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housing news for Winchester City Council tenants and leaseholders
Government rules force rent The Council has agreed an average rent increase of 1.09% from April 2010. The actual rent rise will vary according to the size of the property. Some rents may reduce by up to £1 a week while others may increase by up to £2 a week. Under Government guidance rents were initially reduced by 0.9% in line with inflation. But the Government has set “target rents” – bringing council and housing association rents to the same level within the next three years – so we had to introduce a 1.0% rise. We regret that this Government guidance means there is no new money to reduce the current maintenance backlog. Some parts of the repairs programme will continue to be suspended for at least another year. Councillors reluctantly agreed to continue with the reduced investment programme after hearing the Council was still required to give over £8 million to the Government
increase
in subsidy despite the £3 million shortfall in its own budget. Richard Botham, Head of Landlord Services, said: “We continue to be in an impossible position and the system is grossly unfair. “We don’t have enough money to spend on our own homes yet the Government still expects us to pay more than £8 million to subsidise council houses elsewhere in the country”. The City Council needs a minimum repairs budget of £10 million to maintain the current repairs programme, although Government allowances only give it £7 million each year. Whilst the Council complies with the Government’s Decent Homes Standard, over 30% of Council homes have a kitchen over 20 years old or a bathroom over 30 years old. 10% of homes have both old kitchens and bathrooms. Mr Botham added: “I apologise to our tenants who will not get a modern kitchen or bathroom.
Tenant News, produced by Tenants efor d iTenants t i o n 1can be found at the back of this edition
inside this edition: G G
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Our apology Changes to Heating Systems Maintenance You said we did Could you be a Tenant Inspector? New Housing Surgeries Launched
“The Government has promised to address this under-funding and we are awaiting announcements which we hope will give us the money we need from April 2011.”
edition
16
March 2010
thebigword telephone interpreting service The Council uses a 24-hour Telephone Interpreting Service, which also provides written or recorded translations including audio tapes and CDs. If you, a relative or a neighbour would like to talk to the Council through an interpreter, please contact your Area Housing Manager on 01962 840 222.
get it taped If you would like any of the information in on the house made available in large print or audio format, please call Glynis Cole on
Dear Readers I hope you kept warm and safe during the ice and snow and that Easter is warmer than Christmas! Spring is very much in the air and as always it’s the time to get back into the gardens and discover if your plants made it through the winter. Don’t forget to get ready for the annual gardening competition, which this year includes a new category. The entry form will be in the June edition of on the house.
I would like to hear your views about on the house. We ask these questions every few years and it’s really important to hear from you so that we get our communication right! I look forward to hearing from you!
Glynis Cole
Freephone 0800 716 987.
TEXTPHONE This facility is available for readers who are deaf or hard of hearing. Please telephone 01962 878 982. If you have any particular needs which affect how you are able to use or be involved in our services or how you would like to receive information - for example translation, interpreters, Braille, audio tape, large print, sign language - please contact the Customer Service Centre either by telephone: 01962 840 222 or by email: customerservice@ winchester.gov.uk Winchester City Council, City Offices, Colebrook Street, Winchester, SO23 9LJ. telephone 01962 840 222 fax 01962 841 365 email housing@winchester.gov.uk website www.winchester.gov.uk Telephone calls may be recorded.
Asbestos leaflet Look out for our ‘Facts About Asbestos’ leaflet inside, which has been updated in line with the Health & Safety Executives new initiative “Asbestos – the Hidden Killer”. We must stress that providing you follow the guidance in this leaflet you are at no risk from any material in your home that contains asbestos. Tradesmen are given strict instructions on how to deal with any asbestos they encounter in the course of their work to ensure that neither they nor you are put at any risk. There is no legal requirement for the Council to remove asbestos from its housing stock. If you do have any concerns, please contact Property Services on 01962 840 222.
Printed on 75% recycled paper.
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New Housing surgeries launched Two residents’ surgeries have been launched in Kings Worthy and Weeke. Area Housing Manager, Maria Dore will be at the monthly surgeries to help with tenancy issues including rent arrears and anti social behaviour. Various forms will be available, such as Housing Benefit, Change of Circumstances and Hampshire Home Choice applications, and Maria will be able to help people complete them.
Maria Dore
Maria said: “If you have a tenancy issue that you wish to discuss or you just want to meet me and put a face to a name, then please come in to see me on any of the dates below. You don’t need to make an appointment.” Maria is also available every Tuesday afternoon at the City Offices, Colebrook Street, and may be around at other times. She can also be contacted through customer services on 01962 840 222 or by email: mdore@winchester.gov.uk
Kings Worthy Surgery
Weeke Surgery
Meets: Last Saturday of the month: 24 April, 22 May, 26 June.
