Your Tenant Handbook

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Your tenancy agreement cannot be changed without you knowing and agreeing.

Read through it and make sure you understand what is expected of you and what you can expect from us.  If there is anything in it you are unsure of please get in touch with your housing services officer on 0131 478 8146. If you have a joint tenancy, each person has equal rights and responsibilities.

Our responsibilities

• We must keep properties in good repair.
• We must make sure properties are secure and warm.
• We will involve you wherever possible in decisions that affect your home and area.
• We will give you information about your tenancy.
• We will consult you about rent increases and change to policies that will significantly affect the service we provide.
• We will give you at least four weeks notice of any rent increase.

Your responsibilities:

• You must live in the property as your only and main home.
• You must pay your rent on the first day of each month for the month to come.
• You must report repairs quickly.
• You must get rid of rubbish responsibly.  The phone numbers for getting rid of bulky items in your area are in Section 10.
• You must be a good neighbour. Do not cause a nuisance, annoy or disturb others who live near you.  You will disturb  neighbours if you make lots of noise such as playing loud music, using DIY tools, shouting, banging,  allowing dogs to bark and so on.
• You must not overcrowd your home.  Your tenancy agreement tells you how many people can live in your home.  If you plan to have anyone else living in your home, please contact a your housing services officer on 0131 478 8146 to discuss your housing options.
• If you move away, you must end the tenancy by giving us 28 days’ notice in writing.  If you are planning a long trip, perhaps to stay with family abroad, please let your housing services officer know before you go. 

Your tenancy agreement gives full details of your responsibilities

Your rights

• Your tenancy offers security and can only be ended in one of the following ways.
• If you give four weeks’ notice.
• If you die.
• If you and we agree in writing for example, if for any reason your home is structurally unsafe and we have to  offer you another place to live.
• If we take court actions to get back possession of the house because you have broken the terms of your tenancy agreement. 
• If we take action because you have abandoned the house
• If you are subject to an antisocial behaviour order. 

Right to succession

If you die, the tenancy may be inherited by your husband, wife, co-habitee or member of your household who lives with you.  Ark will only allow successions on two  occasions.

Do I have the right to buy my home?

NO Ark Housing Association has charitable status which means our tenants cannot buy their home.  Please contact your housing services officer on 0131 478 8146 for more information. 

Can I Take In a Lodger? 

YES If you have enough room in your house. A lodger is  someone who is not related to you but lives as part of your household and pays you money towards their keep.  You MUST ask permission from us before taking in a lodger.  Phone 0131 478 8146 to speak to your housing  services officer.   If you get housing benefit/universal credit to pay your rent, you must tell the council/DWP you have a lodger.  Having a lodger will effect the amount of housing benefit you receive.

Can I Sub-let My Home?

YES If you are going away from your home for some time, for example 6 months, and you don’t want to leave your home empty. You have the right to sub-let it.   You MUST ask permission from us first.  If we agree to you subletting, you will be responsible for your tenancy. This means making sure the rent is paid and your sub-tenant does not cause nuisance or annoyance to other  tenants.

Can I keep pets?

You must write to us or phone us on 0131 478 8146 to ask for permission to keep a pet. If you are allowed to have a pet, it is your responsibility at all times to make sure that it doesn’t cause a nuisance to neighbours for example: barking or fouling in common areas. Pets must not damage the associations property including the garden.  If you are having a problem with your neighbours pet, please get in touch with your housing  services officer on 0131 478 8146 and we will look into this. 

Gardens

Not everyone enjoys gardening but if you do have a garden you must keep it clean and tidy.  If you share a garden you pay a service charge for its upkeep. If you are an older tenant or a disabled person who receives benefits and you're struggling to look after your garden get in touch with us and we may be  able to help.  Please phone your housing services officer on 0131 478 8146 to find out more about this. 

Changes to rent

We look at your rent each year to see if it should go up or stay the same.

