Service Standards

How we measure up

This information tells you what standards of service you can expect from Helena Partnerships. We want to provide you with the best possible service. In this leaflet we tell you about the standards of service you can expect from us, and how we monitor our performance against these standards.

When we get in touch with you

When we call on you at home we will:

Wear our identity badges.
Tell you in advance when we are going to call on you.
Let you know if we are going to be late for an appointment or need to cancel it.

When we talk to you on the phone we will:

Be polite and helpful.
Answer your call within 5 rings.
Tell you who you are speaking to.
Reply to telephone messages within 1 working day of receiving them.
Write to you within 5 working days if we cannot contact you by phone.
Give you full information about our services.
Provide a Typetalk and Minicom service for hearing-impaired people.

And by letter we will:

Answer all letters in full within five working days of receiving them. When the reply takes longer, we will send you an acknowledgement within 5 working days and a full response within 20 working days.
Written replies will include name and contact details of the person dealing with the matter.
Letters and leaflets will be written in plain language.

If you e-mail us:

We will respond to your email within 4 working hours.

When you call into one of our offices we will:

Answer your enquiry efficiently and sensitively.
Offer you a private interview room if your enquiry is confidential or sensitive, or if you need to make a private phone call to another Helena Partnerships office.

You can help us by:

Being polite and considerate to your neighbours and our employees and contractors.
Taking care of your home.
Reporting repairs promptly.
Keeping your garden tidy and clear of rubbish.
Keeping your pets under control.
Reporting graffiti and rubbish in your neighbourhood so we can arrange to remove it.
Allowing access into your home to carry out improvements, repairs and gas servicing.

Moving into your new home

Our empty properties team will:

Ensure all our empty properties are secure.
Put net curtains at the windows and only use steel shutters when absolutely necessary.
Check all work carried out on empty homes before you move in to make sure that the work meets agreed standards.
Clean all homes before you move in, including removing building debris, cleaning kitchens, bathrooms, floors, woodwork and the inside of windows.

When you are ready to move into your new home we will:

Arrange for you to sign the tenancy agreement the working day after you have accepted the property.
Give you a copy of your new tenancy agreement in a format that is appropriate to you.
Make a referral to the Fire Service for a home safety and fire check.

After you have moved in we will:

Consult you, in writing, on any changes to your tenancy agreement.
Contact you within 20 working days of moving in to make sure you are settling in and provide advice as necessary.
Carry out a gas and electricity safety check within 48 hours of you moving into your new home

Furnished Accommodation

When you accept a furnished tenancy, we will ensure that:

The quality of furniture you will receive will be of a high standard. You will have a choice of colours for soft furnishings, carpets and vinyl.
The furniture is delivered on the agreed date. Whenever possible we will try to ensure that this is within the first week of the start of your tenancy.
Cookers and washing machines are installed for you.
If we reuse some furniture, that it is clean and of a good condition.
You know your service charge for your furniture from the start date of your tenancy.

Keeping in touch with you

We will visit you within 4 weeks of starting your tenancy
We will carry out an annual visit, to check the condition of your furniture and to see if you have any repairs and listen to any comments you may have

Repairing and replacing furniture and equipment

If you report a repair, it will be completed within 5 working days.
If an item needs replacing, we will advise you of a delivery date.

Estate Services

Our Estate Caretakers will:

Remove any offensive graffiti within 2 working days of being told about it.
Remove fly tipping or rubbish on our land within five working days of being told about it.
Clean designated communal areas as part of our monthly maintenance schedule.
Report issues affecting the health and safety of residents and tenants straight away to the relevant manager.

Getting involved

The team that deals with Community Engagement will:

Review our arrangements for involving residents and publicise these arrangements.
Publicise how you can get involved through our residents’ newsletter Helena Headlines.
Consult you about changes that affect you.
Set money aside each year to be spent on Community Engagement.
Provide funding for resident groups recognised by us, and offer support at meetings.
Offer support and training to all residents wishing to start a resident group.
Support community and estate agreements and tenant management organisations.

Anti-Social Behaviour

Our neighbourhood and anti-social behaviour teams will:

Respond within 24 hours to all reports of nuisance and racial harassment where there is a risk to you or damage to your home.
Respond to all other reports of anti-social behaviour within 7 working days.
Publicise details of our successes including ASBO’s, injunctions, possessions and evictions for anti-social behaviour.
Arrange for mediation, if appropriate, if it can help neighbours resolve disputes.
Work with other organisations such as the Police and the local authority to deal with anti-social behaviour.
Keep notes on all cases and communicate on a monthly basis with the people who have complained about anti-social behaviour.
Issue everyone who uses the service with a customer satisfaction survey.

