Housing Officer​

Arneway residents are assigned a housing officer who’s your main point of contact – the person you go to first when you need something from us. Your housing officer will be the person you can trust to help you to get the best outcome in the event of an issue.

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They will help you to sort out any issues in your home or with your tenancy – particularly things to do with your rent, repairs, your tenancy or any problems you are having in your home and resolve issues or problems as quickly as possible, keeping you informed about progress and offering you choices where we can.

Offer you help and advice.

You should have confidence in us so we will always try to set realistic expectations, whilst always doing what we say we will.

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.

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FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES OR FINANCIAL HARDSHIP

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

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.

Repairs

Please see the section Who is responsible for what, by click here.

Who is responsible for decorating your home?

You are responsible for decorating the interior of your home, with a stipulated instruction that it must be refreshed to a good standard within a five year period.

​We are responsible for decorating the outside of your home, and any communal areas of the building.

​Redecorating takes place on a planned programme of work and we aim to repaint the outside of your home every five years.

Can you get help to decorate or improve your home?

You are reminded that there maybe incentives are available to assist with this instruction. Please contact the office and ask for more information.

​What if you need adaptations to your home?

If due to health or disability you require alterations or adaptations to your home, eg fitting grab rails in bathrooms, provision of a shower rather than bath, we may be able to help. We have a limited budget available each year to cover these alterations.

​We may need to prioritise alterations according to need. Grants may also be available from other sources and we will give advice if we are unable to help.

​Procedures for requesting an alteration/adaptation may vary dependent on where you live, but it is likely that having discussed your needs we will ask that you seek a letter from a Occupational Therapist setting out their written recommendation for the adaptation / alteration.

​For further information please contact the office.

What is the Right to Repair?

In law, you have a right to be compensated where we fail to have a repair carried out within a specified timescale and then fail to complete the repair once you have further requested it for a second time.

The repair must be a qualifying one which if left would jeopardise your health, safety or security. All repairs listed under Categories A and B are qualifying repairs with the exception of:

Boarding up for security.

Externally leaking overflows.

Fire door closures.

​Manhole covers.

The amount of compensation you may claim is a flat rate of £10, plus £2 per day up to a maximum of £50, for each day the repair remains late. The Right to Repair does not give you the right to carry out a repair yourself and then be compensated. For further details please contact the office.

Condensation

Condensation is caused by warm, moist air hitting a cold surface. It is most noticeable in bathrooms and kitchens but it can also affect other rooms. With proper ventilation, condensation can be avoided or reduced.

Condensation can be reduced by doing the following:

Open your windows. This will help water in the air to escape your home.

Leave your “trickle vents” open. On most modern windows there will be a vent on your window frame which you can open. These will let water out without losing the heat from your property.

Don’t dry clothes on the radiator – use a drying rack

Close the door and open the windows when you cook, showering or bathing

Leave a gap between furniture (such as wardrobes) and the walls to allow air to circulate.

Make sure your kitchen and bathroom fans are working. Hold a piece of paper over the fan when it’s on. If it stays there when you take your hand away it is functioning. If you think it is broken – talk to your housing officer.

Sometimes condensation can cause a black stain on walls and paintwork. You can wash this off using a suitable cleaner or diluted bleach solution (you may need to do this more than once). However, if the stain doesn’t go away please contact your housing officer. ​

Neighbour disputes

Our tenancy conditions are intended to make sure that you, your family and your guests are considerate to those people living around you. Most homes we provide are very close together and some have shared areas. This means that a certain amount of noise and differences in lifestyle should be expected. Sometimes these differences may lead to a disagreement between neighbours. In most cases you should try and sort out these problems yourself. Raising the issue with your neighbour and explaining the effect it is having on you is usually the best way forward. Your neighbour may not be aware they are disturbing you and you could reach a compromise together.

If you’re not able to solve the problem on your own, or don’t feel able to speak to your neighbour, then you should discuss the issue with your housing officer. They may be able to refer you to a mediation service or provide other advice on resolving the problem.

Anti-social behaviour

We want our residents to live in a safe, secure and comfortable environment. Tenants are responsible for their own behaviour as well as that of their family members and visitors.

Anti-social behaviour comes in many different forms:

Abandoned vehicles.

​Criminal damage.

Drug dealing

​Fly tipping.

Littering.

Out of control dogs.

Playing loud music late at night.

Racial Abuse.

Vandalism.

We would not generally consider household noise such as children playing to be anti-social behaviour.

Antisocial Behaviour Resolution Service

When you are experiencing antisocial behaviour it can detrimental for your wellbeing. We have contracted ASB Operations to be your first port of call if you are experiencing anti social behaviour, during hours the office is closed, from 5pm to 9am weekdays and 5pm Friday to 9am on Monday or Tuesday on Bank Holidays. Take a few moments to visit their website and see how they might help you if you are subject to someone else behaviour.

Respect Line is an out of hours helpline number available to residents experiencing problems of antisocial behaviour. Their team are available whenever the Housing Offices are closed.

Respect Line already works with over 50 Associations all over the country, covering no less than 250,000 social housing properties, making the service the largest dedicated ASB Helpline in the UK.

Please visit ‘The ASB App’ section of the ASB Operations website for further information about how their new innovative and unique evidence app will help transform the way your Association tackles anti social behaviour.

If you report anti-social behaviour to ASB they will:

Take this seriously and investigate your problem.

Offer support and communicate with you in your own language if needed.