Meets: Thursday 8 April, 3 June, 8 July, 5 August, 9 September, 7 October
Where: Communal Lounge, Harwood Place, Kings Worthy
Where: Lanterns Children’s Centre, Bereweeke Road
Time: 10am-12noon.
Time: 10am-1pm.
It is being trialled for six months.
Our apology I would like to apologise to all our tenants for the leaflet that was sent with the quarterly rent statement. The leaflet was issued to everyone in error and we sincerely apologise for the distress and upset caused to those of you who pay your rent. Winchester City Council continues to be one of the best performing landlords in the area for collection of rent and our quick response when arrears increase is essential to maintain our good performance. The arrears leaflet was aimed at providing advice and assistance to
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those tenants in rent arrears and should not have been sent to the high proportion of good payers. We accept that this mistake does not meet the high standard of customer care that we aim to meet all of the time and we will ensure that this does not happen again. In the future any leaflet included with the quarterly statements will be a ‘Thank you’ to all of you who maintain clear rent accounts and general advice regarding the ways people can make payments and what to do if any of you experience problems paying. Richard Botham, Head of Landlord Services
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Could you be a Tenant Inspector? Would you like to help us review and improve our services? We will cover all out of pocket expenses including childcare and travel costs while you are working. You will need to commit to about six days over roughly about a two-month period and be able to attend training before you start. Our next inspection will be towards the end of this year and will cover Tenant Involvement.
For an information sheet, please contact the Tenant Involvement team on Freephone 0800 716 987 or by email: tenantinvolvement@winchester.gov.uk
“The training and inspections were a great experience,” said Paul Bungey.
You can also visit www.winchester.gov.uk and follow the links to Council Housing and tenant participation.
Housing Term Maintenance Contracts
Changes to Heating Systems Maintenance
Contracts for day-to-day responsive maintenance and reinstatement of void properties are to be renewed in April 2011. The work is worth around £3million a year and so the Council has to follow strict European Union (EU) procurement procedures. A team of Council Officers has been compiling the tender documents since last October and has consulted members of TACT – Tenants and Council Together. The Tenders are due to be published in April and the Council will make its final decision on the contractor by December 2010. The new contracts will start in April 2011. The Council is tendering separately for Environmental services including refuse collection, recycling and pest control. If you think improvements are needed to the current service give the Tenant Involvement team a ring on Freephone 0800 716 987.
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Engineers from the Kinetics Group are now responsible for servicing and maintenance of all gas and solid fuel boilers. These engineers were originally employed by 1st Saxon Clenmay, which was part of the Renovo Services Group Ltd. When Renovo went into receivership in November 2009 all staff and engineers employed on the Winchester City Council contract transferred to the Kinetics Group. Kinetics engineers have continued to provide a committed service especially during the worst winter we have experienced in the UK for 30 years. Kinetics is an experienced provider of all types of maintenance services in the social housing sector. Once the legal transfer is completed the Council will write to all tenants affected by this change. Should you have any queries please contact the Customer Services Team on 01962 840 222.
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What do you think of
Win £50 prize
Awards Hat Trick For Community Alarm Service
Winchester City Council is committed to communicating with tenants and leaseholders about all aspects of the housing service. As you may know, we involve tenants through TACT (Tenants and Council Together) and other formal and informal groups. We also give you the latest news through on the house and Tenant News. Tenant Involvement Manager Glynis Cole said: “It is really important to hear what you think of on the house: do you like the newsletter, do you read it and do you find it interesting!” You will see a survey form inside this issue – please complete and return it to the Freepost address by Friday 23rd April 2010. It won’t take long and everyone who replies will be entered into a prize draw for a £50 of Luv2shop high street vouchers. Alternatively to complete the survey online go to www.surveymonkey.com/s/onthehouse
Lynn Curtis, Claire Scott and Richard Botham with the awards presented to the Council’s Community Alarm Service. The three awards mark full accreditation of the Telecare Services Association’s three performance standards – dealing with emergency call handling, responding service and equipment installation.
Problems with a neighbour? This new service may help. The Council has launched a new, free service to help resolve problems between neighbours. Winchester Assessment Service can help to resolve neighbour problems such as noise nuisance, verbal abuse, parking, rubbish or issues over the use of communal areas. Your Area Housing Manager can refer you to this independent service and then both you and your neighbour will be visited separately by a trained impartial Assessment Officer. The Officer will provide a balanced report of their findings to your Area Housing Manager. This will include recommending solutions for your problems, one of which may be a referral to mediation.
