Our commitments to you:

Make it easy to communicate with us.

Treat you with courtesy.

We will answer your call quickly.

We will return phone messages within one working day.

We will respond to all letters and emails within five working days of receiving them.

When you have contact with us, we will listen and will try to understand what is most important to you.

We will help you to resolve your issue or problem as quickly as possible, keeping you informed about progress and offering you choices where we can.

Offer you help and advice.

We want you to have confidence in us so we will always try to set realistic expectations, whilst always doing what we say we will.

When we fail to meet this service promise, we will acknowledge this honestly and get your service back on track quickly.

We welcome feedback on how we’re performing so please feel free to contact the office, or by submitting an email, post, text or WhatApps message with your experiences.

In return we expect you to:

Pay your rent when it is due on time and on a regular basis.

Keep to the terms of your tenancy agreement.

Keep your home, common areas and any garden in a clean and/or tidy condition.

Carry out repairs that you are responsible for:

Please click here to take you to our repairs information which explains “Who is responsible for what?”.

Allow our staff and contractors access to your home to carry out repairs and inspections as required.

Not threaten or harass or be aggressive to neighbours, Co-operative staff or contractors, and ensure that nobody visiting your home does, either.

To contribute to the Co-op’s running by volunteering for committee work, the details which are stipulated in your Tenancy Agreement. Further information is available from you Housing Officer.

It is important to attend General Meetings and behave in a proper manner and abide by the Chair of the meetings.

Equal opportunities

We provide the best quality homes and services we can to a wide range of residents who represent various cultures, races, religions, sexes, ages, abilities, sexualities and gender identities. We are committed to equal opportunities and expect all board members, staff, contractors, member residents, and those who provide us with goods and services to follow our equal opportunities policy.

Please ask the office if you would like to see a copy.

About your tenancy

The Tenancy Agreement you have signed is a contract between you and the Arneway Housing Co-operative. It contains a range of rights and responsibilities, many of which we describe in other parts of this website in addition they are detailed in the Handbook.

The tenancy is on a week by week basis as stipulated in the Tenancy Agreement.

Any plans to do major work to your home will be discussed and your comments considered.

Whenever your home is renovated, choices on colours and layout will be offered.

Money may be set aside annually to improve your living environment and it is Arneway’s intention to use these funds meaningfully for its members.

Each member’s home will be visited at least once a year with notice.

Please read the Tenancy Agreement carefully to ensure your responsibilities as a tenant and our responsibilities as your landlord are clear and fully understood.

We will always try to sort out problems without having to take legal action. However, we will take legal action if you do not cooperate or you break agreements. We will also take legal action to repossess your home if you are no longer living in it or illegally sub-letting to someone else to recover any losses, costs and Interest.

Improving our services:

We will carry out customer surveys periodically to get your views and will let you know the results.

Whenever we want to review our service we will consult with you. We will respond positively to any suggestions for improving services.

We will talk to, and involve you in any best value reviews which reconsider how services are delivered.

We will put in place any agreed service improvements.

We will treat everyone equally and let you have your say.

Involving you

We will publish and promote our Resident Involvement Strategy.

We will provide you a residents newsletter that gives you news on our business.

We will provide you with a local Residents Forum so that you can be directly involved in our work. We will lend support to any community regeneration project that affects you, your family and your home.

When things go wrong

We will try and put things right straight away if you are not happy with our service.

We will ask you if you want to use our complaints procedure and will award compensation, in some cases, if our service has failed.

Leaving your home and giving up your tenancy

If you are leaving your home, you should give your housing officer one weeks’ notice in writing.

You should leave your old home in a good state of decoration and repair and remove all furniture and belongings, also remembering to clean the accommodation prior to leaving.

This means

Repair any minor faults that are your responsibility (for example, fill in holes in the walls where you have removed shelves or pictures).

The decorations should be of a standard that the next tenant can move in and live in the home without needing to decorate. Decoration should be refreshed every five years.

Empty the home of all your belongings and rubbish.

The home should be clean, especially kitchen units, windows, baths and sinks.

