Your Tenants’ Handbook
Your Tenancy Agreement
Your Rights & Responsibilities
Your Rent
Your Estate & Environment
Getting Involved
www.suttonhousingpartnership.org.uk
Contents
Jargon Buster
Glossary of Terms
1 Introduction
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
Who is Sutton Housing Partnership?
What is the Tenants’ Handbook?
What services does Sutton Housing Partnership offer?
When do you need to contact the Council rather than Sutton Housing Partnership?
2 Contacting Sutton Housing Partnership
2.1
2.2
2.3
2.4
2.5
2.6
2.7
How to contact us
E-mail and Website
Emergency contact numbers
Visiting us in person
Writing to us
Your personal contacts
Our response standards to each method of contact
3 Your Tenancy Agreement
3.1
3.2
3.3
3.4
3.5
3.6
3.7
3.8
3.9
3.10
3.11
Different types of tenancies
The difference between Sole Tenancies and Joint Tenancies
Supported and Sheltered Housing
Tenancy checks
Tenancy fraud
Ending your tenancy
Succession to your tenancy
Assignment of your tenancy (transferring your rights)
Relationship breakdown
If we ask you to leave your home
Reasons why we can get possession of your home
4 Your Key Obligations Under Your Tenancy Agreement
4.1
4.2
4.3
4.4
4.5
Subletting and lodgers
Pets and animals
Cars and other vehicles
Flooring
Firearms
Telephone: 020 8915 2000 E-mail: customercare@suttonhousingpartnership.org.uk
Contents
5 Our Key Obligations and Standards of Service To You
5.1
5.2
5.3
5.4
5.5
5.6
5.7
5.8
5.9
Service standards
Service reviews
Your right to be consulted
How we communicate with you
Our complaints process
Your data and your right to confidentiality
Access to your files
Freedom of Information
Equal opportunities
6 Anti-Social Behaviour and Domestic Violence
6.1
6.2
6.3
6.4
6.5
6.6
6.7
Disagreements with your neighbours
What is anti-social behaviour?
Reporting harassment or anti-social behaviour
What we can do about harassment and anti-social behaviour
Respecting our staff and contractors
Safeguarding and social services
Domestic violence
7 Your Rent
7.1
7.2
7.3
7.4
7.5
7.6
7.7
Paying your rent
Prepaid weeks
Details and statements
Housing Benefit
How to stop rent arrears building up – how we can help
Legal action
Credit Union
8 Day-to-day Repairs
8.1
8.2
8.3
8.4
8.5
8.6
8.7
8.8
8.9
8.10
Who is responsible?
Recharges for repairs
How to report a repair
Pre-Inspections
Your right to repair
How long have we got to carry out your repairs?
What to do if a repair is not completed
Condensation and damp
Burst pipes and flooding
Properties destroyed by fire or major incident
Telephone: 020 8915 2000 Website: www.suttonhousingpartnership.org.uk
Contents
9 Planned Maintenance and Major Works To Your Home
9.1
9.2
9.3
9.4
9.5
9.6
9.7
9.8
9.9
9.10
9.11
Major repairs and improvements
Internal and external decorations
Right to improve your own home
Aids and adaptations
Electrical Testing programme
Annual gas servicing programme
Asbestos
Lift servicing
Communal door entry systems and aerials
Communal water tanks
Insulating your home
10 Your Estate and Environment
10.1
10.2
10.3
10.4
10.5
10.6
10.7
10.8
10.9
Estate caretaking and cleaning
Window cleaning
Estate tree maintenance programme
Your garden
The gardening scheme
Getting rid of rubbish
Recycling/Disposal of bulky items
Salting communal paths
Garages, sheds and parking spaces
11 Getting Involved
11.1
11.2
11.3
11.4
Tenant Participation Compact
Getting involved at the local level
Getting involved at a borough wide level
Tell us what you think - your compliments, comments and feedback
12 Safety, Security and Insurance
12.1
12.2
12.3
12.4
12.5
12.6
12.7
Fire safety
Smoke alarms
Home insurance
Home security
Identifying our staff
Crime prevention officers
Safecall community response system
Telephone: 020 8915 2000 E-mail: customercare@suttonhousingpartnership.org.uk
Contents
13 Moving Home
13.1
13.2
13.3
13.4
13.5
The Council’s Housing Register
Choice-based lettings
Mutual Exchanges
Under-Occupation Scheme
Mobility Schemes
14 Wanting to Buy
14.1 Wanting to buy your current home – how the Council can help
14.2 Wanting to buy elsewhere – how other schemes can help
15 Useful Contacts and Supporting Information
15.1 Useful contacts
15.2 Key leaflets available
Telephone: 020 8915 2000 Website: www.suttonhousingpartnership.org.uk
Jargon Buster - Glossary of Terms
Term
Definition
Aids and Adaptations
Equipment or construction work to assist those tenants who
require help in carrying out the physical activities of life such as
grab rails or ramps.
A report produced by the resident Scrutiny and Improvement
Group to tell you how SHP has performed in the last year.
Any disturbance or annoyance which upsets other people.
Handing your tenancy to another person who has the right to
take the tenancy on.
The service provided to estates or blocks with communal areas,
including seasonal work such as grass cutting, graffiti removal and
inspecting playgrounds.
A company whom SHP employs to do specialist work – for
example repairs or gas systems.
The system by which most social housing (including Council
properties) are allocated.
The London Borough of Sutton who is the landlord and owner of
your property.
Community savings and loan cooperatives owned and controlled
by their members who offer low cost flexible financial products to
members.
The team at SHP who will always be your first point of contact for
enquiries about any of our services to you.
A central government standard for modern homes.
A tenancy that has been downgraded due to the tenant breaking
the Tenancy Conditions, and is no longer secure.
Any form of physical, sexual or emotional violence between
people in a close relationship.
A ten year cycle of maintaining and testing the safety of your
electrical wiring, sockets and lighting.
A serious risk to life or property.
An area or groups of properties with similar characteristics.
Annual servicing and testing of gas appliances and pipe work in
your home.
The list of applicants awaiting social housing or needing to move.
The SHP staff member responsible for your rent and service
charge collection, support and advice.
A tenancy granted for a trial period.
You and the other tenant have equal rights and are both legally
responsible for paying the full rent and keeping to the terms of the
Tenancy Agreement.
An owner of a property for which the Council holds the freehold.
Our promise of the standards that you can expect when you
contact us or receive any service from Sutton Housing Partnership
Annual Report to Tenants
Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB)
Assignment of Tenancy
Caretaking Service
Contractor
Choice-based Lettings
The Council
Credit Unions
Customer Care Team
Decent Homes
Demoted Tenancy
Domestic Violence
Electrical Testing
Emergency
Estate
Gas Servicing
Housing Register
Income Manager
Introductory Tenancy
Joint Tenancy
Leaseholder
Local Standards
Telephone: 020 8915 2000 E-mail: customercare@suttonhousingpartnership.org.uk
Jargon Buster - Glossary of Terms
Term
Major Works Team
Mediation
Mutual Exchange
Neighbourhood Inspections
(or walkabouts)
Neighbourhood Manager
Pre-Inspection Visits
Possession order
Recharges
Residents’ Associations and
Panels
Resident Repair Inspector
Right to Buy (RTB)
Mobile Response Service
Safeguarding
Scrutiny and Improvement
Group (SIG)
Section 16 Freeholder
Secure Tenancy
Telephone: 020 8915 2000 Definition
The team who manages the planned programmes of work
which do not fall under day-to-day responsive repairs. These
would include external and communal decoration, kitchen and
window replacements and box bathrooms.
If neighbours have a dispute, a trained volunteer can help them
to reach agreement.
A scheme for Council and housing association tenants who
want to swap their homes with other tenants.
Inspections which take place at least twice a year on each estate
by Neighbourhood Managers and repair surveyors to identify
issues that need to be tackled including repairs, maintaining
grounds and cleaning.
The SHP staff member who can provide advice on tenancy
issues such as sub-letting; parking; pets; gardens; refuse disposal;
exchanging properties; ending a tenancy; abandoned properties;
succession; and Introductory Tenancies.
If we need to inspect any repair request or fault before sending
out our contractor, one of our surveyors will visit.
If you break any of the Tenancy Conditions or you are no longer
entitled to occupy the property, the council can apply to the
courts for possession of your home and to end the Tenancy
Agreement.
Extra charges you have to pay for damage or neglect to your
property.
Groups of tenants and leaseholders who have come together
because they want to have a say in issues that affect the area
where they live.
A tenant or leaseholder who helps to check and monitor the
standards for communal repairs.
A government scheme giving certain tenants the right to buy
their property.
An alarm system for elderly or vulnerable residents.
When you are worried that someone is being badly treated or
needs help in any way due to age, health or mental illness, there
is a special Safeguarding team within the Council’s Adult Social
Services department and a protocol to help.
The resident led group directly involved in monitoring and
challenging how we perform.
The owner of a property who holds the freehold but resides
within an estate or block for whom Sutton Housing Partnership
provides services.
A tenancy that can only be taken away via a Court Order in
special circumstances.
Website: www.suttonhousingpartnership.org.uk
Jargon Buster - Glossary of Terms
Term
Definition
Sutton Federation of Tenant and
Residents’ Associations (SFTRA)
Sheltered Housing
SFTRA is a borough wide organisation representing the
interests of tenants and leaseholders.
