Housing Services for Council Tenants

If you are affected by anti social behaviour we will:

  • Make contact with you within two working days of receiving a report of anti social behaviour
  • Interview you within ten working days of receiving a report of anti social behaviour and agree a course of action
  • Interview the person or people who are behaving antisocially within five days of interviewing you
  • Work closely with partnership agencies through the Community Safety Partnership to deal firmly but fairly with anti social behaviour
  • Resolve routine cases within 28 working days
  • Where appropriate, encourage the use of the free service provided by Cambridge and District Mediation Service to resolve neighbour disputes

If you want to buy your home we will:

  • Respond to Right to Buy applications within the following timescales:
    - within four weeks if you have been a council tenant for more than two years
    - within eight weeks if you have been a council tenant for less than two years
    - we will make you a formal offer to purchase within 12 weeks of receiving your completed application

 

If you need a housing repair we will:

  • Operate a freephone repairs hotline for you to report repairs and asking us about about the progress of repairs
  • Respond to repair requests within the following timescales:
    - emergencies (in office hours) - three hours
    - emergencies (outside of office hours)- four hours
    - urgent repairs - five working days
    - non-urgent repairs - 23 working days
  • Keep disruption to a minimum and leave the site clean and clear of debris at the end of each working day, or once the repair is complete
  • Make sure that our workers are polite and courteous at all times. Smoking and playing radios are not allowed inside your home
  • Offer you the opportunity to comment on the service you have received

To keep your home in good condition we will:

  • Provide you with temporary alternative accommodation where extensive refurbishment works are needed to your home
  • Carry out a rolling programme of large-scale planned improvement works
  • Carry out an annual service of your oil/gas/solid fuel installation and council owned appliances
  • Send you a written response to your request to carry out a tenants' alteration within ten working days


To help you pay your rent we will:

  • Send out an annual statement of your rent account
  • Tell you in writing about any increase in your rent 28 days before the date of the increase
  • Allow you to pay your rent in advance instalments on a fortnightly or monthly basis
  • Make sure that direct debit payments are collected on time and for the right amount
  • Send you a reminder within 14 days of a missed payment
  • Send you a warning notice at least 28 days before taking legal action against you
  • Work with you and other agencies to help you to stay in your home if you do get into arrears

If you want to move we will:

  • Help you to complete a housing application form
  • Assess your housing application within ten working days
  • Help you to find a mutual exchange partner

 

Help us to help you:

  • Have any reference numbers to hand when contacting us
  • Tell us what the problem is and what needs to be repaired
  • Allow reasonable access for repairs, including gas/oil/solid fuel annual servicing
  • Keep appointments with us or our contractors, and let us know with as much notice as possible if you need to change an appointment
  • Carry out minor repairs such as unblocking sinks and replacing plugs yourself
  • Keep the interior of your home and garden in good decorative order
  • Remember to ask for the council's written permission before carrying out alterations to your home
  • Keep to the terms of your tenancy agreement
  • Complete all sections of your application forms
  • Provide all the original documentation we ask for so that we can assess your housing benefit claim
  • Let us know as soon as possible if you are having difficulty paying your rent
  • Please be polite when telephoning or writing to us, even if you feel we have done something wrong

Alternatively, you can download this Customer Service Standard- Housing Advice for Council Tenants .