Safety and Quality

We will:

General

• Treat all residents, regardless of tenure, with courtesy, fairness and respect.
• Be responsive to customer needs and aim to ensure that you can make best use of our services.

• Service the boiler in every occupied property that has a gas supply every 12 months.
• Review Fire Risk Assessments every year in Retirement Living Courts and bi-annually in general needs blocks of flats with communal areas.
• Carry out electrical testing in communal areas and tenanted properties once every 5 years.
• Install carbon monoxide alarms in our rented properties where there is gas, which are tested annually by the gas engineer where there is also a gas boiler.
• Install hardwired smoke alarms on each floor in all our properties. These are tested at the start of the tenancy and at the 5-year electrical testing.  
• Carry out inspections of communal areas in both general needs blocks and retirement living courts, including fire doors, ensuring communal areas are free from obstruction, and the area is free from graffiti, rubbish and vandalism.
• Employ Estate Wardens to ensure our estates are safe, free from graffiti, rubbish and vandalism.
• Implement our Water Safety Policy in Retirement Living Courts to minimise the risk of legionella.
• We undertake asbestos management tests in all communal areas through an annual visual inspection in accordance with the legislation and best practice. We also aim to test and inspect on a 10 year cycle any known asbestos in general needs property, subject to us being provided with access. Additionally, we undertake asbestos testing before any improvement works are carried out to properties.
• Carry out annual servicing on all lifts that we own.
• Operate a 24-hour service for emergency repairs.
• When a property is empty before it is re-let we will ensure it is safe in line with our lettable standards.
• Ensure we meet the decent homes standard
• Provide you with information on how to keep your home and building safe.
• Ensure residents are kept up to date about the safety of their building through a range of communication methods.

We have also appointed a Health and Safety lead who will ensure that all our buildings meet building safety obligations.

• Inspect a percentage of all repair orders after they have been completed to ensure works have been completed to a satisfactory standard.
• Carry out repair satisfaction surveys for all repairs completed in your home.
• Monitor and report our performance for percentage of repairs completed against our target times and satisfaction with repairs.
• Operate via a contractor in Retirement Living and age-restricted properties a lifeline emergency personal alarm service, 24 hours a day, every day of the year.
• Invest in energy efficiency measures to continue to improve all council housing stock to an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) level of C or higher where possible.
• Deliver environmental improvements across our estates. Including through the Community & Environmental Budget and accessing external funding working with Resident Associations wherever possible.
• Provide and improve online services so it is easier to report repairs, raise a query or view what has been reported.
• Take a zero-tolerance approach to damp and mould and act without delay (for example, carry out a mould wash as soon as possible and undertake any necessary remedial works to prevent reoccurrence).
• Our contractors will give you an appointment for the works when you contact us to report an issue. Our repairs timescales can be found here: Reporting a Repair
• We will recruit and work with estate and block champions to ensure the monitoring of contracted services and ensure any other issues on estates /communal areas are identified and dealt with quickly.
• Support the delivery of accessible housing through new build and purchases where there is funding and a specific need as well as through aids and adaptations. Setting aside money from the Housing Revenue Account to deliver adaptations in line with the Disabled Facilities Grant process and continue to fund in-house Occupational Therapist to ensure residents with additional needs continue to live independently in their homes.
• Fund Housing Solutions Officers to ensure residents which specific housing need are helped to access suitable housing.

We will build good quality energy efficient new Council Homes to rent and purchase on a shared ownership basis.