Housing for older people which gives residents the chance
to live somewhere with their own front door and keep their
independence, but have the peace of mind of having help and
advice at hand when needed.
Sutton Housing Partnership (SHP) SHP who is the provider of your day-to-day housing
services.
Sutton Leaseholders’ Association SLA is a borough wide organisation representing the
(SLA)
interests of leaseholders.
Social Housing
Rented housing owned and managed by local authorities and
housing associations for which guideline target rents are
determined through the national rent regime.
Sole Tenancy
You are solely responsible for paying the full rent and
keeping to the terms of the Tenancy Agreement.
Succession
Where someone else takes over the tenancy when a tenant
dies.
Surveyor
Specialist SHP staff members who may inspect any faults or
repairs required in your property to diagnose the cause of
the problem and agree the solution with you.
Tenancy Agreement
The legally binding contract between you and your landlord
(the Council).
Tenancy Checks
A visit by an SHP staff member to check on tenant well
being and that all Tenancy Conditions are being upheld.
Tenancy Conditions
The legal conditions given to you at the start of your
tenancy which all tenants must adhere to.
Tenancy Fraud
Where a Council-owned property is not occupied by the
tenant(s) who are supposed to be there or a tenancy has
been obtained by giving false information.
Tenant
A resident of a Council-owned property who has signed a
Tenancy Agreement and pays rent to occupy their property.
Tenant Participation Compact
An agreement which sets out how SHP will work with and
involve residents in improving housing and local
neighbourhoods.
Termination Form
The form you need to fill in to end your tenancy.
Under-Occupation
If you are living in a property that is larger than your family
needs.
Telephone: 020 8915 2000 E-mail: customercare@suttonhousingpartnership.org.uk
Introduction
1
1.1 Who is Sutton Housing Partnership?
Your housing service is managed by Sutton Housing Partnership. We are a non-profit making
organisation set up in 2006 to manage Council housing and to bring investment and improvements
to your homes across the Borough.
Your home is still owned by the London Borough of Sutton and the Council is your landlord. The
Council will set housing policies and decide the rent. However, Sutton Housing Partnership is
responsible for providing the day-to-day housing management and maintenance services to you.
We are committed to providing excellent, customer focused and cost effective housing services to
all our residents and currently look after over 6,300 tenants and approximately 1,400 leaseholders.
You can get involved in how we provide housing services and can really make a difference. There
are many opportunities for you to influence decisions and scrutinise our services outlined later in
this handbook.
1.2 What is the Tenants’ Handbook?
You should use this handbook together with our Tenancy Conditions, as your guide to a successful
tenancy. It explains in much greater detail your rights and responsibilities as a Council tenant, and
our rights and responsibilities as the manager of the housing service.
This handbook should tell you almost everything you will ever need to know about being a
Council tenant and explain all the services that Sutton Housing Partnership provides to you. There
is a separate handbook available for our leaseholders and Section 16 Freeholders.
There have been many changes in housing law, with policies and procedures changing over the past
few years. The handbook has taken all of these changes into consideration as at the date of
publication, and we have tried to explain the changes which might affect you as a tenant.
Where we use the words ‘you’ or ‘your’ we are talking about our tenants. Where we use the
words ‘we’, ‘our’ or ‘us’ we are talking about Sutton Housing Partnership, who provide your housing
service on the Council’s behalf.
Please keep the handbook for future reference.
1.3 What services does Sutton Housing Partnership offer?
Sutton Housing Partnership provides services in the following areas and teams.
• Neighbourhood Management
• Customer Care
• Repairs and Allocations
• Sheltered and Supported Housing
• Income Collection
• Leasehold Services
• External and Caretaking Services
• Customer Involvement
• Communications
• Major Works
• Quality and Performance
• Planned Maintenance
Telephone: 020 8915 2000 Website: www.suttonhousingpartnership.org.uk
1
Introduction
We can help with most enquiries about your home and your tenancy including
the following.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Anti-social behaviour
Aids and adaptations
Caretaking services
Credit Union
Communal cleaning services
Communal repairs
Direct debits
Domestic violence
Garage rental
Getting involved
Harassment
Home insurance advice
How to end your tenancy
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Maintaining the grounds
Major works/external decoration
Moving to another home
Mutual exchanges
Removing graffiti
Rent and advice on debts
Repairs
Safety (fire)
Sheltered housing
Succession of tenancy
Swipe cards
Tenancy audits
Tenancy fraud
See our full contact information in section 2.
1.4 When do you need to contact the Council rather than Sutton Housing
Partnership?
There are some housing related services for which you will need to contact the Council rather
than Sutton Housing Partnership including the following.
Adult Social Services: Services to support older people, with a physical disability, sensory
impairment, long-term illness, mental health or learning disability, and carers’ needs.
Allotments: To apply for an allotment.
Children’s Social Services: Services to support children including referral and assessment
services, early intervention, family support and care planning.
Council Tax: Paying your council tax, checking your council tax, exemptions, reductions and
discounts.
Environmental Health Services: Services including noise, air pollution, fly tipping and litter, pest
control, animals (strays) and water quality.
Housing advice and homelessness prevention: Homelessness, tenants’ rights and housing
related support.
Housing information and assessments: How to apply for housing in Sutton and housing
strategies.
Housing Benefit: Claiming Housing Benefit, overpayments, appeals, changes in circumstances.
Household waste and recycling: Bin collection, gritting, garden waste, large or bulky household
waste, assisted refuse collection for disabled, neighbourhood and borough recycling centres.
Insurance services: To apply for the tenants’ contents insurance scheme or to make an insurance
claim against your policy with the Council.
Parking services: Parking permits, disabled person’s parking, and parking penalty charges.
Street Scene: Potholes, highway and street lighting, abandoned vehicles, street and gulley cleaning.
For enquiries for all Council services please visit the Council’s web site at www.sutton.gov.uk or
call 020 8770 5000.
Telephone: 020 8915 2000 E-mail: customercare@suttonhousingpartnership.org.uk
Contacting Sutton Housing Partnership 2
2.1 How to contact us
Our Customer Care Team is your first point of contact for all our services. You can contact
Customer Care between 8:45am and 5pm, Monday to Friday.
Sutton Housing Partnership Customer Care Team - 020 8915 2000
Throughout this document you will see this Customer Care Team number at the bottom of each
page for your convenience.
Most of our phone calls are about repairs to property, which we pass to our contractor to carry
out in line with our target response times. Although we try to respond to your calls as quickly as
possible, please remember that our phones are often at their busiest first thing in the morning and
during lunchtime.
For gas servicing and central-heating breakdowns, please call our contractor Smith & Byford
direct on Freephone 0800 389 0867.
2.2 E-mail and Website
You can also contact us via e-mail using customercare@suttonhousingpartnership.org.uk . The
Customer Care Team will direct your e-mail to the most relevant officer and you will receive an
automated response to acknowledge receipt of your email.
Alternatively, you may choose to access our website www.suttonhousingpartnership.org.uk. On
our website you can pay your rent, access your rent balance, log a repair and read through all of
our information leaflets.
2.3 Emergency Contact Numbers
Please remember that if you have an emergency out of office hours, (at weekends and before
8:45am and after 5pm Monday to Friday) you can contact the Council’s emergency service on
020 8770 5000.
We can only respond to emergencies when there is serious risk to life or property. If an
emergency (for example, a burst pipe or gas leak) happens at your home while you are away and
we cannot contact you, we can enter your home. We will carry out emergency work to make your
home safe and prevent further damage. We will then make your home secure.
Call 999 for the Emergency Services, Fire Brigade, Ambulance and Police.
If you smell gas, call the National Gas Emergency Service on Freephone 0800 111 999.
The line is open 24 hours.
You should:
You should not:
turn the gas off at the mains; and
turn electric switches on or off; or
open doors and windows to get rid of the fumes.
use naked flames.
Telephone: 020 8915 2000 Website: www.suttonhousingpartnership.org.uk
2
Contacting Sutton Housing Partnership
2.4 Visiting us in person
You can also visit our offices at:
Sutton Housing Partnership
Sutton Gate
1 Carshalton Road
Sutton SM1 4LE
Office opening hours: Monday to Friday, 8:45am to 5pm
Staff will be available to take your enquiries in reception from 9am.
If you want to see a particular member of staff, it is best to phone and make an appointment first.
Home Visits
We can also visit you in your home if you have difficulty coming to our office. Please call us to
arrange a home visit.
2.5 Writing to us
You can also choose to write to us at the office address as above.
2.6 Your personal contacts
My Neighbourhood Manager is:
My Repairs Surveyor is:
My Income Manager is:
My Sheltered Housing Officers are:
2.7 Our response standards to each method of contact
Telephone Call
E-mail
24 Hours
7 working days
7 working days for general enquiries
15 working days for complex enquiries
Written correspondence
Telephone: 020 8915 2000 E-mail: customercare@suttonhousingpartnership.org.uk
Your Tenancy Agreement
3
3.1 Different types of tenancies
When you agree to become the tenant of your
home, you must sign a Tenancy Agreement. This
is a legally binding contract between you and the
Council, and sets out the responsibilities that
both parties have. Although you are a tenant of
London Borough of Sutton, Sutton
Housing Partnership has responsibility for
managing Council-owned property.
We have already given you a copy of your
Tenancy Agreement, and you should keep it in a
safe place. It’s really important that you keep to
the terms of your tenancy agreement and the
tenancy conditions. If you do not, your landlord
could take action against you which could lead
to you losing your home.