Ark tries to keep increases as low as possible. If we increase your rent we have to show how we will spend this. Rent increases are worked out using the rate of inflation (which the government tells us) our rent increases are normally limited to the rate of inflation plus a percentage.  We always ask for tenants’ opinions before we make any changes to rent. This is called our ‘rent increase consultation’.

We send the ’rent increase consultation’ in the Christmas Newsletter.  It is very important that you take the time to let us know what you think about the rent increase.

How do I pay my rent?

There are lots of ways to pay your rent. You can choose the one that’s best for you. 

The BIG but

If you don’t pay your rent or arrears, and do not stick to your  repayment plan, we will have to take legal action against you. This could cause you to lose your home.  Please don’t let it get to this point. 

Help with your rent

Housing benefit/Universal Credit:

You could be entitled to help with your rent if you are unemployed, or if you are on a low income. You may also be able to claim if you have a disability or you are on long-term sick leave.  Your claim will depend on your income, any benefits you receive and how many people live in your home.  Due to new changes by the government if you are under-occupying your home (have more bedrooms than you need)  you will get less housing benefit. If you want to swap to a smaller property there are a number of home swap schemes you can take part in. Please contact your housing services officer on 0131 478 8146 for more information about doing a swap.

Changes in money you receive or number of people living in your home:

If you're claiming housing benefit /universal credit housing costs and your situation changes you need to tell the housing benefit department/DWP straight away.  A change could be someone in your household moving out, a new person arriving, or a change in anyone in your household’s financial situation.  All these things can affect how much  help you are allowed to claim. 

Difficulties Paying Rent

We understand that sometimes tenants can have problems with money, we are here to help!

If you're having money problems and are likely to fall behind with your rent payments, the best thing you can do is to tell us straight away. If you speak with us we can work out a payment plan that you can afford, and stop getting yourself into more debt.

You can speak to a member of the housing team who can offer confidential advice and support and also give details on where to get debt advice. We can arrange for a welfare officer to visit you at home.

We can: agree repayment terms to help you get back on track; point you towards support/advice services, who can make sure you are receiving all the support and benefit that you should be

Budgeting help and tips

Work out a budget: add up all the money you have coming into your home weekly/monthly. Work out all the things you spend your money on e.g. food, electricity, rent, council tax , to stay on top of rent and arrears. Don’t bury your head in the sand. There are different organisations that can offer you support and advice e.g. citizens advice bureaux and Shelter housing advice centres. See the back of your handbook for useful numbers.

How to report a repair

1. E-mail repairs@arkha.org.uk
OR
2. During office hours phone 0131 478 8143

• Give as much detail as you can e.g. Your name and address
• A contact telephone number
• Where and what the fault is
• When you might be in so a contractor can get access to your home.

For ALL Gas Central Heating Repairs, please contact :

RICHARD IRVIN ON 0131 654 440   

For Gas Escapes call 0800 111 999

Repairs, Emergency Repairs and Gas Central Heating

11 Parkend

Hebridean Housing Partnership

Stornoway

0300 123 0773

Reporting an Emergency Repair at : Night, Weekends and Holidays

You should phone the Contractor who covers your area, see  below. You may have to pay  call out costs if you use a contractor not on our list or if the repair is not an emergency!!! 

Who is responsible for the repair?

As your landlord we are responsible for all repairs and maintenance to the structure and exterior of your home.  As part of your tenancy agreement you must decorate and carry out any repairs that you are responsible for.  If you, your family or your visitors cause any damage to your home, you will be expected to put these right yourself. 

Repair Timescales

Emergency Response: 24 Hours

Repairs which if not attended would affect the structure/security of the
property or pose a danger to your health e.g.

*Where no alternative is available in the house.
We, Or the emergency out-of-hour’s contractor will respond within 24
hours. If door keys are lost and we have to gain entry you will have to
pay these costs.

Urgent Repairs: 3 Days

These are repairs which require quick attention and could pose health or safety hazards but are not serious enough to be an emergency repair for example:

Routine Repairs: 14 Days

This respond time is for any other repair you tell us about.

