 hours.
• offer you a choice of appointments to complete all non-emergency repairs within 28 days (excluding planned repairs such as fences and window replacements). For most repairs we’ll agree an appointment with you when you report the repair, sometimes the first appointment is to inspect what needs doing. If the appointment is with a specialist contractor, we may ask them to contact you to find a suitable time to visit.
• confirm your appointment by text message.

• wherever possible will give you a morning or afternoon appointment. This an estimate of arrival time only, and should not be relied upon as a definite time slot (especially if there can only be someone home up to a certain time). There are many factors that can affect our arrival time.

• make a separate appointment if we need to visit your home to check what’s needed. Where we’re not able to fix at the first visit, we’ll be clear with you what the next steps are.

• keep you updated if we need to move your appointment or if the materials haven’t arrived.

• leave your home clean and tidy and take all our rubbish away.

• show ID so you know who they are and that they’re working for us.

• explain the work we’re doing and how long it’ll take.

• explain if any more work is needed and complete this within 10 days.

• make sure all our staff and contractors are fully trained and work safely.

• repairs that are more complex and aren’t a routine repair, may take longer and we’ll keep you updated. These could be jobs where specialist equipment or an inspection is needed, materials need to be ordered or multiple visits from different trades are needed.

• sometimes complex repairs are needed which can be very disruptive. If this happens, we’ll clearly explain what’s needed, how long it’ll take, who’s managing your repair and how to contact them. Some examples of when we recommend you move out temporarily:

     - if there is major flooding

     - fire damage

     - structural repairs that mean the property is unsafe

     - no toilet facilities for over 24 hours

If we need you to move out while the work is done, we’ll make the arrangements with you and cover reasonable costs.

We know we’re delivering our standard when…

• you consistently rate our repairs service (your repair completed) as 8.8 or above out of 10
• we keep over 95% of the repair appointments we make with you
• we complete 98% of our emergency repairs within 24 hours.

• 77% of non-emergency repairs are completed within 28 days (we’re aware that we aren’t yet completing all our responsive repairs within this timeframe but have invested more in this service to be completing 77% of our repairs within this timescale by the end of the financial year - this excludes planned repairs such as fencing and windows replacement).

Read more on our pest control responsibilites.

We want you to live in a home that is warm, safe and secure. 

We will…

• do a range of safety checks, servicing and inspections. We really appreciate you letting us into your home and we’ll do everything we can to minimise disruption.
• send you a letter telling you when we’d like to carry out these checks.
• change your appointment if it’s not a convenient time.
• explain the work we’re doing and how long it’ll take.
• leave your home clean and tidy when we’ve finished.
• explain if any more work is needed and agree with you when this will be completed.
• give you a copy of your gas certificate within 28 days following our visit.
• keep a record of all asbestos in your home or communal areas. More information on our management of asbestos and how to report any concerns can be found here.

We know we’re delivering our standard when…

• you consistently rate us 8.8 and above out of 10 for our gas and electrical service.
• we are 100% compliant with our health and safety obligations (gas safety, electrical safety, fire safety, asbestos, water safety and lift safety).

We recognise that moving home is one of life’s major events. 

We will…

• ensure your home is safe, secure and clean when you move in.
• give you clear information about the home you've been offered, the charges and terms of the tenancy agreement, and be available to answer any questions.
• invite you to view your future home before you decide if it’s right for you and explain what might happen if you turn the property down.
• let you know when your new home is ready to move into and keep you informed of any changes.
• assign a support officer to you within 2 weeks, if you need support when you first move to help you manage your tenancy
• give you clear moving out guidance telling you how to leave your home and deposit your keys. We will tell you about potential costs if you leave your home in an unsatisfactory condition.
• give you free access to HomeSwapper, the national exchange service, and guidance on how to swap home. We'll give you a decision on your mutual exchange application within 42 days and keep you up to date with the progress of your swap.
• provide you with links to information to help you enjoy your new home when you move in.

We know we’re delivering our standard when…

• you are consistently rating your moving in experience 8.5 or above out of 10.

• 100% of mutual exchange applications decisions are given within 42 days.