Introductory Tenancies
You will be given an Introductory Tenancy if you
have not, immediately prior to being offered this
tenancy, been a secure tenant of the London
Borough of Sutton, another Local Authority or
an assured tenant of another social landlord
such as a housing association. The tenancy will
be granted for a trial period.
An Introductory Tenancy allows us to monitor
your ability to keep to the terms and
conditions of your Tenancy Agreement. If you
do not breach the Tenancy Conditions you will
automatically become a Secure Tenant after the
trial period of one year. If before the end of
one year we ask the Court to make an Order
for possession of the property, and an Order is
made, your tenancy will come to an end.
We may choose to extend your Introductory
Tenancy by 6 months as an alternative to
applying to the Court for possession of your
property. If you continue to break the
conditions of your tenancy and do not put
matters right, we will seek a possession order
against you.
Telephone: 020 8915 2000 Secure Tenancies
Under the Housing Act 1985, most Council
tenants have ‘security of tenure’. This means we
have to get a Court Order to make you leave
your home, and a court will only grant an order
in certain circumstances, some of which are
detailed later in this section.
Demoted Tenancies
If the terms of a secure tenancy have been
broken, the council may apply to the court to
downgrade the tenancy to a demoted tenancy.
As a demoted tenant, you will also lose certain
rights including the Right to Buy or to exchange
your property. Breaking the terms of the
demoted tenancy will lead to immediate
eviction from the property.
Other Tenancy Types
There are other types of tenancy which may be
granted in some circumstances. For instance,
people who are housed in temporary
accommodation will have a licence agreement.
If you are unsure what type of tenancy you have,
please check the paperwork you received when
you signed up for the property, or contact your
Neighbourhood Manager.
3.2 The differences between Sole
Tenancies and Joint Tenancies
If you hold a sole tenancy, your name will be the
only one on the tenancy agreement and you will
be solely responsible for paying the full rent and
keeping to the terms of the Tenancy Agreement.
If you have a joint tenancy, you and the other
named tenant are both responsible for keeping
to the terms of the Tenancy Agreement.You are
both jointly and individually responsible for
paying the full rent of the tenancy.
Website: www.suttonhousingpartnership.org.uk
3
Your Tenancy Agreement
We can demand rent from either of you if you
have missed payments on your rent, even if your
relationship has broken down and one of you
has moved out. A joint tenancy gives equal rights
to anyone who signs the Tenancy Agreement.
It is important to understand the differences
and the implications before signing your Tenancy
Agreement. If you are not sure what is best in
your case, discuss this with your
Neighbourhood Manager. Once the Tenancy
Agreement has been signed, you can not add
names or take names off, without permission
from us. However, a Court may make an order
transferring a tenancy as part of a divorce,
separation or child care proceedings.
3.4 Tenancy Checks
We aim to visit all tenants periodically to check
on their wellbeing and to see if additional
support or advice is needed. We take the
opportunity to make sure our records are up to
date, and also to check that the people living at
the property are entitled to be there.
When we visit we will complete a short
questionnaire with you and you will be asked to
provide evidence of identity, such as a passport
or driving licence. Visits are usually carried out
by the Neighbourhood Manager for the area,
but you should always ask to see proof of
identification.
3.3 Supported and Sheltered Housing
3.5 Tenancy Fraud
Sutton Housing Partnership is also able to
provide support to older and vulnerable people
in a number of different ways including
Sheltered Housing, a Mobile Response Service
and a Community Support Service.
All of these services aim to enable people to
live independently in their own homes, with the
reassurance and knowledge that they can access
support that they need.
Sheltered Housing gives older residents the
opportunity to live somewhere with their own
front door and keep their independence, but
have the security of help and advice at hand
when needed. Each scheme is supported by
Sheltered Housing Officers.
Emergency Mobile Response Services:
specialist staff will respond to emergency
situations at any time of the day or night to
assess and manage the situation. If you are or
become a service user you need to purchase
and install a ‘key safe’ to enable them to access
your property.
For more information on these services and
information on charges, please see our leaflet
list at the end of this handbook which you can
access via our website or by calling our
Customer Care Team.
Housing fraud is where a Council-owned
property is not occupied by the person who is
supposed to be there. Examples would be
sub-letting a property without permission or
giving false information to obtain a tenancy.
There are a large number of people awaiting
housing in Sutton, some of whom are living in
very poor or overcrowded conditions.
Fraudulent use of social housing stops these
people from being re-housed more quickly.
Our Fraud Officer will investigate all cases
where a fraud is suspected. We may visit and
ask to see identification, and run checks to see if
the person in occupation has a right to be there.
We will always take action to recover a
property where there is evidence of unlawful
letting or non-occupancy. Anyone involved will
almost certainly lose their right to a Council
property. In some cases, housing fraud is a
criminal offence and prosecution may follow.
If you think a Council-owned property may be
occupied by someone who should not be there,
you can contact us in confidence by calling the
Customer Care Team.
Telephone: 020 8915 2000 E-mail: customercare@suttonhousingpartnership.org.uk
Your Tenancy Agreement
3.6 Ending your tenancy
3
normal working hours, at our office at Sutton
Gate before the last day of your tenancy or
If you want to end your tenancy, you must give
before 12 noon on the Monday immediately
us at least four weeks’ written notice. You can
after. You should ensure that you obtain a
do this by sending a letter to us or you can fill in receipt. If you hand your keys in late, we will
a termination form which you can get from the
extend your tenancy to the following Sunday
Customer Care Team. You must send or deliver and you will be required to pay all the charges
the notice to our Customer Care Team at
due.
Sutton Gate.
If you leave your property and do not tell us,
either you will have to pay rent for the property
You will be required to have a pre-termination
until the date when you tell us you have left plus
visit from one of our Re-housing Officers. This
four weeks in lieu of notice, or until the date we
visit will give you sufficient advice to ensure that repossess the property.
you do not do anything that may result in you
3.7 Succession to your tenancy
being re-charged for any breaches of your
Tenancy Agreement.
In certain circumstances, if a tenant dies, a
partner or family member may be allowed to
You must make sure that when you leave
take over the tenancy. For further information
the property:
or advice regarding succession, please contact
• it is clean, tidy and safe
• all your belongings and rubbish are removed your Neighbourhood Manager.
from the property (including the loft, back
3.8 Assignment of your tenancy
and front gardens, garage, balcony and
(transferring your rights)
outhouses)
• you remove all carpets, laminate
Assignment happens when a tenant transfers a
flooring, white goods (cookers/fridges/
Secure Tenancy and all the rights that go with
freezers), sheds, greenhouses, garden
it to someone else.You will lose all your rights
furniture and rubbish.
as a secure tenant if you assign your rights to
• lawns and hedges have been cut, overgrown
gardens cleared, ponds drained and removed, someone else.
and the area put back to its original
Generally, an assignment is only allowed if a
condition safely.
Court Orders a transfer as part of divorce
• you have put right any unauthorised and
proceedings, or if you want to transfer your
incomplete improvement work to the
tenancy to a family member who would be
property and garden areas, including patios,
entitled to succeed if you died.
before you leave and you must put the
If you are a secure tenant, you may also assign
property back to its original condition.
your tenancy if you take part in a mutual
• you leave all fittings and fixtures, including
kitchen units, heating systems, doors, handles exchange.
in their original condition and in working
You may only transfer your tenancy by using a
order.
special document called a deed. By law, you may
If you fail to meet any of these requirements,
not assign the tenancy without our written
we will recharge you for any work required for
permission. If you do so, we may apply for a
us to put it right.
Court Order to repossess the property.
You must hand your keys in person, during
Telephone: 020 8915 2000 Website: www.suttonhousingpartnership.org.uk
3
Your Tenancy Agreement
When considering whether to allow
assignments we treat a Registered Civil
Partnership the same as a Civil Marriage, and we
treat persons living together as if in a Civil
Partnership the same as persons living together
as if husband and wife.
3.11 Reasons why we can get
possession of your home
We can apply for a Possession Order for
any of the following reasons.
a If you have not paid your rent or you have
broken some other term of your Tenancy
3.9 Relationship breakdown
Agreement.
b If you, anyone living with you, or a visitor,
If a couple splits up, we cannot provide separate
have been convicted of using the property or
accommodation for both partners. If a joint
allowing it to be used for illegal purposes, or
tenancy is brought to an end, we may offer a new have been convicted of an offence committed in
tenancy to the partner who has responsibility
or near your property.
for looking after any children. Couples can ask a c If you have caused a nuisance in the local area.
court to order the transfer of the tenancy under d If you have damaged your home or communal
the Family Law Act 1996. We would recommend areas (entrances, landings, staircases, passageways,
you seek independent legal advice.
paths, drives, gardens or balconies).
e If you, or your partner, have left the property
due to violence or threats of violence in the
3.10 If we ask you to leave your home
home.
f If you obtained the tenancy by using false
If we have good reason, we may serve you with a information.