Rent and Service charges

We will:

Tell you about the different ways to pay your rent in leaflets, newsletters, posters and our website.
Send a rent statement to you every three months.
Offer advice on benefits you might be entitled to, and arrange an appointment with our Welfare Benefits Officer if needed.
Help you to complete housing benefit claim forms.

How much you pay:

There is a set limit to how much your rent can go up each year. The most your rent can go up is by the rate of inflation plus 0.5% plus £2 per week. So if your rent is £50 per week and inflation is 2.5%, it can’t go up by more than £3.50 in any year.
There is also a limit to how much any service charges you pay can go up every year. We will write to you to tell you about any changes to service charges.
Your rent will increase on the first Monday of every April. We will not increase your rent at any other time. We will write to you at least a month before any increase, telling you what your new rent will be.

Helena Partnerships is committed to a ‘firm but fair’ approach to people who do not pay the rent that they owe us.

We aim to:

Write or telephone you as soon as you fall behind with your rent payments.
Offer you a private interview at one of our offices or in your home.
Agree reasonable repayment rates to clear the amount you owe.
Help you get extra income by checking extra benefits you may be able to claim.
Give you advice if you need it about managing debts and budgeting. We can refer you to specialists such as the Citizens Advice Bureau.
Take legal action against tenants who can pay but will not do so.
Seek eviction only as a last resort.

Having work done on your home

We want to make sure we provide the best possible customer care when doing work in your home. Most repairs are carried out by our own Building Services team and we also use approved contractors.

When you report a repair we will tell you how long it will take to complete.

Emergency - We respond to emergency repairs within 24 hours.
Urgent - These are repairs that seriously affect day to day living. Urgent repairs will be completed within 5 working days.
Routine - These will be carried out within 20 working days and you will be offered an appointment that is convenient to you.
External Maintenance - If your repair is not urgent we may decide to wait and carry out other similar repairs in one area at the same time. We will write to you if this is the case with the repair you have reported.

External repairs are often things outside your home that wear out over time like gutters and fences. We will carry out these repairs within 6 months and write to you before the work begins.

We will paint any woodwork outside your home every 6 years. Gas appliances are serviced every year. You must give us access to your home to check your gas appliances.

Equality and Diversity

We want to make sure everyone is treated fairly and has the same opportunity to use our services. We want to make sure we treat everyone with dignity and respect.

We aim to:

Offer all of our printed information in other formats such as Braille, audio tape or another language if you ask for it.
Make sure that tenants from minority groups feel confident to live where they choose, free from harassment or prejudice.
Make sure the homes we provide to tenants with diverse needs are of suitable type and design and in their preferred location.
Let our homes in an open and accountable way and not discriminate against anyone.
Promote participation and consultation with all sections of the community.
Work with all sections of the community to understand their diverse needs, promote regeneration and tackle disadvantage.
Treat any breach of our equality and diversity policy very seriously and investigate any breaches as soon as we know about them.
Train our employees and our contractors in equality and diversity.
Understand how our customers want us to communicate with them.

Complaints

Helena Partnerships welcomes your comments as it helps us to improve our services to you.

When making a comment or complaint we will:

Listen to your concerns and write to tell you we have received your complaint or comments.
Treat your complaint confidentially.
Deal with your complaint as quickly and as efficiently as we can.
Keep you informed about what is happening to your complaint and when you can expect a reply.

Once we receive your complaint we will:

Let you know we have received it within 2 days.
Send it on to the person who can deal with it, normally your local area manager.
Send you a full reply within 10 days.
Tell you what to do next if you are still unhappy.

How we keep you informed

We send at least three copies of our tenants’ newsletter Helena Headlines directly to tenants’ homes every year.

We make available, on request, printed information in different formats such as different languages, Braille, large print and audio tape.

We can provide information about how the company is governed and how we make decisions.

Information we hold about you

We will treat any information we hold about you with sensitivity and confidentiality.
We will only hold information about you that is relevant to our work.
We will work to make sure that the information we hold about you is accurate.
We will not share information about you with others unless you tell us we can.
We may on occasion be required by law to share information about you, for example if required to do so by the Police.
When handling information we hold about you we will work within the requirements of the Data Protection Act.

