Our Commitment to Customer Care

Newham Homes is committed to delivering quality services. We will monitor our performance on a regular basis and we will aim to exceed the standards and targets laid down.

If you feel that the service you have received falls short of these standards, please let us know so that we can make amendments. And, if we do better than you expect, please let us know that so that we know what is working well.

You can do this by:

Customer care service standard

We will:

• Be polite and try to answer your queries as quickly as possible;
• provide you with comprehensive access to our services through the Local Service Centres, by telephone and through our web site;
• publish opening times and contact details;
• answer the telephone within 5 rings;
• provide telephone callers with the name of the officer they are speaking to;
• return telephone calls as soon as possible and within 2 days;
• reply to your correspondence within 10 working days and in complex matters where this is not possible, we will give you a date when we can give you a full reply; do residents want a shorter turnaround for replying to emails compared to letters?
• use language that is easy to understand and which avoids jargon or technical terms;
• give you access to translation facilities through the council's Language Shop
• make sure information is available in other languages or formats (e.g. Braille or large print) when requested;
• identify ourselves by wearing name badges;
• offer interviews in private areas where you cannot be overheard
• make an appointment where possible if we need to visit you;
• acknowledge complaints within 3 working days;
• reply to stage 1 complaints within 10 working days; stage 2 within 15 working days and stage 3 within 25 working days.

Estate management service standards

We will:

• provide a free phone service so that you can find out information and report problems (NB mobile phone providers may charge you for calls);
• remove offensive graffiti within 24 working hours;
• remove other graffiti within 5 working days;
• remove dumped rubbish within 24 working hours;
• ensure that communal areas are clean and free from litter and rubbish by:
  - cleaning lifts daily,
  - cleaning corridors, entrance halls, stairs and other internal communal areas weekly,
  - responding to reports of health and safety issues e.g. needles within 3 hours;
• from March to November all grass will be maintained with a height range of 25mm to 60 mm;
• from December to February all grass will be maintained within a height range of 60 mm to 80 mm;
• publish cleaning schedules in your block.

Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) service standards (previously this said 'enforcing tenancy conditions' as well as dealing with ASB, standards and timescales/ promises have been made clearer)

We will:

• investigate and record all reports of harassment and anti-social behaviour;
• provide you with access to a 24 hour ASB reporting telephone line;
• in the case of serious harassment or anti-social behaviour, contact you within 2 working days to discuss this and give you the name and contact details of your caseworker;
• in other less serious cases, contact you within 5 working days (this was previously 10 working days) and give you the name and contact details of your caseworker
• if your case needs to be referred to the Council's specialist ASB Team, they will contact you within 5 working days to let you know the name and contact details of your caseworker;
• contact you at least once a month to keep you informed and check on progress;
• offer support to witnesses through our Witness Support Scheme and comply with the standards set in our Witness Support Charter;
• give you support and guidance on completing diary sheets which may be used to gather evidence where necessary;
• provide extra security measures to your home (such as window locks and spy holes) if you have experienced repeated crime or harassment;
• remove racist or offensive graffiti within 24 hours of it being reported to us;
• write to you when we have closed your case to tell you why the case has been closed and what should do if the problem should happen again;
• contact you a short time after your case has been closed to ask for your views on how satisfied you are with the way we dealt with your case;

Repairing your home service standards

We will:

• provide you with a free-phone number to report repairs;
• answer telephone calls within 5 rings ;
• offer appointments for day to day repairs;
• treat your home with respect and clear up any mess we make;
• attend emergency repairs to make them safe within 4 hours and complete the work within 24 hours;
• respond to lift breakdowns within 2 hours;
• respond to breakdowns of door entry systems within 24 hours;

Improving your home service standards

We will:

• bring all the homes of all tenants in properties managed by Newham Homes up to the Decent Homes standard by 2012; previously 2010
• consult you and involve you in the planning of improvements to your home where these are required to Modern Homes standard;
• give you a choice of colour if your kitchen is renewed;
• give you a choice of kitchen when doing Decent Homes work;
• treat your home with respect and clear up any mess we make;
• deal with any complaints or concerns on the first contact;
• ensure the contractor provides you with a Resident Liaison Officer who will visit your home throughout the modernisation process;
• give you details of all proposed work;
• provide you with an out of hours telephone number, should you need to make contact outside normal working hours;
• in the case of major works, where practical, provide a day time respite area away from the work where you can relax;

Rent service standards

We will:

• give you clear information on what you need to pay;
• give you a range of ways to pay your rent so you can choose which most suits you;
• contact you within two weeks if you miss a payment, where appropriate;
• send you quarterly rent statements or provide a statement upon request;
• give you advice and help to claim housing and other welfare benefits;
• give you advice on how to get more in-depth help if you have other debts to pay;
• if you get behind with your rent, agree a repayment plan with you - but if you do not keep to it we may take legal action which could lead to you losing your home;
• check with housing benefits regarding any pending or outstanding claims before taking legal action;
• ensure there is a Rents Officer available to answer queries and provide general advice between 9.00 a.m. and 5.00 p.m. Monday to Friday;
• offer you low cost home contents insurance if you maintain a clear rent account;
• hold meetings of the Rents Focus Group twice a year to give you information and consult you on the service you receive;
• send you a newsletter twice a year to give you advice and keep you up to date with our proposals.