‘Notice of Seeking Possession’, “Notice to Quit”
g If you have refused to move back to your
or “Notice of Possession Proceedings”, depending old home after being temporarily rehoused
on the type of tenancy you hold. After this, we
while we carried out building work.
may apply for a Court Order to end your
h If you have allowed the property to become
tenancy.
overcrowded.
i If we plan to demolish or redevelop the
The County Court will set a date for the
property or land.
hearing, and send you a claim form and reply
j If the property has been specially adapted
form so that you can give your response to our
for a physically disabled person but a disabled
claim. If you receive a claim, you should take legal person no longer lives there.
advice before you return the form to the Court. k If you (but not a married partner) succeeded
At the Court Hearing you will be given the
to a tenancy and your home is under-occupied.
opportunity to respond to our claim. After
l If the property is one of a group let to
listening to both sides, the Court will decide
people with special needs, no one living there
whether or not to grant a Possession Order.
has specific needs and we need it for someone
who does.
If the Court grants an outright Possession
In reasons a to g, the court will only grant us
Order, or if you break the terms of a suspended
possession if they think it is reasonable to do so.
Possession Order or Demoted Order, we will ask In reasons h to i, we will only start Court
the Court-appointed bailiffs to evict you. If this
Proceedings if you have refused an offer of other
happens, the Council may consider you as having Council accommodation. The Court will only
made yourself intentionally (deliberately)
grant a Possession Order if suitable alternative
homeless and may not house you again.
accommodation is available to you. In reasons j
to l, the court will only grant us possession if it
also thinks it is reasonable to do so.
Telephone: 020 8915 2000 E-mail: customercare@suttonhousingpartnership.org.uk
Your Key Obligations Under Your Tenancy Agreement 4
4.1 Subletting and lodgers
You are allowed to take in a lodger or sublet
part of your home if you tell us and get our
permission. You are not allowed to sublet the
whole of your home and move out. If we
believe that you may have done this, we may
apply to a Court to end your tenancy.
Generally a lodger is someone who shares your
home and you provide meals for, if someone
lives separately in your home and provides their
own meals, they are likely to be a subtenant.
Subtenants and lodgers have no Security of
Tenure and you are responsible for making sure
that they leave the property if you give up your
tenancy. If you move from your home, you must
hand it back to us empty.
If you receive state benefits, you must tell
Benefits Services at the Civic Offices and the
relevant Department of Work and Pensions
agency about any rent or money you receive
from a lodger or sub-tenant. The amount of
Housing Benefit you receive may go down,
which means the amount of rent you have to
pay goes up.
4.2 Pets and Animals
You need our written permission to keep pets.
Pets require a lot of looking after, and owners
need to make sure that their pet does not affect
other residents who may not share their love
of animals.You will be required to complete a
‘permission to keep a pet form’ and provide a
photograph of your pet (dogs only). If you have
a pet, you must clean up any mess your pet
makes. If you want to keep a dog, you will
normally need to have a private garden. We
will normally only give permission for up to
two animals.
Permission will normally be given for small
domestic animals and birds.
Telephone: 020 8915 2000 Permission will not be given for:
• Animals registered under the Dangerous
Wild Animals Act 1976.
• Farm animals – for example, sheep, goats,
pigs, cattle, horses, chickens and ducks.
• Dogs specified under the Dangerous Dogs
Act 1991.
• Pets to be kept in your home where there is
an ongoing problem with pet ownership in
the household or there has been a problem
in the past.
We may withdraw our permission for you to
keep a pet if it causes a nuisance. This includes
noise, smell, hygiene problems and aggressive
behaviour. (See the Tenancy Conditions, section
4.29).
You must provide reasonable care for
your pet, and not allow it to:
• Cause nuisance, annoyance or danger to
neighbours, visitors to the property, and our
staff and agents.
• Cause damage to your home or any Council
owned property. If this happens you may be
charged for any damage caused.
• Foul on any Council property including
communal areas. Fouling of any area must be
cleared up immediately by you, the owner or
person in charge of the animal at the time.
• Be present on any Council property without
being accompanied by you or a responsible
adult at all times.Your dog must be kept on
a lead and completely under control at all
times in communal areas.Your dog must also
not be allowed to roam around the
communal areas including footpaths and play
areas.
You must not:
• Run a business from your home. This
includes breeding animals for sale or
boarding kennels.
• Allow your home to become unhygienic.
Website: www.suttonhousingpartnership.org.uk
4
Your Key Obligations Under Your Tenancy Agreement
• Feed squirrels and other vermin either at
your home or in communal areas.
• Feed pigeons in communal areas.
Dog owners’ guide - We specifically ask dog
owners to please remember:
• do not leave your dog alone for long
periods (it is unfair to the dog and could be
a nuisance to your neighbours if it barks or
howls)
• do not leave dogs on balconies
• do not take your dog into dog-free zones
• all dogs must wear an identity tag giving their
owner’s name and address
• residents are requested to provide a
registration number of dogs that have been
micro-chipped
If you do not comply with any of the above
terms and conditions, we may withdraw our
permission, and you may be asked to remove
the pet(s) from your home. These rules apply to
pets belonging to your friends, relatives, and
visitors to your home, and any other person
living in your home, including children. If they
do something to lead to a breach of this clause,
we will consider this a breach of your Tenancy
Agreement.
4.3 Cars and other vehicles
If you have an authorised parking space within
the boundary of your home, you can park a
vehicle there so long as it is safe, of reasonable
size, and does not cause a nuisance to your
neighbours.You will need to get our permission
if you wish to construct a parking space.
You must only park a vehicle in an estate area
if it is an area set aside for parking. We will not
give permission for boats, trailers, or caravans
to be parked in parking spaces.Vehicles must be
safe, roadworthy, taxed and insured. We will take
action to remove unsafe, abandoned or untaxed
vehicles. Any vehicle parked in a disabled bay
must display a valid blue badge.
Telephone: 020 8915 2000 While you can carry out minor repairs or
maintenance of vehicles, you must make sure
you do not cause a nuisance to anyone, and
clear up after working on your vehicle.You must
not carry out vehicle repairs or sales as a
business on estate areas.
We may charge you any costs associated with
enforcement of the above conditions.
4.4 Flooring
If you wish to install any type of floor covering
which is laminate, wood, other artificial wooden
floor coverings or ceramic tiles or if you want
to have bare floorboards within your home,
you must receive our prior written permission.
Whilst we will not refuse permission
unreasonably, we will only grant permission if
you live in a house. We will not generally grant
permission where you live in a flat or
maisonette other than if you are on the ground
floor.
We may withdraw permission if at any time
your floor coverings cause noise nuisance to
your neighbours, and you will be required to
remove the flooring and cover it with underlay
and carpet.
4.5 Firearms and other banned items
You must not store any firearms in your home.
Firearms include air rifles, shotguns and replica
guns.You must not store ammunition,
oxyacetylene and welding equipment in your
home, garden or in any communal areas to your
property.
E-mail: customercare@suttonhousingpartnership.org.uk
Our Key Obligations and Standards of Service To You 5
5.1 Service Standards
The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) formerly known as the Tenant Service Authority
(TSA) is the regulator for social housing. They have set out a set of service standards, supported by
locally agreed standards, which Sutton Housing Partnership are required to meet.
Visit the HCA website at www.homesandcommunities.co.uk .
The standards cover
• Tenant involvement and empowerment
• Home
• Tenancy
• Neighbourhood and Community
One of the key roles of our Resident Scrutiny Group is to ensure that we are meeting these
standards which have also been agreed with our residents.
For more information on our local offers please contact our Customer Care Team.
5.2 Service Reviews
We regularly review our services. The reviews ensure we measure, test services, learn from
mistakes and assess whether we are providing value for money in the delivery of our services.
A key part of a service review is to involve customers through focus groups and surveys.
5.3 Your right to be consulted
Under the Housing Act 1985 we must consult all secure tenants on a range of housing
management issues and give them the chance to make their views known before we make a
decision. This means that before we change our policy on managing, maintaining and improving
your home or providing new services, we will ask you what you think.
If we plan to change any of the Tenancy Conditions, we will send you a ‘notice of variation.’ This
notice will tell you about the change we are proposing and explain the effect the change could have
on you. You will have the chance to send in your comments within four weeks of the change. We
will consider your comments before we make a decision on the proposed change, and then give
you at least four weeks’ notice of the date the change will happen.
Individual consultation: If you are likely to be affected by a significant proposal that relates to
your home, we will speak to you personally.
Group consultation: If we plan to carry out a particular scheme, or introduce a new policy
that is likely to affect a group of tenants on a particular estate, part of an estate or a block, we will
speak to the tenants who will be affected. We may consult you in writing, at a public meeting
between tenants and officers, or through a door-to-door survey.
5.4
Telephone: 020 8915 2000 Website: www.suttonhousingpartnership.org.uk
5
Our Key Obligations and Standards of Service To You
5.4 How we communicate with you
We want to ensure that we communicate with you regularly, clearly and about the issues that
matter most to you.
Some of the most important written methods of communication we use are:
Homefront: Is the newsletter that we produce for all our residents. We send it to residents four
times a year. It is filled with information about services and events taking place in your community
and is one of the main ways that we tell you about what we are doing.
Annual Report to Tenants: This is an annual report showing how SHP have performed and is
written by the resident led Scrutiny and Improvement Group. It is available in reception, by
request to the Customer Care Team, and on our website.
Budget Survey: Before we set our annual budget, we always ask your views on how we spend
our budget to ensure that we are prioritising our spend in the areas which are most
important to you. This is done through a survey.
One of our other key communication tools is our website.
