Investing in your home

We will send out letters at the beginning of April. These advise if we included your property in the programme for that financial year. We will still send out further letters to arrange visits to your property.

No, you do not have to move out while the improvements are taking place.

• Rewire - Access to every socket, light switch and light fitting is needed
• Kitchen Cupboards – The contents of your kitchen cupboards must be completely emptied, and worktops cleared. We will move your appliances out of the work area (at your own risk), usually into the living room so please bear this in mind
• Ornaments, Pictures or similar – please ensure that all breakable/fragile items are safely packed away and that you do not leave valuable items around your home (including TV’s for example)
• Window blinds/lampshades should be taken down
• Laminate Flooring – if it is identified that you have laminate flooring on floorboards that must be taken up as part of the works, it is your responsibility to remove/refit any laminate flooring for access and works to be completed. Usually upstairs floorboards need to be lifted to allow access to the lights or heating pipes below. We will not be liable for any damage to any laminate flooring that isn’t removed regardless of location. We will endeavour to protect it at all times
• Bathroom/Toilets - Remove all your toiletries and belongings from the bathroom for example toilet roll holders, mirrors or similar
• General House Condition – please ensure that all rooms (those which you have been advised about) are as clear as possible, especially the floor areas as all carpets may have to be lifted
• Loft spaces - must also be clear to allow electricians safe access to complete the works. We will advise you of the areas required
• Pets - It is your responsibility to ensure the safety of your pets; we will not work in properties where animals have been left either in the property or in the garden

Please contact the Tenant Liaison Officer if you intend to buy any new kitchen appliances before the work starts to ensure this does not affect the design you signed for at the time of the initial visit.

Please be aware that we are not able to fit new freestanding gas cookers or gas hobs. 

Central Heating only – We require access to all radiators, the boiler and fuse board - you will be advised which areas need to be cleared at the time of the initial visit.

If you are unable to move furniture or lift laminate due to age, disability or health please contact us as soon as possible.

Should your house contents not be sufficiently packed away, or housekeeping standards not be acceptable, we will possibly have no alternative but to postpone your work and refer the matter to your Management Officer.

There will be damage to your internal decoration. We will issue a decoration grant after you and our surveyor are happy with the completed work. The value is dependent on the amount of decoration disruption and we will issue allowances as a B&Q card. An additional amount to assist with redecoration is payable as a rent credit. To qualify you must meet the following criteria:

• the youngest adult in the household is of pensionable age
• in receipt of Disability Living Allowance
• in receipt of Personal Independence Payment.

The work will normally be completed within 5 to 6 working days. However, if your home requires a heating system or additional works it will take longer. Access to your home will be required throughout this time. We will also need access to carry out a final inspection and complete any remedial work.

By the end of each working day we will provide:

• heating
• electricity
• hot and cold water
• flushing toilet 
• lighting
• television reception

Please note that your cooker will be disconnected on the day we start the work. It will be reconnected/tested as applicable upon completion of the work by our engineers.

Before 8am and after 4:00pm and weekends please phone 01325 405333.

If you have a gas leak call National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111999.

When we have completed the works, we will carry out an inspection. We will fix anything that is wrong and ask you to sign a form saying you are happy.

We will ask you to complete a confidential satisfaction survey. We will use this information to make sure we improve our service to you.

Each year, we use a part of our budget for energy efficiency measures. We can’t do all the work on that budget alone, we apply for government grants to help towards this.

We’ve already successfully bid for funding through the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) Wave 1 and Wave 2. This has has helped us to retrofit 153 of your homes with things like;

• solar panels
• external wall insulation
• loft insulation
• double glazing.

We will continue to to bid and apply for more funding to help us improve your homes and will keep you updated.

Some our homes have solar panels installed. This is through government schemes and Housing Services funding.

Solar panels can help to improve energy efficiency within your home and reduce energy use. We currently have 3 different types of solar panel schemes.

1. If you live in Beadnell Close, you will benefit from an Air Source Heat Pump and a solar thermal system. These work together by using solar energy to heat your water.
2. If you have recently had solar panels fitted under the SHDF scheme, you will have Solar PV panels and solar batteries fitted at your home. These allow you to store and use the solar energy generated by the panels. If there was no battery the excess electricity would go to the grid.
3. If your solar panels were fitted around 2015, they are likely to be owned by a company called Levantera. You will have signed an agreement with them for these panels. The electricity generated by the solar panels is free for you to use. If you use more than has been generated by the panels, you then pay your electricity provider as normal for this.

We ensure that all our new homes are as energy efficient as possible. They will meet new building and safety regulations. This means that we are considering the following in our designs:

• new, more efficient ways of heating, such as air source heating rather than traditional gas boilers
• increased insulation and ventilation
• energy efficient windows
• energy efficient doors
• cavity and loft wall insulation
• thermally efficient flooring to reduce heat loss
• solar systems.

In 2022, we committed to replacing all single glazing in our properties.

Since then, we have fitted 1232 Council homes with double glazing. This means nearly all our homes are double glazed, which helps to reduce energy usage.

We’re working with our teams and tenants to highlight any properties that haven’t yet had this work done. This will ensure all Council-owned homes will have double glazing.

We have also carried out upgrades to homes through grant funding to:

• provide external or cavity wall insulation
• install low energy lighting
• upgrade external doors
• improve loft insulation
• renew roofs

We continue to apply for funding to help us bring all our homes up to EPC C and to improve energy efficiency and reduce energy usage.

All the work we complete is on a planned programme of works. It is based on age and condition of property, current EPC level, budget availability, and grant funding.

When your home is involved in a programme, we will contact you in writing and arrange to discuss the works with you. If possible, we will arrange events for you to attend to meet with us and contractors to find out more.