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Andrew Kidds Head of Customer Contact @Andkidds_Accent
Customer Portal Since the launch of our customer portal, almost 3500 of you have activated your personal accounts.
If you haven’t already accessed your account, or you’ve misplaced your username or password, please contact us. Those of you who have already activated your accounts will know how simple and easy the service is to use.
You can report and view repairs, make payments and access your rent accounts. Visit https://login.accentgroup.org today to make the most of our online service.
Claire Stone Executive Director of Communities & Assets @claires1965
Repairs and maintenance contracts for 2016 In our last issue, we mentioned we were aiming to appoint new contractors to deliver your repairs and property maintenance services. The new contracts aimed to improve service and deliver better value for money.
We were due to award the contracts just after printing the last issue, and had promised to let you know who the successful contractor was for your area. Behind the scenes, everything was going to plan and we were working with the new contractors getting ready to launch your new service in April. Unfortunately, we have since run into problems with the contracts
for a number of reasons and it has become clear that they may not be affordable for us. As a result, we have abandoned the process for the time being and we will undertake a thorough review of how your services will be delivered in the future. This will not affect your services for the next 12 months. We will make sure you continue to receive a high quality repairs and maintenance
service, and we are currently in discussions with all our contractors so they can continue to work with us for another year. You will report your repairs in the same way, via our contact centre. We will take this extra opportunity to make sure that we can deliver the best value for money services on your behalf while we prepare for re-launch of the new contracts and your new service in April 2017.
Wanted: Resident Members Damian Roche, Regional Housing Director @accentpb
We’re looking for committed and enthusiastic residents to join our regional compliance and scrutiny committees. You will work closely with other residents, our independent committee members and our senior managers, to scrutinise regional performance and contribute to the regional improvement of services. This is an important role and a great opportunity if you are looking to develop personally or further your career, whilst helping to improve our services. We will provide all the training and support you need.
We value the knowledge and experience our resident members can bring to the committee. We need people with good communication skills, who are keen to learn and are passionate about providing excellent services to our residents. The committee works on a voluntary basis. We would need you to attend at least four formal meetings and up to four ad-hoc meetings a year. Meetings are held in the evening but there may be some daytime visits to our homes. You will be paid travel expenses and any loss of earnings.
Please give serious thought to this opportunity and, if you’d like to apply, we’d love to hear from you. Contact us or email customerservices@accentgroup.org for more details
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ACCENT NEWS NENE
Rent Changes The Welfare Reform and Work Act became law at the end of March. This affects the way we review most of your rents. The new arrangements are quite difficult to explain. For most of you, on the Government’s instruction, your net rent will reduce by 1% over each of the next four years. There are some exceptions. For example, the Government has said that those of you who live in supported and sheltered housing will continue to find your rent increasing in line with current legislation in 2016. (The date of this will depend on when your tenancy started – please see below). The Government has still to decide what happens after that. Service charges are not affected by the new law. If you pay a service charge, it forms part of the total charge you pay us. We review service charges each year and this is not changing. So, if your service charge increases due to higher costs, this could mean your total charges increase, even after the 1% net rent cut.
When will my rent be reviewed? In most cases, it will be adjusted at the same time as it was last year. So, if your rent is usually reviewed in April, or you are a new resident since April 2015, your rent should be reviewed in April 2016. If your rent increase was in October last year, it will be in October 2016. So, just to confirm: • If you are a resident on an assured, secure (fair) or affordable tenancy and you do not live in a supported or sheltered housing scheme (generally with a scheme manager), your net rent will be lower by 1% over each of the next four years. However, if you pay a service charge and it increases, this could mean your total charges are higher, even with the 1% net rent cut.