Website: Our website is another of our main communication methods. On our website you can
currently check your rent balance and see your rent history of payments, access leaflets on our
services, check all upcoming events, get the latest news stories and much more. We will be adding
more secure services and features soon. If you do not have access to the Internet, there is a PC in
our reception for residents’ use.
5.5 Our Complaints Procedures
We like to hear if we are doing things right or if you think we are doing things wrong. Your views
are important to us. We want you, as a tenant, to receive a high standard of service. We want to
stop things going wrong and help to prevent them from happening to other tenants.
We would like to hear from you when:
• you have a comment or suggestion on how to improve or put right a particular service, or you
have ideas on how we can use services in the future; or
• you need to complain about a service failure or member of staff, or you feel you are not
receiving the service you are entitled to.
We will try to resolve most complaints quickly. Your first point of contact is the Customer Care
Team who will do whatever they can to sort the matter out to your satisfaction. However, if you
are still not happy, you may e-mail, write to, or phone the Complaints Co-ordinator who will be
happy to log your complaint at stage 1 of our formal complaints procedure.
The formal complaints procedure
A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction over which Sutton Housing Partnership has direct
control, including services delivered by our contractors. Our complaints procedure aims to make
sure that we deal with your complaint fairly and investigate your complaint fully to take care of any
worries you may have.
For full details of each stage and our response standards, please contact the Customer Care Team
and ask for a copy of our complaints leaflet, or access it via our website.
Telephone: 020 8915 2000 E-mail: customercare@suttonhousingpartnership.org.uk
Our Key Obligations and Standards of Service To You 5
Stage 1
We aim to resolve your complaint at this Stage within 10 working days. The investigating officer
will write to you to say whether he/she upholds your complaint and explain what action has been
proposed as a result. The Head of Service involved in your complaint will oversee the investigation.
Stage 2
If you are unhappy with the outcome of your complaint at stage 1, you can contact our Complaints
Co-ordinator within 6 months of receiving our response, and explain why you are unhappy with
the outcome. To make sure that a totally independent investigation is carried out, your complaint
will be investigated by a Senior Manager who has not been involved in your complaint in any way
and does not manage the service you have complained about. The Senior Manager will then write
to you with the results of their investigation within 21 working days.
Stage 3
If your complaint has still not been resolved to your satisfaction, you can request that the
Sutton Housing Partnership Appeals Panel takes a fresh look into your complaint. Please contact
our Complaints Co-ordinator within 28 days of receiving our stage 2 response to explain what you
remain unhappy about. The Appeals Panel will review your complaint and the actions taken in
previous stages and write to you within 21 working days with their findings.
Taking your complaint further
If you are still dissatisfied after Sutton Housing Partnership’s complaint process is complete, you
can contact the Customer Care Team who will advise you of what your next steps should be and
what external bodies you can apply to regarding your complaint.
Help in making a complaint
If you need support to make a complaint, a friend, relative, Councillor or a Member of Parliament
may be able to help you.You may also be eligible to receive help from a voluntary organisation.
Refer to our leaflet or call for details of further support.
Compensation
In some circumstances Sutton Housing Partnership may provide customers with compensation,
because of a failure in service delivery which results in financial loss or extreme distress or
inconvenience. Compensation is not automatic and is considered on an individual basis. For more
information about compensation please contact the Complaints Coordinator at Sutton Housing
Partnership.
5.6 Your data and your right to confidentiality
Some of the information we collect about our tenants is personal, so we have set up a number of
procedures to make sure that only authorised people have access to information we hold, and that
we always treat it confidentially.
When we do need to release information, for example, for legal reasons, or if we have shared
arrangements with other agencies, for example, housing associations, we will only do so on a ‘need
to know’ basis.
Telephone: 020 8915 2000 Website: www.suttonhousingpartnership.org.uk
5
Our Key Obligations and Standards of Service To You
5.7 Access to files
Under the Data Protection Act 1998, all customers have a right to access any personal material
held about them by the organisation, including a complaint file. This will sometimes be subject to a
fee. To request your file please ask to speak to the Complaints Coordinator or send your request
in writing via e-mail or letter.
5.8 Freedom of Information (FOI)
The Freedom Of Information (FOI) Act gives you the right of access to all types of recorded
information held by a public authority, including companies owned by public authorities (i.e. Sutton
Housing Partnership).
All requests under the FOI Act must be made in writing to the Council who will forward your
request to us. You can use the Freedom of Information Request e-Form on the London Borough
of Sutton’s website or you can email FOI@sutton.gov.uk at the London Borough of Sutton.
5.9 Equal opportunities
Sutton Housing Partnership is committed to meeting the differing needs of all our tenants and
leaseholders. We believe that the growing diversity of the borough is a source of strength, and we
actively value diversity in the community. Our Equality and Diversity Policy sets out how SHP
promotes equality and seeks to prevent discrimination, as an employer and also through the
services that we provide.
Sutton Housing Partnership provides services to the most disadvantaged sections of the
community. We believe that these should be delivered regardless of a person’s race, gender, age,
disability, sexual orientation, language, HIV status, religion, national or social origin or class.
Our Equality and Diversity strategy outlines our approach to embedding equality and diversity and
is available on the internet or by contacting our Customer Care Team.
In order to assess the success of our equality and diversity strategy, monitoring systems are
essential. We will gather information on ethnicity, gender, age, disability, faith or belief and sexual
orientation from all of our residents, staff and Board members and we will use this information to
ensure that we continue to provide inclusive and tailored services.
Telephone: 020 8915 2000 E-mail: customercare@suttonhousingpartnership.org.uk
Anti-Social Behaviour and Domestic Violence 6
We believe that all our tenants have the
right to enjoy their homes in peace.
Occasionally, some people are denied this basic
right and their lives are made a misery by
deliberate harassment or inconsiderate
neighbours. All tenants are responsible for the
behaviour of members of their household and
visitors. You are breaking the conditions of your
tenancy agreement if anyone living with you in
your home or visiting you causes alarm, distress,
nuisance or annoyance to anyone in the area or
around your home.
6.1 Disagreements with your
neighbours
Occasionally you may have a disagreement
with or a complaint about your neighbour. You
should first try to sort out disputes in a friendly
way by speaking to the neighbour about the
problem. People often fail to realise that they
have caused a nuisance until it is pointed out to
them. If you find it hard to talk to the person
involved, we may be able to offer you mediation
with our trained staff or refer your dispute to
Merton and Sutton Mediation Scheme.
6.2 What is anti-social behaviour?
The 1998 Crime and Disorder Act defines
anti-social behaviour as acting ‘in a manner that
has caused, or is likely to cause, harassment,
alarm or distress to one or more persons not
of the same household as the defendant.’
Anti-social behaviour comes in many
different forms ranging from low-level
nuisance to serious harassment. Things
which cause nuisance, annoyance or
disturbance may include, but are not
limited to:- Loud music; arguing; door
slamming; dog barking and fouling; drunkenness;
offensive or violent behaviour; racist abuse,
selling drugs or drug abuse; rubbish dumping;
inconsiderate car parking; playing ball games
close to someone else’s home, and damage to
property.
Telephone: 020 8915 2000 You and your household or visitors must not
disrupt your neighbours or other people.
We have designed our Anti-Social Behaviour
Policy not only to help the victim but also to
take action against the people responsible. Your
Tenancy Conditions say that, ‘You, and anyone
living with you or visiting your home, must not
commit any acts of harassment towards
anyone for any reasons’. If you or your
relative, or someone living with you, carries out
anti-social behaviour or harassment or causes a
nuisance, you risk losing your tenancy or facing
other Court action.
6.3 Reporting harassment, nuisance or
anti-social behaviour
You should report any case of nuisance,
harassment or anti-social behaviour to our
Customer Care Team as soon as possible,
especially if there has been violence or if you
feel at risk of violence. We treat all complaints
of harassment or anti-social behaviour seriously,
and handle all cases in the strictest confidence.
Our aim is to stop nuisance and harassment, and
end the threat of more incidents.
You should also report any incidents of
harassment to your local police station. For
independent help and support about racial
harassment, contact the Sutton Race Equality
Council.
6.4 What we can do about harassment
and anti-social behaviour
Our staff will deal sensitively with your problem.
We deal with complaints of harassment and
anti-social behaviour in line with a written
procedure. We can tell you your rights and give
you help and advice if you need it and direct you
to other groups for help and advice if requested.
We can investigate your complaint and take
action against the person who is causing the
Website: www.suttonhousingpartnership.org.uk
6
Anti-Social Behaviour and Domestic Violence
problem, if the evidence is clear and good
enough. We will provide you with diary sheets
and ask that you complete these regularly and
return them to us. If someone is causing a
nuisance, we will ask you to keep a note of the
time and place, and their name and address, if
you know them. We will need these records to
take action. One of our Anti-Social Behaviour
Officers or your Neighbourhood Manager will
tell you what action we may be able to take.
What we do will depend on what the problem
is, what the person making the complaint wants,
and how much evidence there is. To follow are
some examples of what we can do.
Mediation
If neighbours have a dispute, a trained volunteer
mediator can help them to reach agreement. If
both of you are willing, your Neighbourhood
Manager may be able to help you or can refer
your case to Merton and Sutton Mediation
Scheme who help neighbours sort out disputes
about problems such as noise, children, parking,
pets, rubbish and lifestyle differences.