We want to be easy to contact, helpful, responsive and efficient. 

We will…

• have a range of ways you can get in touch, being available Monday to Friday (8.30am to 5pm Monday to Thursday, and to 4.30pm on a Friday) or out of hours in an emergency.
• provide a free telephone number to contact us on.
• tell you where you are if your call is in a queue and answer your call as soon as we can.
• reply to any website forms, social media posts and your online account messages by the end of the next working day.
• reply to your letters within 10 working days.
• arrange to meet you at home, in your community, or in our office.
• respond by the end of the next working day if we can’t resolve your query straight away.

• translate key information into other languages, provide tools on our website for read aloud and changing the font size, and provide British Sign Language translation for phone or video calls.

We know we’re delivering our standard when…

• 75% of customer enquiries are resolved at first contact
• 98% of callbacks are completed on time
• The average call wait time is 15 mins

• We respond to digital contacts by the end of the next working day.

We want your neighbourhood to be safe, clean and a pleasant place to live. 

We will…

• check in with you within 3 months of moving in to see how you're settling in. We may check in with you again if we have any concerns about your tenancy or support needs.
• let you know who your Neighbourhood Officer is and how they can help you. Click here for information.
• provide information on how to keep your home and building safe and clear items from communal areas when we are advised or when we see them that could be a fire or safety risk.
• invite our neighbourhood volunteers to join us when we inspect estates and communal areas.
• clean communal areas, cut grass, clear pathways and remove rubbish on our estates. Click here to see what is done during our visits.
• remove any hazardous items from our estates and communal areas within 24 hours, and any other rubbish within 10 working days.
• remove offensive graffiti within 5 working days, and remove all other types of graffiti within 1 month.
• have playgrounds inspected by a safety expert every 3 months.
• complete any changes to your tenancy and respond to any other requests (e.g. to carry out your own improvements, or to have a lodger) within 10 working days of receiving all the information we need.
• respond to any concerns you have about your neighbourhood by the end of the next working day, telling you what we can do. If we think there’s a serious risk to your safety, we’ll deal with it the same day.
• let you know how we can support you and give you details of other organisations who can help if you’re experiencing anti-social behaviour. Please click here for more information.
• encourage you to resolve any disputes with your neighbours through assessment mediation.

We know we’re delivering our standard when…

• you’re consistently rating us 7 and above out of 10 for the way we handle your report of anti-social behaviour.

We want you to enjoy living independently in your home. However, when things aren’t going as well as they could you may need advice and support. 

We will…

• provide a range of ways of how we can support you, including:

     - helping you with your benefits and debts

     - giving you advice about money management

     - helping you access the internet and build your digital skills and confidence

     - helping you to find work

     - helping you access mental health support services

     - helping you to live independently in our older persons and extra care schemes

• allocate you a named support officer who will contact you within 2 weeks to develop a support plan with you.
• give you access to our online system where you can see all the information about your case, track progress and contact your support officer. We'll guide you through this.
• ensure all our support officers are appropriately trained, professional throughout your case, and are clear about what you can expect from our support.
• let you know when we're closing your case.    

We know we’re delivering our standard when…

• we recover more than £6 million each year in unclaimed benefits for our customers.
• we support more than 300 customers into job starts.

We recognise that becoming a homeowner can be daunting and can be a big commitment. We want to help our homeowner customers enjoy living in their home by being clear, open and honest about each of our responsibilities and by being easy to deal with. 

We will…

• give you clear information about our homes for sale including:

     - the layout of the home and the facilities it'll have

     - the costs of buying a home

     - any service charges you’ll be responsible for

     - an explanation of the lease

     - the energy efficiency of the home

     - your responsibilities as a homeowner

     - the warranty for your new home

• answer any questions by the end of the next working day to help you make your decision.
• process all Right To Buy, Right To Acquire or Staircasing applications within 4 weeks.
• keep you informed about the progress of your purchase, letting you know at each stage what happens next and anything you need to do.
• provide you with a Home user guide on the day you move, giving you the information you need to enjoy your home.
• provide you with our guidance document to explain how to sell your home and the fees you'll pay, found here.
• be in touch within 10 working days of your move in date to check how you're settling in.
• manage any defects and repairs after you move in. We'll be clear of how long this period is for you.
• contact you at the end of your defects period to make sure we're aware of any defects that the builder will be responsible for.

