Our residents services allows you to view you rent account and pay your rent on-line, report a repair, report a complaint and get involved with other Family Housing residents.
Ways to pay your rent leaflet
Dealing with rent arrears leaflet
Repairs and Maintenance leaflet
We provide a wide range of services from helping you find suitable accommodation and providing homes to buy at low cost, to arranging residents meetings and providing help and support with your tenancy. Please view the menu options opposite which are full of information on our services to you.
We are always seeking opportunities to improve our services and welcome your comments. If you have any feedback then please let us know your thoughts in compliments & complaints.If you have any questions or need further information, then please do not hesitate to contact us, or phone our Customer Services Team on 0121 766 1100.
Service 1st - Our service standards aiming for excellence. Please see below for full details or click here to download our leaflet.
Customer 1st - Getting it right through resident involvement.Please see our Getting Involved section for more details or click here to download our leaflet.
Family 1st Class - Resident recognition scheme. Please see below for full details or click here to download our leaflet.
Service 1st - Aiming for Excellence
The Standards of Service you can expect from Family…
At Family Housing we are committed to putting the needs of our customers first. Service 1st details the standards you can expect from us across all the services we provide to you.
These standards have been drawn up in consultation with our customers and by publishing them, we are giving you the opportunity to see if we are performing as well as we should be. You can do this by referring to this once you have received a service from us and also we will provide you with regular reports on our performance through our residents newsletter ‘Good Neighbours’.
We want to hear from you when we get things wrong or when we could have done better, so that we can work at getting it right and improve our services to you. We also want to hear from you when we do things well so that we know we have got it right.
We will ask you for your views through regular customer satisfaction surveys and through all levels of our customer involvement framework, ‘Customer 1st’. We will respond to any complaints you have about the services we provide, sharing with you what we have learned from these and what we are doing in response.
We acknowledge the different needs of our customers and will work to make sure our services are accessible to all. Where appropriate, we will work with external agencies that represent and support particular groups within our communities to tailor our services and meet specific needs.
SERVICE 1ST
Delivering excellence in customer care…
If you write to us or send us an email we will:
• Reply in full within 5 working days.
• If we cannot provide a full response to your query we will let you know who is dealing with your letter/ email and when you can expect a reply.
If you telephone us we will:
• Answer your call within 10 rings.
• Answer the phone giving our name and department.
• If the person you need to speak is unavailable, we will take a message and tell you when you should be called back, this should be by the next working day.
If you visit us:
• Our reception area will be clean and tidy with relevant information available.
• When you visit our offices you will be seen within 5 minutes of your arrival.
• Appointments are available and will be arranged at a mutually convenient time.
• Our offices are accessible for disabled people and if you have any particular requirements we will offer additional assistance.
• We will provide translation and interpretation services for those whose first language is not English.
• We will offer private interviews on request.
If we visit your home:
• If you request a home visit we will arrange to see you within 5 working days.
• When we visit we will show photographic identification and behave professionally at all times.
• We will contact you if we are unable to keep an appointment as soon as we can and re-arrange it at a time convenient to you.
• We will call you if we are running late and let you know how long we will be.
• We will ensure contractors acting on our behalf follow our customer service standards.
Communicating with and Involving Residents….
We will:
• Give all new residents a copy of our Welcome Pack and send you a quarterly newsletter and an annual report that details all our performance in the previous year.
• Produce and publicise an annual Resident Involvement Statement in partnership with you.
• Provide a variety of ways for you to get involved, including surveys, focus groups, mystery shopping, service groups and board membership.
• Publish an annual programme of resident involvement activity and training opportunities that you can get involved in.
• Publish quarterly updates on how we have responded to your feedback and involvement and how services have improved as a result.
Responding to your complaints….
We will:
• Send out an acknowledgement letter outlining the officer dealing with your complaint within 24 hours of receiving it.
• Investigate and reply to your complaint within 10 working days.
• Tell you how to take the complaint further if you are not satisfied with our response.
• Publish information about the complaints we have received and how we have responded to your complaints to improve the services we provide.
Letting our homes….
We will:
• Send out application packs within 3 working days of a request.
• Visit you within 10 working days of receiving a transfer request to discuss your application.
• Advise you of our decision regarding your transfer request within 14 days of receipt.
• Advertise all of our vacant homes each week.
• Provide you with a copy of our minimum re-let standard for your new home so that you know what standard you should expect and what work has been carried out before you moved in.
• Let our empty homes within 21 working days of them becoming vacant.
Collecting rent….
We will:
• Offer you a wide range of ways to pay your rent and other charges.
• Give you clear information about what your rent and other charges cover.
• Send you a clear statement of your rent account quarterly or anytime on request.
• Contact you as soon as your rent account falls into arrears to tell you how much you owe and agree how you will pay the amount owed.
• Visit you at home to discuss your rent account or make an appointment to see you in the office, whichever is more convenient to you.
• Provide help and advice to claim and access the right benefits and direct you to other agencies for general debt advice if needed.
• Take firm but fair action if you continue to have rent arrears and only take legal action if necessary.
• Keep you advised of any actions we are taking.