Warning people who have caused
problems
If we have some evidence that someone has
caused a problem, we might warn them face-toface or in writing to stop their behaviour. If the
anti-social behaviour or harassment involves a
child, we will consider, along with the police and
other agencies involved with the child,
developing an Acceptable Behaviour Contract
(ABC). If they do not change their behaviour, we
can possibly take further action (see below).
Extra security
In extreme cases we will provide extra home
security for people who have had problems with
anti-social behaviour. This can include stronger
locks or fire-proof letter boxes. We have our
own alarm system called Safecall, which is
available 24 hours a day, all year in an
emergency. (For more details see section 12)
Legal action
In serious cases where we have sufficient
Telephone: 020 8915 2000 evidence, we can ask a Court to make orders
against people who are causing problems. These
include legal procedures, such as Anti-Social
Behaviour Injunctions and Anti-Social Behaviour
Orders, which can order people to stop
behaving badly. We will also consider applying
for a ‘possession order’ which can result in you
being evicted along with anyone else who is
living with you. We many also consider excluding
anyone living or visiting you from the property
on a temporary or permanent basis. Tenants
who are evicted for nuisance, anti-social
behaviour or harassment are unlikely to qualify
for alternative housing as they are likely to be
considered to have made themselves
homeless and may not be allowed to join the
housing register.
Demoted Tenancy
Where you have been given a Secure Tenancy
and you or your visitors or persons living with
you have engaged or have threatened to engage
in anti-social behaviour or you have used the
premises for unlawful purposes, Sutton Housing
Partnership and the London Borough of Sutton
may apply to the Court for an order that your
tenancy is down graded to a ‘Demoted Tenancy’.
If this happens, your rights as a Secure Tenant
will come to an end. This will usually last for
a period of 12 months unless your tenancy is
brought to an end because of further anti-social
behaviour or other breaches of your Tenancy
Conditions.
6.5 Respecting our staff and
contractors
We will take legal action against you if you or
a member of your family assaults, harasses or
abuses our staff or contractors. If you threaten
or abuse a member of staff or a contractor we
will also record details of the incident and those
responsible on our Corporate Warning System.
In some cases the Police will be notified. Our
staff will not accept offensive language or
threatening or racist behaviour from anyone.
E-mail: customercare@suttonhousingpartnership.org.uk
Anti-Social Behaviour and Domestic Violence 6
6.6 Safeguarding and Social Services
If you suspect that someone is being badly
treated or needs help in any way due to age,
health or mental illness you must tell someone
about it. Your concerns will be taken seriously.
If you are worried about the consequences,
your identity can be withheld from the people
you report.
In an emergency where immediate action is
required to protect someone from harm, please
contact the emergency services by dialling 999.
Otherwise you should act on any concerns to
ensure that the situation is assessed and
investigated correctly by reporting the incident
to your Neighbourhood Manager or Sheltered
Housing Officer via our Customer Care Team
or directly to the London Borough of Sutton
Adult or Children’s Social Services Teams.
All Sutton Housing Partnership employees also
have a professional and moral duty to report
any safeguarding concerns.
6.7 Domestic violence
If you live in a council property and need advice
about your situation you should contact our
Customer Care Team who will put you in
contact with one of our Anti-Social Behaviour
Officers. We will arrange for you to see
someone of your own sex if you prefer.
We may be able to offer temporary
accommodation if you feel unable to return
home. As this is a time of great stress, our staff
are careful to deal with you very sensitively. All
interviews will be confidential, and you can use a
support service.
Rehousing
If a family splits up because of domestic violence,
we will look at the case carefully to see who
should stay in the family home. We will also let
you know what your rights are on your home.
In some cases it may be possible for you to get
an ‘Ouster’ Injunction (an order from a Court
banning someone from your property or
belongings). However, we will not insist that you
do this, as it may not give you the right kind of
protection.
If you get an Ouster Injunction or NonDomestic Violence includes any form of physical, Molestation Order (an order from a Court
sexual or emotional violence between people in preventing harassment, pestering or assault)
a close relationship. It can include rape, threats
against your partner in a Council property but
and intimidation such as degradation, mental
are worried about them returning home, we will
verbal, financial or psychological abuse,
consider offering you other accommodation. If
humiliation, deprivation, systematic criticism and this happens, we will ask you to serve us with a
belittling.
‘Notice to Quit’ to end the tenancy of the
original home. This will allow us to take
You and anyone living with you or visiting your
Possession Proceedings against your partner if
home must not commit any act of domestic
we need to.
violence or abuse against any other person
If you don’t have children and apply to the
either in the home or in or around the locality
Council for housing assistance because domestic
of your home.
violence has taken place or is threatened, the
You or your partner must not cause the other
Council can explore your alternative housing
to leave the property because of violence or the options with you.
threat of violence.
Support groups in Sutton
For more information on related support
If you need protection from domestic violence
groups, see the useful contacts and supporting
(in an emergency) you should call the Police on information section or call our Customer Care
999.
Team.
Telephone: 020 8915 2000 Website: www.suttonhousingpartnership.org.uk
7
Your Rent
Your rent is set on an annual basis by the Council using a formula set by the central government.
The rent you pay is used by us to manage, repair and maintain your home and estate, so it is vital
to pay on time.
7.1 Paying your rent
Your Tenancy Conditions say that you must pay your rent every week in advance.Your rent is due
on a Monday. You may choose to pay every week, two weeks or monthly, but all payments are due
in advance.
You can pay your rent by the following ways:
Direct Debit
We recommend you pay your rent by Direct Debit. It avoids queuing, postage and paperwork, and
it takes away the worry of paying your rent on time. It also costs less to process, meaning more of
your money goes towards important services like repairs.
You can opt to pay monthly, on the 1st or 10th of every month or fortnightly, and this can be set up
easily over the phone. Alternatively forms are available on request. Please call our Customer Care
Team. Once a direct debit is set up, your bank or building society automatically pays your rent to us
and there is no need to tell your bank when the rent changes.
If you pay by Direct Debit or have a clear rent account, you will be entered into our monthly draws
to win your choice from a selection of prizes, (this is for residential rent accounts only and
excludes garage accounts).
Bank standing order
You can get an application form from our Customer Care Team. Once this is set up, you will need
to let your bank know if your rent changes.
Post Office
You can use your Payment Card at any UK Post Office to pay using cash, a Debit or Credit Card or
cheque (made payable to Post Office Limited).
PayZone
You can use your Payment Card at any shop with the PayZone sign to pay by cash, or at the
Civic Offices (Ground Floor, Civic Offices, St Nicholas Way, Sutton SM1 1EA).
You may also pay by cash, Debit or Credit Card using the “Payment Machine” in the ground floor
reception, at the Civic Offices.
By post
You can send cheques through the post to Sutton Housing Partnership, Sutton Gate, 1 Carshalton
Road, Sutton SM1 4LE. Please make the cheque payable to the London Borough of Sutton,
crossed ‘account payee only’, with your name, address and account number on the back
of the cheque. If you need a receipt, please ask us in writing when you send your payment.
Do not send cash payments or payment cards in the post.
Telephone: 020 8915 2000 E-mail: customercare@suttonhousingpartnership.org.uk
Your Rent
7
Credit and Debit Cards
You can make payments by credit and debit cards by phoning our Customer Care Team or the
Council’s call centre on 020 8770 5000.
(Please note that if you pay your rent by Credit Card, this may result in you having to pay interest if
you do not clear your Credit Card account each month. We do not recommend the use of credit
cards for this reason).
Touch-tone phone payments
You can use this service by dialling 020 8770 7887. The touch-tone phone service operates
through a series of recorded instructions, asking you to press specific phone keys which relate to
the particular type of service you need.
Internet payments
You can pay by Debit or Credit Card over the internet through our website. Click on the “make a
Payment option” in the bottom left corner. You should also keep your own record of the payments
you have made on-line. Please read the ‘Payment Help’ screen for instructions on how to do this.
7.2 Prepaid weeks
We work out your rent to be paid over 50 weeks of the year. You do not have to pay rent
during the Christmas fortnight – these are the dates shown on the letter you receive with your
rent details. If you are behind with your rent, you should continue to pay during this period to
reduce what you owe. You should also, during the two prepaid weeks, continue to pay any amount
due under a possession order.
7.3 Details and statements
The annual tenancy details notification letter is important and you should keep it safe for reference.
We will send you a statement of your rent account every three months. If you need a statement at
any other time, please contact our Customer Care Team. You can also get live access to your rent
details via our website. Simply click on the “How Do I Check My Rent Balance” option in the
bottom left corner.
7.4 Housing Benefits
If you are on benefits, or have a low income, you may be able to get Housing and Council Tax
Benefit. You can get an estimate of your entitlement to Housing and Council Tax Benefit or apply
for these benefits on the Council’s website.
7.5 How to stop rent arrears building up – how we can help
It is important that we receive the rent when it is due because your rent pays for all the housing
services. If you do not pay your rent you might lose your home. It is important that you contact
our team straightaway if you start having problems paying your rent.
Telephone: 020 8915 2000 Website: www.suttonhousingpartnership.org.uk
7
Your Rent
If you do get into rent arrears, we will offer advice and may come to an arrangement with you to
clear them by regular instalments. You should make sure you can manage to make the suggested
payments and must keep to the arrangement.
If you have difficulties after you make the arrangement, even if it is for only one week, contact our
Customer Care Team and ask for help from our Debt Advisor.