Rechargeable Repairs

Normally Ark do not carry out repairs which are your responsibility.
However we will carry out repairs if there is a risk to you or others safety and security or a possibility of further damage to your home or surroundings. An invoice will be sent to you for the cost of these repairs

Alterations and Improvements

If you're thinking about altering or improving your home, you must talk to us first. You need our permission before you can carry any work out. We will let you know quickly, send your request in writing with details of the changes you want to make to Ark’s maintenance officer at The Priory, Canaan Lane, Edinburgh EH10 4SG. We will be able to give you some advice which will help make sure your plans are safe and you and do not break any building or planning regulations.

Medical Aids and Adaptations

You might want to make changes to your home for medical reasons such as a wet floor shower or grab rails to assist you living in your home.
We are given annual funds from the Scottish Government to cover some of this work . We will only be able to make these adaptions if the funds are available to us. If you feel that you need any of these put into your home, please get in touch with your local social work department who will send out an occupational therapist to assess what you need. The occupational therapist will send Ark a report letting us know what needs to be done.

Condensation

What is condensation?

Caused by too much water in the air, when moist air meets a cold surface such as a wall or window sill it turns into water. If this happens, it can cause black mould to grow.

What to do if you get Condensation?

Heating: keep your home warm, (ask your local gas or electricity supplier about budget schemes if this is a worry).

Ventilation: Ventilation is important to stop condensation. Open the windows and make sure any wall vents are clear and not covered up.

Chimneys: Never block up a chimney completely. If you are closing off a fireplaces make sure an air vent is fitted (ALWAYS contact us before closing off your fireplace).

Hints and Tips:

DRY clothes outside if possible
IF you use a tumble dryer make sure you have an outside vent or open a window.
KEEP kitchen and window doors closed.
OPEN windows when you can.
DON’T overfill cupboards/wardrobes.
USE extractor fans if you have them.

What we think:

We all have our own ideas on what it means to be a good neighbour. Some tenants may be close friends with the people they live next to whilst others may be polite but keep to themselves,

We believe that you have a right to enjoy living in your home in a safe and secure environment. Nobody should make persistent loud noise or cause nuisance and disturb others.

Problems with neighbours

Neighbour problems can cover a wide range of issues and we will try to avoid all possible disputes by managing our tenancies considerately.

Neighbour complaints can cover a wide range of issues such as:

• noise;
• vehicles being parked inconsiderately;
• pet issues such as constant barking or fouling;
• people of any age causing a nuisance or disturbance;
• rubbish and waste being dumped, which can be harmful to people’s health;
• discriminating against tenants and their families for any reason.

First

If the disturbance is new and you feel you can talk to your neighbour, this is often the easiest and best way to sort the problem out. Sometimes your neighbour may not be aware of how their actions are affecting you. They are often pleased that you have brought this to their attention, without making this issue too formal.
If you feel uncomfortable about speaking to your neighbour, please contact your housing services officer or support staff.

Second

If you have spoken to your neighbour and this has not helped to sort the problem out, you should contact your housing services officer during office hours.
If it is an Ark tenant who is caus-ing the problem we will carry out an investigation to see if other tenants have also been disturbed. We will then speak to the tenant to first get their side of the story. We will remind them of their tenancy/occupancy agreement and “Good Neighbour Charter” which they have signed. We may issue them with a written warning for their behaviour.

Serious anti-social behaviour

If the anti-social behaviour is very serious or if a tenant ignores our warning letters we may have to consider legal action which could result in them losing their home.

If you feel you or others may be in danger and you cannot contact our staff at night time or at the weekend, you should contact the Police immediately on 101 or 999

Mediation services can also help if you are finding it difficult to sort out a problem with a neighbour such as a clash in lifestyles. Contact details are in Section 10.

Harassment and Discrimination

As part of your tenancy agreement you must make sure you do not take part in any type of harassment or discrimination towards other people.

Harassment includes any behaviours to annoy/intimidate or harm any individual family or group and where the harassment takes place either in or close to the associations property.

