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

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

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

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

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

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