7.6 Legal action
If you break your agreement to clear your arrears by instalments, or if you let the arrears increase,
we will send you a ‘Notice of Seeking Possession’ if you are a secure tenant or a ‘Notice of
Possession Proceedings’ if you are an introductory tenant. This will tell you the reasons why we
think the Court should give the Council possession of your home.
We will send you the notice and make arrangements to see you. It is important that you keep this
appointment or rearrange it if you cannot make the suggested time. If you do not clear your
arrears or make an arrangement to clear them, we will apply for a hearing at the County Court.
The Court will send you a claim form telling you the date of the hearing and giving details of our
claim. There will also be a form for you to fill in and return to the Court giving your side of the
story. You should take legal advice at this stage, if you have not already done so. You can get legal
advice from a solicitor or from the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) if you need it, (see the useful
contacts section). You should also make sure that you attend the day fixed for the hearing.
If the Court gives the Council a possession order, we may ask the court bailiffs to evict you. We do
not like evicting tenants but we will have no choice if you do not let us know acceptable reasons
why you cannot pay your rent. If we evict you from your home, you will still have to pay your rent
arrears, Court costs, and the costs charged by the bailiffs for evicting you.
7.7 Credit Union
Croydon, Merton & Sutton Credit Union are a Community Savings and Loans Co-Operative, run
for and by its members on a not-for-profit basis. They are authorised and regulated by the Financial
Savings Authority and help their members avoid high interest money lenders, doorstep lenders and
loan sharks.
To find out more about Credit Union see the details in the useful contacts section.
Telephone: 020 8915 2000 E-mail: customercare@suttonhousingpartnership.org.uk
Day-to-day Repairs 8
We rely on you telling us about repairs that are needed to individual properties or shared areas.
These are called day-to-day repairs.
Most repairs to the structure and the essential services to your home are our responsibility.
However, if you damage a Council property, we will charge you for the cost of putting it right.
A separate Repairs Handbook is available and will give you more details on all of the information
in this section and is designed to make reporting repairs easier. You can obtain a copy from our
Customer Care Team or our reception.
8.1 Who is responsible?
Your Tenancy Conditions set out the responsibilities for carrying out repairs.
In some cases, if the previous tenant carried out an improvement or left other items in place, we
will have asked you to sign a disclaimer at the start of your tenancy to confirm that you will be
responsible for any future repairs to that improvement. The only exception to this will be when we
accepted responsibility for the improvement at the start of your tenancy.
We are responsible for repairing and maintaining
• the structure and the outside of the property, including any shared parts of the building
• the roof, walls and foundations
• drains, gutters and pipes, tap washers
• doors and door frames
• window frames
• chimneys and chimney stacks
• window glass (we may charge you for this work)
• ceilings
• plaster work
• skirting boards
• paths, fences and steps
• our boundary walls and fences
• garages and stores which form part of your home
You are responsible for reporting repairs as soon as possible and for keeping the inside
of your home in good repair and the decorations, fixtures and fittings in good
condition.
You are also responsible for
• door furniture (e.g. handles and knobs), hinges and cupboard latches
• replacing keys, light bulbs and fuses
• your own electrical equipment
• broken pulls for high-level toilet cisterns and toilet seats
• sink and bath plugs
• cracks in plaster that are not structural
• changing batteries in smoke alarms and telling us if the alarm needs attention
• regularly testing your battery or hard-wired smoke detector
• getting back into your property if you have locked yourself out
Telephone: 020 8915 2000 Website: www.suttonhousingpartnership.org.uk
8
Day-to-day Repairs
You must immediately report to our Customer Care team any blockage or breakage that may
affect any shared area or system, or another property. This is so we can make sure further damage
is limited.
8.2 Recharges for Repairs
You must repair any damage caused by any members of your family or other people living in or
visiting your home. If any repairs have to be carried out because you, a member of your family, or
anyone visiting your home, caused damage or neglect, you will have to pay extra charges to cover
the work.
8.3 How to report a repair
You can report repairs in one of the following ways:
• By phone to our Customer Care team
• Visit or write to us at Sutton Gate
• By e-mail to customercare@suttonhousingpartnership.org.uk
• On the Sutton Housing Partnership website
When you report a fault, give as much information as possible including your telephone number
and dates and times when you will be available to let the repair contractor in. Our contractors
offer two hour appointment slots and can offer Saturday appointments and some evenings. Please
ensure that you do not miss an appointment as this will waste time and resources and you may
even be recharged.
Outside office hours, you can call the emergency number 020 8770 5000 for genuine emergency
repairs. Non-emergency calls to the out of office service could affect other tenants with more
serious problems and may result in a recharge to you. Emergency repairs are those that need to
be done to prevent immediate danger to people, to prevent major damage or to make a property
secure.
8.4 Pre-Inspections
If we need to inspect the fault before we send our contractor, we will arrange an appointment for
one of our surveyors to visit you. We offer morning and afternoon appointment times and can
avoid school runs to suit you.
8.5 Your right to repair
The Government introduced the ‘Right to Repair’ scheme to make sure that certain small repairs
(up to the value of £250) which are likely to affect the health, safety or security of the tenant are
finished within certain time scales. If we do not finish the repair within the timescale, you can ask
us to get another contractor. If they also fail to finish the work within the timescale, you can claim
for compensation. For more information please refer to the Repairs Handbook.
Telephone: 020 8915 2000 E-mail: customercare@suttonhousingpartnership.org.uk
Day-to-day Repairs
8
8.6 How long have we got to carry out your repairs?
We group all repairs into categories and give them target times. The length of time will depend on
how urgent the repair is according to our service standards.
We place orders into one of the following response-time priority categories:
A
B
C
D
To go to the premises and make safe, or finish the repairs within 3 hours
To go to the premises and make safe, or finish the repairs within 24 hours
To go to the premises and finish the repairs within 5 working days
To go to the premises and finish the repairs within 20 working days
We will carry out all other non-urgent repairs outside the response times listed above. The repair
response times are the maximum time periods for the work we will carry out when it is ordered
during normal working hours.
In the higher priority A and B categories, it may only be possible to deal with and, if appropriate,
‘make safe’ a fault rather than finish a repair because we may need to order materials.
We can only meet these response times if we have reasonable access to the property. If
programmes of work cover repairs that you have asked for, or if we need to order custom-made
items, the response times will not apply. For certain repairs to the outside of a property, the
response times will depend on the weather conditions and we may need to extend them.
Below is a very small selection of example response times. For further information on response
priorities for specific repairs please refer to the Repairs Handbook. If you are not happy with the
response time given to your repair, you should contact our Customer Care Team.
General building repairs
Response time
Replacing faulty door locks if they are a security risk
Replacing tiles or slates on the roof where water is leaking in
Reglazing (hole in the glass, which may make the glass dangerous)
Repairing outside brickwork
Gas and mechanical repairs
Response time
Gas leaks
Heating and hot-water failures in properties which elderly or seriously
ill people live in (during October to March)
Heating failures where there is no other type of heating, during
October to March (not gas fires or electric fires)
Heating failures, during April to September
Telephone: 020 8915 2000 A
B
C
D
A
A
B
C
Website: www.suttonhousingpartnership.org.uk
8
Day-to-day Repairs
Electrical repairs
Response time
Reporting electric shocks or exposed wires in a property
No lights or power, including inside shared staircases
Supply to cooker or freezer not working
Replacing faulty accessories, including doorbells
A
A
B
C
Plumbing repairs
Response time
Dealing with serious blockages and leaks to washbasins, bath or sink
wastes or supply pipes
Replacing unusable broken toilet pans and cisterns, and dealing with
blocked toilet pans if there is only one toilet in a property
Clearing blocked waste pipes and repairing leaks to washbasins, baths or
sinks if waste water is not backing up or the leaks are not serious
Repairing flushing systems to toilet cisterns if there is more than one toilet
in a property
A
B
C
D
8.7 What to do if a repair is not completed
If a repair is not finished or you are not happy with the work to the repair, please contact our
Customer Care Team as soon as possible or return the repair satisfaction slip that we will have
sent you when you placed the repair order.
8.8 Condensation and damp
Condensation is the water produced when moist air, vapour or steam comes into contact with a
cold surface, such as windows, walls and floors. It can damage clothes, bedding and floor coverings,
and can cause mould to grow on walls and ceilings.
The following simple steps will help reduce condensation problems:
• Keep rooms warm and well ventilated.
• When you are cooking, keep the kitchen doors shut and the windows open.
• When you are bathing, washing or drying clothes, keep the doors shut and the windows open
or the extractor fan on.
To help beat condensation, there will usually be airbricks or grilles fitted into the walls of your
home to provide ventilation. Please do not let the airbricks or grilles become blocked by
allowing garden soil, rubbish or other items to block the area around the airbricks on the outside
walls. There is a serious risk of dampness if you do not do this. See our leaflet for further advice.
Sometimes homes get damp due to building faults or because the damp-proof course is damaged.
If you believe that your home is damp and that the cause is not condensation, please contact our
Customer Care Team who will arrange an inspection.
Telephone: 020 8915 2000 E-mail: customercare@suttonhousingpartnership.org.uk
Day-to-day Repairs
8
8.9 Burst pipes and flooding
Make sure you know where the main water stopcock to your house or flat is, in case you need
to turn off the water in an emergency. In most homes it is at the back of the kitchen sink unit.