Services for older people

The Scheme Manager/Supervisor service

We will provide you with information about when your scheme manager or supervisor is normally on duty.
We will tell you when your scheme manager or supervisor is away from work and will also tell you how your scheme is being covered in their absence. If it is planned absence (like a holiday), your scheme manager or supervisor will let you know a week before.
We will talk to you about how and when we provide you with regular contact. This arrangement will be agreed in your support plan.
Your scheme manager or supervisor will show you how to operate the emergency alarm system and the heating and hot water in your home within the first week of you moving in.
We will ask you for personal information when you first move in such as next of kin details to help us respond in the event of an emergency. We will update your personal information every 6 months.

Welfare & Support

Your manager or supervisor will discuss and complete a support plan with you within the first two weeks of you moving in. This will be individual to you.
We will give you a copy of the completed support plan so that you and anybody else you want to see it, can refer to it at any time.
We will review your support plan at least every 6 months or at any time if requested by you.
In an emergency the manager or supervisor will help you until other arrangements are made and with your permission will contact a relative, family, doctor or the emergency services.
If you require advice such as welfare benefits advice, your scheme manager or supervisor will assist by putting you in touch with the relevant organisation or agency.

Community Alarm

We will provide you with a Community Alarm service that operates 24 hours per day, 7 days per week.
Your scheme manager or supervisor will test the alarm system in your home every 3 months to ensure that it is operating satisfactorily.

Social Activities/Information

We will talk to you about any interests you may have and about what activities you may want to get involved in.
We will tell you about activities that take place within our community rooms, as well as providing information about events/activities taking place in the wider community.
We will seek opportunities to meet with you throughout the year over any proposed changes to the service. We will seek to do this through a number of ways such as at coffee mornings and focus groups and will talk to you about how you prefer to be involved, as part of your support plan.
We will talk to you every year about developing a scheme plan for your scheme. The scheme plan will include any changes or improvements that you would like to see.
We will tell you about any meetings in writing at least one week before the meetings take place and provide you with notes of matters raised at the meetings and action taken within one week after the meeting.
We will make sure that if you cannot attend the meeting, you have an opportunity to express your views through your scheme manager or supervisor.

Making improvements to your home

We want to make sure we provide the best possible customer care when doing work in your home. We and our contractors will;

Give you a chance to have a say about improvement work we are planning to carry out in your home and area.
Invite you to show houses, exhibitions and meetings to discuss the plans we have.
If we can we will give you a choice, eg kitchen units, type of doors.
Give you a booklet before any work starts that answers your questions and tells you who to contact for more information.
Write to you at least 3 days before we intend to carry out any work unless it is an emergency.
Use our own equipment and not use your domestic services without permission.
Clear all rubbish and dirt caused by the work.
Take responsibility for any damage or loss we cause. You should tell us straight away if you suffer any damage or loss as a result of work we do in your home.

When we have completed the work we will:

Explain any new equipment fitted in your home and how it works.
Leave your home in a safe, secure and clean condition.
Tell you if we need to come back to carry out any more work.

Gas servicing

We will:

Service all gas appliances, flues and pipe work at least once a year.
Carry out a visual inspection of your gas cooker and alert you to anything that might be wrong.
Provide you with a copy of the gas certificate when the service has been completed.
Write to you four weeks before we are planning to carry out the servicing and will try to make a convenient appointment.
Provide and maintain a 24 hour, 365 day repair service.
Attend to all reported faults within 24 hours.
If we cannot fix a heating fault the same day we will give you temporary heaters until the fault is fixed.
Sometimes new parts may need ordering which can cause a slight delay. However, our target for fixing your heating system is a maximum of 2 working days. If this is not possible we will tell you and give you a new target date.

Monitoring our standards

We monitor the quality of our services in the following ways:

Every month

Every month we will send a questionnaire to people who have complained about a service they have received.

Every three months

We currently hold regular focus groups reviewing our services to customers. We are looking to develop these into a tenants' panel which would meet every 3 months.

Every six months

We will survey our new tenants to see how they are settling in.

Every year

We will survey a bigger cross section of our tenants and ask them about our services.

Every three years

We will send a questionnaire to all our tenants and ask them about the services we provide.

How will you know how we are doing?

We value comments, feedback and complaints as your views helps us to improve our services. We discuss all feedback, good and bad, and look for ways we can improve what we do.

We will publish the results and updates in our tenants’ newsletter, Helena Headlines, as well as communicate the feedback to staff. We publish an annual report to tenants every year which includes whether we have achieved the targets we have set.

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