Support for tenants service standards

We will:

• give prospective tenants a copy of our relet standard so they know what to expect from their new home
• visit all new tenants within 30 working days to help you settle in and answer any questions you may have;
• provide you with a tenants handbook;
• assist tenants experiencing domestic violence by referring them to a specialist agency and taking any action necessary to help them keep their homes;
• help vulnerable tenants get extra support to enable them to remain living at home - for example aids and adaptations;
• provide an alarm system and an advanced Telecare system for older people that links to a control centre which staffed 24 hours a day, 365 days a year (for an additional charge)
• if you live in sheltered housing, we will contact you every day;
• visit you annually if you are aged 74 or over to help you access support and agree a support plan with you within 20 working days;

New Tenants Service Standards

We will;

• carry out an accompanied viewing for each new tenancy, providing information relating to the property and its location
• ensure all prospective Tenants are aware of the lettable standard
• at 'sign up' we will show a DVD as part of the new tenants induction and provide a comprehensive information pack and tenants handbook
• identify the support needs of all incoming tenants and 'flag' them on the rent system
• signpost new tenants to appropriate support agencies
• provide clear information on the amount of rent & charges you need to pay
• advise of the various payment methods and issue a rent card at sign up
• provide advice and assistance in completing a HB form at sign up

Leasehold Services service standards

We will:

• send you an estimated service charge in April of each year along with an explanatory booklet and an actual service charge account by October of the following year;
• give you a range of ways to pay your service charge so you can choose which suits you most;
• send you a buildings insurance certificate once a year;
• If you experience genuine hardship, we will agree a payment plan for your service charge, but if you do not keep to it we may take legal action;
• carry out full consultation on all major works and send you the Leaseholders Guide to the Investment programme;
• provide you with access to dedicated welfare benefits advisor for advice if you are having problems paying your service charge;
• consult you on proposed service charges for the coming year;
• contact the Leaseholder Communications Group at least twice a year to consult and give information on the service;
• send leaseholders a newsletter twice a year;
• provide you with a comprehensive leaseholders handbook;
• meet with the Newham Leaseholder Group at least 6 times a year to plan and discuss services;
• send all new leaseholders a Welcome Pack;
• invite you to a meeting of the Leaseholders' Disputes Resolution Panel if you remain unhappy with your service charge bill.

Resident involvement service standards

We will:

• send you a quarterly newsletter;
• listen to your views through satisfaction surveys;
• involve you in the planning and delivery of services;
• hold an annual tenants and leaseholder conference or open day;
• hold an annual resident involvement month to encourage tenants to become involved;
• hold regular meetings with tenants to review services and the promises in the Tenants Compact;
• facilitate meetings of the Area Tenant Liaison Committees (ATLC) six times a year (previously stated every 6 weeks - because of Summer and Xmas we hold these meetings 6 times a year. Every six weeks would be 8 times….)
• facilitate meetings of the Borough wide Tenant Liaison Committee (BTLC) six times a year; ( same reason as above)
• involve BTLC in the performance monitoring of services;
• facilitate an Estate Watchers event at least three times a year to involve residents in monitoring the cleanliness of estates and blocks of flats;
• Support the development of new and existing Tenants and Residents Associations;
• Explore opportunities other than formal groups to ensure that as many tenants as possible are given the opportunity to get involved.
• Provide an annual training programme for capacity building for residents living in properties managed by Newham Homes

Communications service standards new section added- did not include communication standards in previous version

• send you a quarterly residents newsletter;
• ensure that our website is comprehensive, up to date and accessible;
• publish current opening times and contact details for key Newham Homes services;
• ensure that leaflets are consistently branded, contain up to date information, are accessible and widely distributed;
• produce a rents newsletter twice a year to give you advice and keep you up to date with our ideas;
• provide a leaseholders newsletter twice a year;
• prepare and distribute an annual report to update you on performance, finance, activities and what we have been doing;
• keep you up to date on events, courses, meetings and activities arranged by Newham Homes;
• make sure that information is available in other languages and formats (e.g. large print) on our website and for published materials on request;
• use language that is easy to understand and which avoids jargon or technical terms;

More information is available in the Tenants Compact.