Property check out

We will inspect your home before you leave and may recharge you for carrying out any work that is your responsibility.

Furnishings

All properties come unfurnished and inventories / property checks will be carried out at the beginning and end of tenancies to confirm the condition of all aspects of the accommodation.

Paying the rent

All tenancies must set up a standing order, this may be updated and other terms may be available. This document will be updated on that occasion.

Ending tenancies

To end an your tenancy you need to advise Arneway Housing Co-operative Limited, who will then arrange for things like inventory prior to your departure. Tenancies may be ended by Arneway if a resident’s circumstances change and they are no longer eligible for the property.

Rent and other charges

Your tenancy agreement will tell you how much your rent is at the start of your tenancy. This figure will change as we review your rent yearly.

You must pay your rent each week or month in advance dependent on the terms of your tenancy agreement. If you have a weekly tenancy you can pay every fortnight or every month if you want, but you must make sure your rent account balance is always one week in credit.

It is your responsibility to make sure that your rent is paid regularly and on time.

Upon request we will send you a statement of what you have paid. If you are in good standing this can be requested electronically. If you are in arrears, statements will be raised and posted. to the property.

We will retain proof of posting and it will be used as part of the submission for any litigation, ie Court proceedings.

If you have difficulties paying your rent

It is a condition of your tenancy that your rent is paid regularly and in advance. Your home is at risk if you do not pay your rent. However, we appreciate that you may have difficulties paying your rent from time to time, and we will do everything we can to help you.

Rent arrears

Please contact your housing office who will be able to offer advice and help you. If you have rent arrears (missed payments) and cannot pay these straight away, you may be able to make an arrangement to pay them over a period of time.

Financial difficulties and / or hardship

IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO COMMUNICATE WITH ARNEWAY IF YOU ARE EXPERIENCING ANY FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES OR FINANCIAL HARDSHIP.

Service charges

We sometimes provide services to tenants that incur an extra charge, like:

Cleaning shared areas.

Entry phones.

Heating and/or hot water.

Lifts.

Sinking fund

This may be introduced to deal with improvements at some point.

Your tenancy agreement will list the services that are covered by your service charge.

If you receive Housing Benefit this may not cover some charges such as heating and hot water provided to your home, so you may have to pay some charges yourself.

Housing Benefit

If you are on a low income or if you receive other welfare benefits, you may be entitled to help with paying your rent. Contact the Housing Benefit Department of your local council for information on how to claim and how much you may be entitled to.

Managing your Housing Benefit claim is your responsibility and it can be complicated. If you are not sure about any aspect of your claim, ask your housing officer who will be able to officer advice and support. If you are waiting for your Housing Benefit claim to be assessed or are receiving Housing Benefit, it is still your legal responsibility to make sure your rent is paid in full. This means that if the rent is not paid (whether or not it is your fault) you still owe us the missing rent. Also, if Housing Benefit does not cover all of your rent, you are responsible for paying the difference.

Please check that payments are being made and take action if there is a problem, or contact your housing officer.

You must tell the Housing Benefit Department about any change in your circumstances, including:

Changes in your income.

Rent increases.

If you are going away for more than a few weeks.

If you enter or leave full-time education.

If you fail to report changes, your local council may pay you too much benefit (which you will have to pay back) and treat it as deliberate fraud.

Your Local Authority Housing Benefit Department can send you a letter at any time requesting details and evidence from you. Make sure you reply in the timescale they set or you may not receive the money to which you are entitled. If it’s possible we advise you to get a receipt for any evidence or documents you submit.

Losing your home is not the only risk you face if you fall behind with your rent:

Court orders can affect your credit rating and you may not be able to borrow money. You will have to pay the cost of any court hearing.

We will not usually transfer you, or allow you to mutually exchange until you have paid the arrears.

If you lose your home your local council may not rehouse you because you have made yourself ‘intentionally homeless’.

Banks, building societies or other lending agencies can ask us for references on your payments, and a poor reference may mean you cannot get a mortgage or other loan.