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If a referral is made to mediation, you will be visited by an independent mediator who will hear your story. They will then visit your neighbour to hear their version of events. You will be encouraged to hear each other’s point of view and reach a confidential informal agreement. Assessment and Mediation are successful in resolving low level cases of nuisance and anti-social behaviour because people often do not realise the impact of their behaviour on others. For further information about the service, please contact your Area Housing Manager on 01962 840 222.
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Paying your rent- Giving Notice If you are moving home you must give us written notice to end your make life easier tenancy. You can either fill in a termination form or send us a signed letter. with Direct Debit Your notice period starts from the date the Council receives your form and you must give:
Your rent or licence fee is due every week and has to be paid regularly and in advance. We know that it can be difficult getting out to pay the rent or post a letter but you will receive a reminder if your rent is late and we haven’t been warned. Why not pay by Direct Debit, which avoids the inconvenience and worry. There are many advantages: G
Rent is collected automatically
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If amount changes we will write to you before the money is taken
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It is cheaper for the council to collect rent by Direct Debit
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More money is available to spend on essential repairs.
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Four weeks’ written notice to end the current tenancy.
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Two weeks’ written notice if you are transferring to another Council home or a property owned by one of our partner housing associations.
We will write to you, letting you know the date your tenancy will end and when you must return the keys. You must continue to pay your rent and charges during your notice period. If you move home and do not give us notice you will continue to be charged for the property until we are legally able to end your tenancy. This could lead to you getting rent arrears which you will be responsible for paying. Printed termination forms are available from the Customer Service Centre, support staff for older people’s housing and your Area Housing Manager. Please contact the Customer Service Centre on 01962 840 222 if you would like to talk to us about giving notice.
Rent Arrears – Advice and Update Tenants with money problems will be given help and advice to clear rent arrears but we can only help if you tell us about these problems. Last year, the Council was granted more than 500 possession orders and actually evicted four tenants for non-payment of rent.
Under the Direct Debit guarantee scheme, your bank or building society will refund you immediately if money is taken from your account in error.
Rent and council tax arrears are considered priority debts, which means they are considered more important than store cards and catalogue accounts.
More information is available on our website, www.winchester.gov.uk or from the Rents team on 01962 840 222.
“If it is a long term problem you can discuss with your Area Housing Manager a way forward and how you can get help.”
Zadia Green, Arrears Officer, said: “If the problem is short term an agreement can be reached to pay a little extra on top of the weekly rent to clear the arrears gradually.
Paying the rent is your responsibility and failure to pay could mean losing your home. Between April and December last year, the Council: G
Served 510 Notices of Seeking Possession
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Evicted 4 tenants
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Was awarded 35 Possession Orders by the Courts.
Please contact your Area Housing Manager on 01962 840 222 for more information.
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You said... We did... ( ) We take your views very seriously and although it is not always practical or cost efficient to action all the suggestions we receive from you, every suggestion is considered on its own merit. If you want to get more involved in improving your housing service and community but don’t have a lot of time to attend meetings then register with Tenant Talk, where you can choose how and when to be involved. For more information give the Tenants Involvement team a call on Freephone 0800 716 987 or by email tenantinvolvement@winchester.gov.uk. Or complete a registration form on line at www.winchester.gov.uk/TACT and click on Tenant Talk on the right hand side of the page. We also consider comments made through questionnaires, forums, and Tenant and Resident group meetings. Below are some of your suggestions and the action we have taken.
You said
We did
You wanted to be able to have more opportunity to comment on the repairs service you receive.
We changed the format of our green Customer Care Cards to include more questions about the standard of work carried out and the tradesmen who attended. We are also carrying out telephone surveys during the evening to give you the best chance of feeding your comments back to us. Your comments, both good and bad are fed back to contractors to help them review and improve the service they offer.
Residents in Pine Road, Bishops Waltham complained that people were parking inconsiderately and damaging grass verges when dropping their children at school.
We arranged for a ‘no parking on grass verge’ sign to be erected to help prevent vehicles parking and damaging the verge.
Residents in Fleming Place, Colden Common and Greens Close, Bishops Waltham complained that people were parking inconsiderately in existing parking areas around the flats and houses.
We arranged to have white lines painted in the car park to make clear parking bays to encourage more considerate parking for residents of the flats and houses as well as a Resident Only parking sign in Bishops Waltham.
Thank you for your suggestions, keep them coming in! on the house
Contact Details Reminder
Please let us know if you have changed your home or mobile telephone number, or your email address. Call the Customer Service Centre on 01962 840 222 or email us housing@winchester.gov.uk and we will update your details. It is important for us to have the correct contact details in case we need to get in touch with you.