Maintaining your home and carrying out repairs…
We will:
• Respond to emergency repair requests within 24 hours.
• Respond to urgent repair requests within 7 calendar days.
• Respond to routine repair requests within 31 calendar days.
• Provide a repairs telephone service for out of hours emergencies.
• Offer appointments on all urgent and internal routine jobs.
• Carry out an annual gas safety check and service plus a smoke alarm check.
• Inspect 10% of all completed repairs to check on the quality of the work carried out.
• Provide a cyclical programme of external decorating and other communal works.
• If you have a need for an adaptation to your home we will visit you within 15 working days of your request to discuss your needs and what help we can provide.
Managing tenancies and providing support …
We will:
• Visit all new tenants at home within 4 weeks of the start of their tenancy.
• Discuss with you any issues or problems that you may have about your tenancy in our offices or visit you at home by appointment.
• Acknowledge any complaints of nuisance or anti-social behaviour within 24 hours.
• Visit you within 24 hours of a serious complaint being made, for example regarding harassment or domestic violence.
• Interview you within 5 working days for all other less serious complaints of nuisance or anti-social behaviour.
• Provide you with diary sheets within 3 working days of your complaint to help you keep a record of any nuisance or anti-social behaviour you are experiencing.
• Agree and send you an action plan detailing what we are going to do in response to your complaint and keep you up to date with any action we take.
• Work with the Police and other organisations to resolve problems.
• Provide a free and confidential housing support service to help you if you are having difficulty with your tenancy.
• Contact you within 5 working days of receiving a request for support.
• Jointly agree with you the services you need and the action required, providing you a copy of the agreed support plan.
Managing leasehold and shared ownership properties…..
We will:
• Give you a handbook detailing the services we provide.
• Consult you about any change to the services provided and send you an annual service charge statement one month before new charges are applied.
• Send you a quarterly statement of your rent account if you are a share owner.
• Consult with you about any improvements or major works that we intend to carry out to your home.
And what we expect of you…..
In return we would ask you to treat our staff in the way that you would wish to be treated yourself
Family 1st Class - Resident Recognition Scheme
Family is committed to delivering excellent services and as part of this commitment we have introduced a Resident Recognition Scheme, Family 1st Class.
Family 1st Class values loyal customers who maintain the terms of their tenancy such as paying rent in full and on time, looking after their property and not causing a nuisance to their neighbours.
The scheme recognises this by inviting membership to Family 1st Class and giving customers access to a range of incentives and benefits, which have been developed in consultation with residents.
The aim of the scheme is to build a better relationship with our customers offering an enhanced level of service to members.
Who can be a member?
Family 1st Class is open to all residents, including leaseholders and shared owners. Membership is automatic and all eligible members will be provided with an invite, welcome pack and membership card outlining the benefits you get as a Family 1st Class member.
Eligibility is based on the following:
• Clear rent account and no other outstanding debt and costs such as court and re-chargeable repairs.
• If you are in arrears, an agreement to pay must be in place for a minimum of 12 weeks.
• An up to date gas service.
• No other tenancy breach that has resulted in serving of a Notice of Seeking Possession.
• 3 month qualifying period at start of tenancy.
Benefits of membership
Family 1st Class gives access to a range of incentives and benefits including:
• In Touch
Members will be entitled to an annual home visit carried out by their Neighbourhood Officer to ensure everything is going well with their tenancy and also to address any outstanding issues or concerns you may have.
• Loyalty Gifts
Members will receive loyalty gifts from Family in celebration of 10, 20 and 30 years as a valued customer of the Association.
• Goodbye Bonus
Members who are moving on to a new home and who end their tenancy will, subject to a property inspection, be entitled to £75 cash and also the arrangement of re-direction of their post to their new home.
• Quarterly competitions
Members will be eligible for entry into quarterly competitions which will be publicised in our residents newsletter, Good Neighbours. The winners will receive prizes with a cash value of a minimum of £500.
• Points mean Prizes
Members who attend Resident Involvement events as part of Customer 1st will be eligible to collect and cash in “Points mean Prizes” where their points can be exchanged for goods of their choice through the Family Housing Trust Fund.
These are just the incentives and benefits we are intending to offer our valued customers in Year 1 of Family 1st Class.
Future benefits may also include:
• Handyperson Service – providing high quality low cost home maintenance services.
• Flexible repairs appointments – such as Saturday mornings and evenings.
• Faster repairs response times.
• Enhanced home improvements as part of our “Decent Homes” Improvement programme.
If you are interested in finding out more about Family 1st Class and to ensure you have access to all the benefits and incentives it offers please contact us on 0121 766 1100. We look forward to hearing from you.
Looking for work? Need help with training?
Family Housing Training Academy leaflet
Manny Jaspal has been seconded to Family from Pertemps People Development Group to work with our tenants who are looking for employment or training opportunities.
Manny will be contacting all our tenants who have already expressed an interest in studying a college course, undertaking training or pursuing a work experience placement.
If you would like more information on the employment and opportunities available, or you need some employment advice, you can contact Manny on his direct line 0121-766-1178 or e-mail mjaspal@family-housing.co.uk.