@ CONTACT US SEE PAGE 8
• If you are a resident on an assured, secure (fair) or affordable tenancy, and you do live in a supported or sheltered housing scheme, your net rent will be reviewed in line with current legislation and is likely to increase in 2016 (depending on the date your tenancy started). • There are also exceptions for residents who pay ‘intermediate’ or ‘market rent’. Your rent will be adjusted according to the normal market review, so these changes do not affect you directly. We are still waiting to be told about parts of the legislation, so we don’t know the full facts yet. We’ll confirm more details when we do, so please bear with us. More information will be made available on our website: www.accentgroup.org
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Fire regulation arrangements for communal areas In accordance with fire regulations, we have a responsibility to:
Damian Roche Regional Housing Director @accentpb
Keep stairs, landings and corridors in communal areas of blocks of flats clear of tripping hazards. Take reasonable steps to prevent the spread of fire and remove things which are a fire hazard. Some landlords do not allow any items in corridors and stairways. We will allow some, but we may need to restrict them to make sure everyone stays safe. We carry out
an annual inspection, a ‘fire risk assessment’, to make sure that communal areas are safe and comply with relevant fire legislation. If there are any issues with items in communal areas, we will talk to you about them. In some cases your items may be removed, for example, you must not leave bikes, shopping trolley bags or rubbish in communal areas. If you would like one of our information leaflets, please contact us or visit our website.
Introducing our new ‘Independent Living’ service offer for older people Susan Humphreys, Independent Living Co-ordinator
We already provide a number of services in our sheltered housing developments and have recently reviewed our service in consultation with residents. Feedback showed that whilst residents were happy and valued the service we provided, they wanted a greater focus on helping them to maintain their independence, with a particular emphasis on health and wellbeing. Our scheme managers will, therefore, work more closely with residents in future to help them improve their physical health, and maintain their independence and general quality of life, so they feel included in the scheme and wider community where they live. We will also support and facilitate activities which are available to the wider community to create a dynamic healthy living hub.
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ACCENT NEWS NORTH EAST
For anyone living in general needs accommodation over the age of 60, we will be offering a telephone support service with a named contact. We will contact you at least twice a year to make sure you are okay and provide practical help and support, which includes helping you access local services and improving your wellbeing. We will introduce this over the next six months to over 3,000 older people in our general needs homes. The service is free and optional – so if you do not want us to contact you we won’t. The service is starting now. It will take a few months to get around everyone, but you don’t need to do anything, we will be in touch.
Immigration Act 2014
Lucky Khan Housing Manager
On 1 February, it became law for all housing associations to check prospective tenants’ immigration status under the Immigration Act 2014 before letting a property.
@accentpb
With a direct letting, we must see evidence of a person’s identity and citizenship, for example a passport or biometric residence permit. Copies of these documents need to be taken and kept for one year after the tenancy ends. Everyone living in theproperty over the age of 18 years must provide this information.
The legislation also applies to lodgers. If you want to take in a lodger, (as per your tenancy agreement) you need to let us know first. We need to know who the lodger is and where they will live. You will need to carry out similar checks on your lodger and provide us with the required evidence. This is now part of our approval process. Your housing officer can provide more information.
Estate & Scheme Improvements by Lucky Khan
Do you ever think “my street would be better if Accent made some changes” like removing a tree, adding a fence or something else? We do our best to make your home and community a nice place to live and, as well as planned improvements, we have a pot of money to make small scale improvements to areas we own. Examples of recent improvements include tree removal, car park extensions and removal of unused drying areas. If you have an idea which you think would improve your estate, contact your housing officer. We will consider it with the other ideas we receive and, as long as funds are available, we may be able to do the work.
@ CONTACT US SEE PAGE 8
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Subletting is a criminal offence by Lucky Khan
We let our homes to people who need them and we want to make sure they are occupied by those people. Unfortunately, we sometimes find that residents have moved out and are sub-letting the property at a profit. Since 2013, sub-letting your tenancy without permission is a criminal offence, punishable by a fine and a potential two-year jail term. Courts can also order offenders to repay any profits made by sub-letting. Tenancy fraud is believed to cost the public £1.8 billion per year.