Abandonment If you think a property may have been abandoned, please let your Area Housing Manager know. Signs of abandonment include: G
Not seeing the occupants for several weeks
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Curtains not being drawn or opened
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Bins not being put out or taken in
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No lights on in the property in the evenings.
Your Area Housing Manager who can be contacted on 01962 840 222, will investigate all reports of abandoned properties. If a property is abandoned we want to take action as soon as possible so we can re-let the property to someone else.
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New novelty prize in garden competition! The Council has included a new ‘Novelty Container’ category in the annual Garden Competition.
Front Garden, Best Hanging Basket and Best Sheltered Scheme categories. Judging will take place in the summer.
All tenants and leaseholders are able to take part in the competition which includes Best
Look out for the entry form in the June edition of on the house.
Garden competition winners 2009
Do you need help at home or in the garden? Are you are aged over 60 or disabled and do you need help with odd jobs or gardening? Residents in the Winchester City Council district can now get help from two local organisations, that will help people live independently in their own homes.
Odd jobs around the home
The service is provided by ‘In touch’ and is supported by Hampshire County Council’s Adult Services. Jobs include: G
Plumbing (replacing taps & washers)
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Replacing doors, boxing in of pipes, putting up shelves
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Fitting light bulbs
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Erecting flat-pack furniture.
The ‘In touch’ service costs £10 plus VAT (discounts for people on meanstested benefit) and you can either supply your own materials or buy them from ‘In touch’. All ‘In touch’ handypersons have an enhanced Criminal Records Bureau check. The Council is still responsible for its repairs obligations as set out in your tenancy conditions and Handbook. More details are also available from ‘In touch’ on 0845 459 5036 or www.intouchsupport.co.uk
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Hampshire Over 60s Gardening Support Service
Residents aged over 60 can get gardening help through a service launched by Hampshire County Council in July last year. The charity Shaw Trust has a team of staff and volunteers who provide a professional garden maintenance service: G
Available to tenants or homeowners in Hampshire
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All year round gardening
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Up to six visits each year
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Each visit lasts up to four hours
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One-off visits can be arranged.
The service is not free but there is a reduced rate for people on means tested benefit. Shaw Trust has over 20 years’ experience of providing horticultural services and all staff and volunteers are checked by the Criminal Records Bureau. For further information, including prices and details of how the service operates, telephone 0845 6044 643.
Email grounds.maintenance@shaw-trust.org.uk or visit Website www.shaw-trust.org.uk/hampshire_gardening_service You can also contact the Customer Service Centre on 01962 840 222. Winchester City Council does not guarantee any work carried out under these services and is not responsible for the maintenance or replacement of any fixtures and fittings installed by ‘In touch’.
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TELL US WHAT YOU THINK OF ON THE HOUSE
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We’d like to know what you think of on the house. Please take a couple of minutes to fill in our questionnaire and return it to the FREEPOST address at the end. To complete this form on line go to www.surveymonkey.com/s/onthehouse 1
2
Including yourself, how many people in your household have looked through/read on the house?
When on the house arrived did you: Read it in detail
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er the for more de page tails)
How interesting to you is the information in on the house? Very interesting
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Put it in recycling
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Win £50 o f Luv2Shop vouchers (See ov
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b
The use of colour
c
The style
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If you ticked ‘No’ to Q7 can you briefly explain why and/or which sections were difficult to read. (This will help us improve future editions)
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Are there any topics you would like to see covered in future issues? a b c
Questionnaire
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10 What else could we do to make the newsletter more interesting?
11 Would you be interested in joining a small group of people to help with editing tenants’ publications? Yes No Some questions about you The information provided in this section will only be used to help us analyse your responses to this questionnaire in greater depth and will not be used to identify individual responses. You don’t have to answer these questions, but anything you tell us about yourself will help us to improve our newsletter. 12 How old are you? Please answer the question in this section buy putting a tick in the appropriate box 16 to 24
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Your Post Code (This helps us analyse the responses by where you live in the district, we can not identify individuals from this information) To be entered into the prize draw to win £50 worth of Luv2Shop high street vouchers please complete the next section. Name Address
Post Code Daytime Tel. Number Mobile Tel. Number Email Address
If you have any particular needs which affect how you are able to use or be involved in our services or how you would like to receive information - for example, translation, interpreters, Braille, audio tape, large print, sign language - please contact the Customer Service Centre either by telephone: 01962 840 222 or by email: customerservice@winchester.gov.uk
Thank you for taking the time to complete the survey. Please put it in an envelope and address it to: The Tenant Involvement Manager, Winchester City Council, FREEPOST NAT15377, Winchester, SO23 9ZW by Friday 23rd April 2010.