Ark may take legal action to evict any tenant who has taken part in harassment or discrimination.

If you feel that you are the victim of harassment or discrimination please get in touch with your housing services office as soon as possible on 0131 478 8146

Any information given to Ark is always treated in the strictest of confidence.

We want to include you in:

• Decision making;
• Sharing information, comments, compliments and complaints;
• Providing safe communities where everyone feels included and their input valued.

What we Give You:

a written tenancy agreement; a newsletter 4 times a year; a tenants’ handbook; a copy of our annual report and regular information about our comments and complaints procedures.

On request we can give you:

Information on housing management policies for example: waiting list, allocations, rent settings, transfer and exchanges, repairs and maintenance. There are leaflets available about these issues which you can get by contacting the your housing services officer on 0131 478 8146.

Regular information about our comments and complaints procedures. On request we can provide you with

Information on housing management policies e.g. waiting list, allocations, rent settings, transfer and exchanges, repairs and maintenance.
A range of information leaflets are available and these can be obtained by contacting the office.

How Do I Get Involved?

If you and other tenants want to form a tenants group we can help you do this.

What is a Tenants’ Group?

A tenants group is a group of tenants who live in the same area who work together to represent the views of all tenants in the area to help make their neighbourhood a better place to live.

How do I set up a Tenants’ Group?

Tenants’ groups are set up by volunteers. These volunteers live in the community and want to have a say in how it is run and make a difference. There may be a tenants group already set up in your  area.  You could ask your housing services officer about this. If you would like to set a Group up you could start by finding out if any of your neighbours are interested by speaking. Ark can support you to advertise the group and encourage others to get involved.

What next?

You then need to have a meeting to see how many people are interested and decide what the aims of the group will be and how the group will work.  If you decided to be a registered  residents association you can get more information about this from your housing services officer or Shelter.org.uk.

Are there other ways to get involved?

We want to know what you are thinking about the service you receive. Tenant scrutiny is an important part of how Ark assesses and improves its services and housing.  If you want to have your say but don’t like the idea of a tenants group there are other  options:

Focus Groups - we often hold focus groups on specific issues affecting the service you receive and would be delighted to hear what you think.

Tenant Satisfaction Surveys – these are sent to tenants every year and give you a chance to have your say without  attending meetings, handy if you are busy or just shy.

In Writing – you could write to us directly by letter or email and let us know what you think about the housing services we provide.  This could be a compliment, comment or complaint.

By Phone – you could phone your housing officer to discuss what is important to you.

Why do we have a complaints procedure?

We aim to deliver a first class service to our tenants at all times. However we realise that there may be times in which you are unhappy with the services we provide. We want you tell  us when you are unhappy and we will work to resolve any issues as quickly as possible. We are committed to constantly working towards improving the delivery of our services.

Who Can Make A Complaint? 

Anyone who  receives or requests a service from Ark can make a complaint (e.g. a  tenant, applicant or service user)   In the first instance ALWAYS get in touch with us first and we can try and resolve the issue informally.  You do have the right to ask someone to act on your  behalf, such as a  councillor, MP, MSP, advice agency or solicitor.

What Can I Complain About?

You can complain about any part of the delivery of our services that you are unhappy with. For Example:

• A repair has not been carried out properly. 
• You haven’t received information that you asked for 
• You feel that a member of staff/contractor/board member has behaved in an unacceptable manner. 
• You feel your housing application has not been dealt with correctly. 
• You feel someone has treated you unfairly in the delivery of a service. 

Neighbour or Anti-social behaviour complaints

If it is a complaint about your neighbour or anti social behaviour this will be dealt with using our anti social behaviour policy and we ask you get in touch with your housing services officer on 0131 478 8146 (please refer to section 6 “being a good neighbour”).