Put you in touch with any local support groups.

Carry out any necessary repairs.

Provide extra security or try to move you if it is not safe for you to stay in your home.

Take action to resolve the problem.

​For those commenting anti-social behaviour it should be noted that legal action can be taken and for the most serious kinds of anti-social behaviour, this can lead to someone losing their home.

Harassment and hate crime

We believe that everyone has the right to live in peace. Harassment and hate crime may be motivated by race, gender, sexuality, age, disability or religion. Abuse, harassment and violence against customers will not be tolerated.

If you experience harassment, you can:

​Report it to your housing officer.

​Report it to the police.

​Report it via a third party support organisation.

We will take action to resolve the harassment or hate crime.

This is a serious form of anti-social behaviour and can lead to someone losing their home.

​If you see or hear harassment, hate crime or anti social behaviour please report it to your housing officer even if you are not directly involved.

Your rights
Data protection

Under the Data Protection Act 1998, you have a right to check any details we hold about you in our records. There are a few exceptions. For example, you will not be able to see information given to us by other people (like doctors or social workers) except with their permission. If you would like to see your records, contact your housing officer who will explain the procedure and arrangements.

All information we have about our residents is confidential. Usually we will not give your details to anyone without your permission. There are a few specific exceptions to this, where strict guidelines apply. For example we may share information with authorities and agencies (such as the government agencies, police or local authorities) to:

Help prevent and detect fraud.

Help prevent and detect crime.

Meet other legal obligations.

Support local strategies to reduce crime and disorder.

We will provide limited information to Housing Benefit offices and the Department for Work and Pensions to help you if you are claiming benefits. We will also provide limited information to gas and electricity providers. We will give your details to other members of staff only when it is necessary to provide a service to you. We treat it very seriously if someone breaks confidentiality. You should make a complaint if you feel your privacy has not been respected.

Resident involvement

There are many formal and informal ways in which we welcome your involvement in our work.

These include:
Local Scrutiny Panels that scrutinise and challenge how we deliver services in your local area. These panels are made up of residents who examine and comment on the services they receive from us.

Service panels that monitor and challenge how we deliver our services

Local residents’ and tenant associations that provide a starting point for residents who want to get involved in decision-making processes.

Service reviews where you can work with us in looking at the whole range of services we provide and to agree changes to the way we deliver these services.

Consultation about proposals involving changes in housing management practices and policy.

We welcome suggestions from you for improvements in our services, including suggestions for greater resident involvement in managing our activities. To get involved, talk to your housing officer or send an email to Arneway Housing Co-operative Limited.

Complaints

We aim to give you an excellent service and we want to know when you are unhappy with our service.

You can tell us about your complaint on the telephone, in writing, by email or at a visit.

Often an issue can easily be solved on the day that you raise it as a ‘quick fix’. If not, it will be treated as a complaint and given to an appropriate member of staff who will contact you to clarify the issue and agree how and when it will be resolved. If you remain unhappy following our initial response you will have the opportunity to have your complaint reviewed by a manager who will have access to independent advice.

If you are not satisfied with the outcome you can then refer your complaint to the Independent Housing Ombudsman Service. Please note they will only usually look at a resident complaint once it has been all the way through our complaint process.

Your housing officer can give you a copy of our complaints process.

Moving home

If you want to move home you can find out about your options by speaking to your housing officer. ​

If you are considering moving home then it’s best to consider all of your different options. Below are the two most common ways to move home. ​

Please note: if you have breached your tenancy, including anti-social behaviour or rent arrears, you might not be able to move through these means. You should discuss your personal circumstances with your housing officer.

Applying for a transfer.

When you apply for a transfer you will be given a banding depending on your housing need and you will be able to view properties that you are eligible for at www.locata.org.uk. To register, contact your housing officer who can send you more information. ​

Bands range from A (highest priority) to D. Your banding will depend on a number of things, including whether you have a medical condition. Your housing officer will make sure that your personal circumstances are taken into account. Depending on the property size you need and the areas you’ll consider moving to, if you are in band C or D it could take years before a transfer will be available. ​

One of the quickest ways to move is to find someone who wants to swap their property with yours. This is called a ‘mutual exchange’. It’s a particularly good option if you want or need to move to a larger property. ​

If you want to apply then the best place to start is a national mutual exchange website called HomeSwapper. It lists thousands of properties across London that are available for exchange. You can look at properties by price, area and number of bedrooms. You can register for free at www.homeswapper.co.uk

Also, speak to your housing officer who can advise you if there are any potential properties in the area you would like to move to.

We are committed to making best use of our homes, and will offer incentives to those who have spare bedroom(s) to encourage them to move to a smaller home. To find out what is available and if you would qualify, speak to your housing officer.

The Ombudsman’s Service For you records, please make a note of the following:

The Ombudsman,
Housing Ombudsman Service,
Exchange Tower, Harbour Exchange Square,
London. E14 9GE
Telephone : 0300 111 3000

Lines are open Monday to Friday from 9:15 to 17:15 (except public holidays). Calls are recorded for training and monitoring purposes.

Email : info@housing-ombudsman.org.uk

You can also follow the Ombudsman’s Service on Twitter and LinkedIn.

If you would like to make a complaint, please visit the link below and use their online complaint form.

Getting help from the Housing Ombudsman
If you have a query or want to check something before making a complaint to us please call the Ombudsman’s office on the above number. They will welcome your call.