Restarting services

The Housing Minister has written to all social housing residents in England.

You can read the letter here. It has information on what you can expect from us as we prepare to restart services in line with the latest government guidance.

Following the government's announcement of the first cautious steps to modify lockdown measures, we are carefully reviewing all of the guidance and planning for our services to restart safely. Our priority is protecting the safety and wellbeing of our customers and staff.

Please bear with us while we take the time needed to adapt ways of working in line with the new guidance and prioritise work following eight weeks of lockdown. We will continue to be in contact and update this page as and when our services restart.

Essential services that have been maintained throughout lockdown will be continuing throughout this time.

Safety

As our services resume, we will contact you in advance so you know what you can expect from us to keep you safe and what you need to do so our staff can work safely.

If, for any reason, you do not want work in your home to go ahead - for example if you have symptoms or are shielding - please let us know and we will reschedule it wherever possible.

Where work is required to keep your household safe, we will work with you to find way to carry out the work as safely as possible.

COVID-19 risk assessments

As part of the process of restarting some of our services, we've undertaken risk assessments to identify potential hazards and outline what measures we're putting in place to keep our staff and customers safe. You can view these on our COVID-19 risk assessments webpage.

Test and Trace

We have recently updated our privacy notice to reflect the requirements of the Government's 'Test and Trace' programme. If our staff or contractors have had close contact with you and they develop symptoms associated with coronavirus, they may pass on your details in accordance with this programme. You can find details of this on the government website.

Repairs and appointments

While we review the latest government guidance, we will continue to carry out services that are emergencies only, to help reduce the spread of the virus.

If you have a genuine emergency, call us on 01225 715 715. Please only call us if you need to report an emergency. This means if there is an immediate risk to your safety or your property, for example, extreme flooding, fires or damage made by intruders. First, dial 999 if needed. Once safe, call us on 01225 715 715 to discuss next steps.

You can find more information and tips on our repairs webpages.

Customer support

Our offices and customer reception desk remain closed until further notice.

Our office-based teams are all working from home and our customer support lines are still open. However, you may experience longer than usual wait times as we help our most vulnerable customers. So, if you can, please refer to our website for the latest information.

Grounds maintenance

For information on changes to ground maintenance services, please visit our grounds maintenance webpage.

Rent and benefits

We understand this is a challenging time for our customers affected by coronavirus.

We will work with you to ensure no one loses their home as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

If you have any concerns about paying your rent due to coronavirus:

• first check https://www.understandinguniversalcredit.gov.uk/coronavirus/ to ensure you are claiming for the benefits that you may now be entitled to, since the recent Budget announcement. This page will be updated regularly.
• If you still have concerns about paying your rent please speak to our customer support team on 01225 715 715 who can then put you in touch with your account manager. They can then advise you based on your individual circumstances.

For more information about changes to benefits in light of coronavirus, visit our web-page

Moving home

Government advice about moving home has changed. People who wish to move home can now do so, however those who are shielding or who are particularly vulnerable should be aware of current medical advice and seriously consider any risk to their health. You can read the government's full advice on moving home during coronavirus here.

This change applies to any tenants seeking to transfer or end their tenancy. Find out more about ending a tenancy here.

At present, we are not accepting any new mutual exchange applications, as these require significant access to customers' homes. We will keep this decision under review as lockdown measures are eased further.