Steps To Deal With A Complaint:

Step 1:

Trying to sort out a complaint informally: To try and sort out a problem informally the first thing to do is get in touch with the right member of staff, if the staff member is unable or unwilling to fix the problem then the formal complaints procedure should be used.  Your comment or complaint will be passed to the relevant section and staff members who will get in touch within 10 working days. If we cannot resolve your comment or complaint in this time, we will write to you to tell you why and also to let you know how long we will take to investigate and respond to you

Step 2:

The Formal Complaints Procedure The first part of the formal complaints procedure is to get in touch with Ark at The Priory.  Your complaint will be investigated.  We will acknowledge receipt within 3  working days and  let you know how long it should take for the problem to be considered and hopefully fixed.

Step 3:

The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman: If you are still unhappy with the result of your complaint you have the right to contact the Scottish Public Service Ombudsman as a final stage of the complaints procedure.  The service is free, you must have gone through the Association’s complaints procedure before contacting the Ombudsman.  Contact information for this service is Bridgeside House 99 McDonald Road Edinburgh EH7 4NS Freephone 0800 377 7330  or  call 0131 225 5300   Website: https://www.spso.org.uk/ The Ombudsman will usually only consider your complaint if it is submitted within 12 months of the decision which you are unhappy with. Only in exceptional circumstances will cases outwith this time period be considered.

Who Will Know About My Complaint?

We will respect the confidentiality of your complaint. While we are making investigations we will try not to reveal your name any more than is necessary.  HOWEVER if your complaint involves a member of staff or     tenant it may be difficult for us to investigate the matter without talking to the tenant/board member/staff member. 

Getting Independent Advice

You may feel it is important for you to get independent advice  before you decide whether to complain to us formally.   Advice agencies may include:-

• Welfare Benefits Service

• Housing Benefit Section of Local Authority

• Citizens Advice Bureau

• Tenant’s Group or Federation

• Solicitor 

When we get your notice we will write to tell you the end date of the tenancy and make an appointment to visit. We will be visiting to make sure the house is in a good condition. We will let you know if you have to decorate or carry out any repairs before you leave.  Before you leave you must:

• Allow the Ark staff in to inspect the property.
• Pay all rent and monies due to us.
• Return all keys for the property to us on or before the day your tenancy ends.
• The property and garden should be left clean and tidy.
• Let Housing Benefit and Council Tax know you are moving.
• Take final meter readings. 

If you are required to carry out repairs and these are not done, we will do the repairs and charge you the full cost. 

Abandoned Homes

Sometimes tenants leave their homes without telling us.  If we have reason to believe that you are not longer living in the   property we can take action to end your tenancy without going to court.

We would do this by serving a ‘Notice of  Abandonment’ to your house. This will tell you that we think you have abandoned your house and give you 28 days to contact us.

If you do not contact us with the 28 days, we will serve a second notice which end your tenancy with ARK.

If there is a  joint tenancy and we have reason to think one tenant no longer lives in or plans to live in the house we will serve a notice on the abandoned tenant.

They will have 28 days to reply, if not we well serve another notice and the  tenancy will end 8 weeks later. Copies will also be sent to the remaining   tenant. If your tenancy ends and you are unhappy you can make a   formal complaint to the Head of Housing Services on 0131 478 8146 within 6 months of the end of tenancy. You also have the right of appeal to the sheriff court within 6 months of the end of tenancy. 

Mutual Exchanges

A mutual exchange is when you arrange to swap homes with someone else.   It is up to you to find someone to exchange with, they can be Ark tenants or tenants of another landlord e.g. the council.  Let us know in writing if you want to do a mutual exchange. We will reply within 28 days with a decision.

Why might  Ark not agree to an exchange?

Ark may not agree if you or the tenant you are exchanging with: 

• has been served with a notice of proceedings;
• - if the house has been designed/adapted for disabilities;  
• - have not keep the garden/house in a good state; 
• - have very high arrears and no payment arrangement in place for at least 13 weeks;  
• - by exchanging you will be under-occupying/over occupying your property.

Transfers

If you want to move to another house we own you can  apply to transfer. You will need to complete an application which we will assess based on your re-housing need and allocate points.For more details on transferring please get in touch with your housing services officer on 0131 478 8146.