We know we’re delivering our standard when…

• you’re consistently rating your moving in experience (sales) 8.5 or above out of 10.

We want you, and as many future customers as possible, to be able to live in a home that is warm, safe and secure. To achieve this, we need our customers to take responsibility for their rent and other payments. 

We will…

• provide a range of secure ways to pay your rent and other charges, encouraging Direct Debit as our preferred method of payment.
• provide you with access to your rent statements online or send you a statement on request.
• let you know if your rent and service charges change at least 28 days in advance. If there is a change in your Direct Debit payment, we'll let you know 10 days in advance.
• make sure payments appear on your account within 48 hours.
• a target of 90% of new or transitioning customers eligible for Universal Credit will receive a guidance call from us within 10 working days.
• give you clear information about what your service charges cover and how we’ve calculated them.

If you are struggling to cover your rent payments and other charges, please get in touch with us as soon as possible.

We promise to –

• Treat you and your home with respect, and you can expect a warm, clear, professional response from every team member you speak with
• Aim to resolve your enquiry fully during your first contact with us
• If we need additional time to provide you with an answer, we’ll get back in touch by the end of our next working day
• If we can’t do something, we’ll let you know why
• If we need some help or further information from a colleague, we’ll make sure we get you to the right person who can help. We’ll let you know who will be in touch with you and keep you updated. If we can’t reach you, we will try again. Where available we’ll leave a clear message explaining when we will try again. You can also find updates about your enquiry via your online account
• If resolving your enquiry takes longer than expected, we will provide regular updates until it’s resolved. As a minimum we will update you every 2 weeks
• Welcome feedback on how we are doing and how we can improve, and we will share with you how we have used your feedback
• Take into consideration your personal circumstances and adjust our services where we are able. We’ll work with advocates or personal representatives where appropriate. If you need help beyond what we provide, we’ll connect you to other trusted people and organisations

We’ll know we’re delivering this standard when –

• You are happy with how we handled your enquiry (transactional surveys)
• 100% of callbacks completed by the end of the next working day
• Share quarterly updates about how we have used your feedback to improve our services ‘you said, we did’

We promise to –

Listen

• Ensure we listen to all of your feedback and views on how we are performing and where we could improve across all of our services
  Provide both formal and informal collaboration opportunities, ranging from the Customer Service Committee, VIVID Impact and in-depth scrutiny reviews to online surveys, tailored to meet your individual needs. This approach ensures we capture a wide range of customer voices, including feedback from those who have already shared their opinions

Understand

• Analyse and interpret your feedback. We will ensure we understand the emotions and opinions behind the feedback (sentiment analysis) to ensure we are clear what you need from us and how we can improve. We will let you know how we will/have used your feedback, being clear about what we can and can’t do and why

Learn

• Learn how, why, when and if you want to talk to us, support those who may find it difficult, and respect that not all customers want to get involved

• Learn from your feedback, collaborate with you to improve and co create service improvements, demonstrating that your voice has been heard

Act 

• Be clear on the difference that your feedback, collaboration and co-design has made and update you how your feedback contributed to us achieving our ambitions
• Do what we say we will, when we say we will

We’ll know we are delivering this standard when –

• Our tenant satisfaction measures improve year on year -
  Treats me fairly and with respect
  Keeps customers informed about things that matter to them
  Listens to customers views and acts upon them
• Retain Tpas landlord accreditation and continuing to be recognised for best practice
• Report monthly via our customer influence dashboard shared on our website –

      TSM scores (keep customers informed, treat customers fairly and with respect, and listen to and act on views)
      Customer influence activities taken place that month
      Number of live projects involving customers
      How many customers are involved and how many hours you have contributed to shaping services

• Keep you updated on how we have used your feedback through quarterly (you said, we did) updates on our website

We follow the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code and embrace best practices to ensure our approach to complaints is fair, transparent, and focused on learning and improvement.