How switching energy could save you money Did you know that you might be able to save money on your energy bills? There are more competitive deals across all suppliers than ever before, so it could be a good time to switch to a new provider. Figures from Energy UK reveal that 1.3 million customers moved from a large supplier to a small one during the past 12 months – that’s 41% of all switches. So many new small suppliers coming into the market has lead to more competitive deals which you can take advantage of to lower your energy costs. We are working with a charitable consultancy to help you access impartial information about the possible savings you could make. To obtain a quote talk to your housing officer, call 01733 646 253 or email info@pcl-ltd.co.uk. You’ll receive free advice and guidance on where you may be able to make savings. For more information or to obtain a quote online visit: www.energylinx.co.uk/energy/pect. You could save money by switching today!
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ACCENT NEWS NENE
We will not tolerate criminal behaviour and we will take legal action to prevent it, including possession. We are currently taking action against one resident for sub-letting. If you believe your neighbour is subletting their property, please contact us in strict confidence and we will investigate. Contact us for more information or download a copy from the Customer Publications area on our website: www.accentgroup.org/customer-publications
Good Neighbourhood Agreements We have developed good neighbourhood agreements (GNAs) on estates where you have identified issues affecting the enjoyment of your homes. These agreements are aimed at tackling issues such as dog excrement not being cleared from communal areas, door slamming, and fly-tipping. GNAs are voluntary agreements between Accent and our residents. The purpose of the GNA is to improve the local neighbourhood, set out acceptable behaviours that all residents can sign up to and to increase resident satisfaction for residents living on the estate. It details the services residents can expect to receive from Accent, and how both Accent and residents can work collectively to resolve issues identified in an area. Residents on those estates will have the opportunity to contribute to any GNA developed for their scheme. If you would like more information, please contact your housing officer.
Responsible Pet Ownership by Damian Roche
From 6 April, it will become law for all dogs to be micro chipped by the time they are eight weeks old. If your dog is found without a microchip fitted, you could be fined up to £500. Your dog’s microchip must be fitted by a trained professional, such as a vet, and costs vary. Some organisations, The Dogs Trust for instance, offer free microchipping services. You can find more details at www.chipmydog.org.uk. The Dogs Trust website offers more details about this and events in your local area. When your dog is micro chipped they are given a number which shows up whenever your dog is scanned. The professional who microchips your dog will also take your contact details. The details are kept alongside the microchip number on the microchip database.
If you are thinking of buying a dog or a puppy you must ask our permission. Having a pet without our permission could be viewed as a breach of your tenancy agreement. As our resident, you are responsible for your animal and, as such, must make sure that your dog doesn’t foul or cause noise or nuisance. Please ask for proof that a microchip has been fitted before buying a dog. Ask to see a microchip certificate, vet records or a pet passport.
Micro-chipping your dog gives them the best chance of being identified and returned to you if they become lost or stolen. Your dog must still wear a collar and tag with your name and address if it is in a public place.
@ CONTACT US SEE PAGE 8
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We have recently reviewed how we should engage with you on scrutinising and improving services…
Rachael Walsh Head of Strategy & Regulation @rachaelwaccent
We know that many of you want information, influence and choice in the services we deliver, but don’t have the time or desire to get actively involved. So, we are looking at ways to make it easy for you to influence how we deliver services. One way we can do this is to make more use of the customer profile information you have already given us, for example, when we make decisions about services for older or younger people, or families. We will also make it easier for you to engage with us electronically by, for example, online and email surveys.
Of course, you can still get more involved if you would like to. Our compliance and scrutiny committees are responsible for ensuring services are delivered well within our regions, and we are always looking for residents to join (see page 2). We also hope you will get involved in scrutiny exercises, for example, by attending a focus group or assessing the quality of specific services. If you are interested in any of the above ways of getting involved, or would just like more information, please contact us.
New reception opening times Our office reception opening hours are now from 9am to 1pm Monday to Friday, (except on Wednesday when we open at 10am). Although you can’t visit our office outside these times, you can still contact us by telephone or by logging into your account on our on-line customer portal via our website www.accentgroup.org
STAY IN TOUCH! Address: Manor House 57 Lincoln Road Peterborough PE1 2RR
Social media: Telephone: @accentpb 0345 678 0555 /accentpb Email: customerservices@accentgroup.org
www.accentgroup.org
Our contact centre is open from 8am to 8pm, Monday to Friday, and from 8am – 12pm on Saturday