We promise to:

• Offer clear, accessible ways for you to complain in the way that works for you either online, by phone or in person

Stage 1 complaints

• Contact you by phone (where preferable) within 5 working days to discuss your complaint at stage 1 to explain how we’ll investigate and answer any questions you have
• Agree with you how you’d like to be kept updated, adjusting our approach to meet your individual needs
• Formally acknowledge your Stage 1 complaint in writing within 5 working days
• Contact you by phone (where preferable) to explain the outcome of your complaint and agree on the next steps — clearly outlining what we’ll do, by when
• Provide a full response to your complaint in writing within 10 working days at Stage 1

Stage 2 complaints

• Offer clear, accessible ways for you to complain in the way that works for you either online, by phone or in person
• Formally acknowledge your Stage 2 complaint in writing within 5 working days
• Contact you by phone (where preferable) at an agreed time, to discuss your stage 2 complaint to explain how we’ll investigate and answer any questions you have
• Agree with you how you’d like to be kept updated, adjusting our approach to meet your individual needs
• Contact you by phone (where preferable) to explain the outcome of your complaint and agree on the next steps — clearly outlining what we’ll do, by when
• Provide a full response to your complaint in writing within 20 working days at stage 2

To ensure we have fully resolved your complaint we’ll –
 

• Only close your complaint once all agreed actions have been completed
• If you’re unhappy with our response, we’ll clearly explain your right to escalate your complaint — including how to contact the Housing Ombudsman Service
• Use lessons learnt and feedback from complaints to make to make meaningful service improvements
• Keep you informed about the changes we’ve made through our ‘You Said, We Did’ updates and our Annual Complaint Handling Report

We’ll know we're delivering our service standard when –

• We resolve 100% of complaints in line with our Complaints Policy and the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code
• Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSM) relating to Complaint Handling –Improving this score year on year
• Achieve a minimum score of 6.5 out of 10 on how we handled your complaint. While working to improve this year on year
• Complete 100% agreed actions on time

Our commitment to you.

To ensure we know when further investment is needed, we promise to:

• Visit your home every 5 years to check its condition and plan our improvement work
• Provide at least 4 weeks' notice before we visit you for a stock condition survey, giving
  you a convenient appointment date and time.

When we're improving your home, we promise to:

• Give you at least 4 weeks' notice before we start any work on your property
• Provide detailed information in advance about what we plan to do and o􀆯er you choices
  where possible
• Support you before, during, and after the planned works through a Resident Liaison Officer (RLO) who will respond to any questions or concerns you may have
• Ensure the quality of the work is high and done right the first time
• Be polite, friendly, and respectful of your home while working
• Leave your home clean and tidy, taking all rubbish away when we’re finished
• Make reasonable adjustments to how we undertake works to ensure that everyone can benefit from these
• Give you the opportunity to provide feedback on all planned works and respond promptly to any issues reported
• Learn from your feedback to improve our future service delivery.

To support you in making improvements to your home, we promise to:

• Provide clear advice and guidance on what improvements are allowed and tell you what conditions you need to meet
• Make adaptations to your home that help you live independently, based on Occupational Therapists’ advice – and give you advice about other organisations that can help you, in line with our Adaptations Policy.

In delivering this service standard, we promise to:

• Ensure all our properties have data that is not older than 5 years
• Make all stock condition appointments at least 4 weeks in advance
• Contact all customers at least 4 weeks in advance of any works taking place
• Provide information about works to all customers before they start
• Have a VIVID representative (an RLO) available to visit and provide information and assistance where required
• Deliver all works right the first time
• Contact all customers after works to ask for feedback
• Aim for an average customer satisfaction score of 9 or above out of 10
• Deliver all our planned programs
• Demonstrate how feedback has been used to improve future service delivery.

When our customers want to improve their own homes, we promise to:

• Acknowledge and either decide on or request further information for all Home Improvement requests within 10 working days
• Acknowledge and either decide on or request further information for all Disabled Facilities Grant requests within 10 working days.