The stopcock will cut off the water supply to your property until help arrives. If you are in doubt,
rather than wait for an emergency, please contact Customer Care so that we can help you to find
the stopcock.
If you plan to leave your home empty and unheated during very cold weather, we
advise you take the following steps:
• Turn off the main stopcock.
• Drain down the water system by opening all the taps until the water stops running.
• Flush the toilet to empty the cistern.
• Turn off all taps.
If for any reason the water supply fails, make sure all the taps are turned off and the plugs are left
out of sinks, baths and hand basins to prevent the risk of flooding when the water supply comes
back on.
8.10 Properties destroyed by fire or major incident
In cases where properties have been destroyed by fire, violent storm, severe weather damage or
any other unavoidable major loss, Sutton Housing Partnership will ensure the property is inspected
and repaired as soon as possible.
Contact us as soon as you are aware of any major incident. Following any major loss, to ensure
your own safety and that of others, under no circumstances should you re-enter the property until
Sutton Housing Partnership have attended the site and the necessary safety checks have been
completed.
We would strongly advise you in the event of a major loss to contact your insurer immediately.
We will not be responsible for rebuilding or restoring improvements and decorations you have
made.
For more information on home insurance, see section 12.
Telephone: 020 8915 2000 Website: www.suttonhousingpartnership.org.uk
9
Planned Maintenance and Major Works To Your Home
9.1 Major repairs and improvements
9.3 Right to Improve Your Home
The Government requires that public housing
meets a set standard of decency and Sutton
Housing Partnership has a programme of
improvements to achieve 100% decency across
the Borough.
You are allowed to carry out improvements at
your own cost in your home. However, you
must receive permission from Sutton Housing
Partnership before you start any work. You will
need to send full details of what you intend to
do and what contractor you intend to use, as
we need to be sure that contractors are
qualified to do the work. You may also need to
contact the Council as the work may be subject
to Planning and Building Regulation approval.
You can find our programme of works on our
website or request one from our Customer
Care Team. If your home is part of the
programme, we will survey your home using
independent surveyors who will tell us if any
element of your home fails the decency
standard. We will write to you with full details
to offer the work such as a new kitchen or
bathroom if your home needs it.You do not
have to accept the work unless it relates to
safety such as your electrical system. One of
our contractors will contact you to discuss a
range of colour choices and to tell you more
about what will be done.
If we plan to do external works such as renew
windows, doors, your roof or box bathroom if
you have one, you will not be allowed to refuse
this work unless there are special circumstances.
Even so we will send you full details of what to
expect and our contractor will contact you to
explain exactly what will take place.
For more information on the Decent Homes
Standard or Sutton Housing Partnership’s Major
Work’s Programmes, please see our website or
contact our Customer Care Team.
9.2 Internal and external decorations
We aim to decorate the outside of all the
homes we are responsible for regularly. If you
live in a block, this includes communal areas
such as the lobbies, corridors and shared
staircases.
You are responsible for decorating inside your
home.
Telephone: 020 8915 2000 If you move, all the fixtures in your home,
including what you install and leave behind,
become the Council’s property. You may be
eligible for compensation from us for certain
fixtures you install and leave in the property
under the ‘Right to Compensation for
Improvements Scheme’, but only if you have
obtained prior approval from us for the
improvement and if it falls within the scheme’s
definition of Tenants’ Improvements, including
being in good condition and usable by the next
tenant. For more information, please contact
the Customer Care Team.
9.4 Aids and adaptations
Any tenant who needs assistance in carrying
out the physical activities of daily life (including
bathing and mobility around the property) can
request an assessment by a Council
Occupational Therapist.
As a result of an assessment, advice and
equipment may be offered or your property may
be assessed as needing adaptations to assist you.
These can range from grab rails, ramps or
alternative bathing facilities which will be
installed by one of Sutton Housing
Partnership’s contractors. Adaptations are
dependent on available funding and a waiting list
may be in operation for adaptations of a major
nature.
E-mail: customercare@suttonhousingpartnership.org.uk
Planned Maintenance and Major Works To Your Home
9
If you are eligible for an adaptation but your
property is not suitable, we will refer your case
to the Council’s Disability Housing Panel with a
recommendation that you be re-housed.
Further information can be obtained from the
Council.
out, we will take legal action to get permission
from the court to force entry into your home
to carry out the gas safety and servicing checks.
You may also be liable for any legal costs which
Sutton Housing Partnership incurs in order to
gain access.
9.5 Electrical testing programme
9.7 Asbestos
We are responsible for maintaining and testing
the electrical installation in your home.
Testing of electrical installations is carried out
on a ten year cycle. For your safety and
comfort it is essential that you allow our
contractor into your home to carry out this
important test. The test will include all electrical
wiring, sockets and lighting as well as the
consumer unit. This test will limit the
possibility of breakdown, and loss of electrical
supply in your home.
In the past materials containing asbestos were
widely used in construction. It was mostly used
from the 1950s to the 1980s in all types of
houses and flats, including Council properties.
Our contractor will contact you to make
arrangements to carry out this test when due.
If you fail to arrange to have this electrical test
carried out, or any remedial work arising from
the test, we will take legal action to get
permission from the court to force entry into
your home to carry out the inspection and any
repairs arising.
These materials are not dangerous as long as
they are in good condition. We have taken steps
to make sure that tenants, employees and our
contractors are protected from being exposed
to asbestos dust.
9.6 Annual gas servicing programme
We are legally responsible, once a year, for
servicing and testing any gas appliances and pipe
work in your home. For your safety and
comfort it is essential that you allow our
contractor into your home to carry out this
important service. Even if you do not have any
gas appliances but have a gas meter, we must
check the pipe work and its connections. This
service is for the safety of you, your family and
those living around you.
Our contractor will contact you to make
arrangements to carry out this service. If you
fail to arrange to have this gas service carried
Telephone: 020 8915 2000 Asbestos in your property may be in the form
of dividing walls and roof linings; suspended
ceilings; insulation lagging to boilers; or pipes
and water-storage tanks. You will already have
been given an asbestos report for your property
at sign-up.
We will take action if asbestos is found in your
home, depending on the type, where it is and
the condition of the asbestos. Before we take
action, we will inspect the property. We may
take samples to find out whether asbestos is
present.
If we find asbestos, but there is no damage to
the asbestos and no planned works to the
property that will affect the asbestos, we may
leave it alone. In some cases, we may take
action to secure or seal in the asbestos to
prevent any dust or fibres from escaping into
the atmosphere. Alternatively, we may decide
that we need to remove the asbestos – we will
discuss with you how this would happen.
Do not try to remove or interfere with
asbestos without our advice.
Website: www.suttonhousingpartnership.org.uk
9
Planned Maintenance and Major Works To Your Home
Do not remove asbestos yourself, and do
not drill, scrape or damage the asbestos.
If you are in any doubt about whether or not
asbestos is present or harmful, contact our
Customer Care Team or the Council’s
Environmental Health team. We have a leaflet
which you can request from Customer Care.
The leaflet gives advice on ways of identifying
asbestos and the precautions you should take if
you are carrying out DIY.
Remember – asbestos is only dangerous
when it is damaged or disturbed.
television. Residents will need to purchase a set
top box and have any connections carried out
at their own cost. A limited Sky TV service is
available should residents wish by contacting
Sky direct who will carry out connections. Any
work to connect is at the resident’s cost, and
it is the residents responsibility to ensure that
televisions and set top boxes are properly tuned
and in good working order.
Both door entry systems and communal aerial
systems are dealt with on an ‘as needs’ basis
through the responsive repairs service.
9.8 Lift Servicing
9.10 Communal Water Tanks
We are responsible for the inspection and
maintenance of passenger lifts and stair lifts.
Our contractor carries out regular testing and
maintenance of passenger lifts as well as any
repairs which may be required. If you need to
report a defect to a passenger lift, you should
contact our Customer Care Team.
We are responsible for maintaining and carrying
out an annual inspection of the communal water
tanks in blocks of flats to prevent the
occurrence of Legionella in water supplies.
Where the access to the water tank requires
access through your home it is essential that
you allow our contractor into your home to
carry out this important inspection and
maintenance. If you fail to allow this inspection
to be carried out, we will take legal action to get
permission from the court to force entry into
your home to carry out the inspection and any
repairs arising. This service will limit the
possibility of an outbreak of Legionella and
associated risk to your health.
If you have a stair lift or hoist, our contractor
will contact you to make arrangements to carry
out servicing and insurance checks four times a
year. For your safety and comfort it is essential
that you allow our contractor into your home
to carry out these important services. If you fail
to arrange to have this service carried out, we
will take legal action to get permission from the
court to force entry into your home to carry
out the inspection and any repairs arising.
9.9 Communal door entry systems
and aerials
Where there are existing electrical door entry
systems to communal entrances, we will
maintain these or renew them as necessary
during their lifetime.
Where there are existing TV aerial systems
serving blocks, these have been upgraded to
allow residents to watch free-view digital
Telephone: 020 8915 2000 9.11 Insulating Your Home
To improve the insulation of your home, we are
committed to insulating the lofts and cavity walls
(if applicable to your home).
Loft insulation should currently be 200
millimetres (8 inches) deep. Insulating your loft
will save around 20% of your heating costs.
Cavity-wall insulation will reduce heat loss from
your property by up to 35%. If you do not have
loft or cavity-wall insulation, please phone our
Customer Care Team for advice about receiving
these energy-saving measures.
E-mail: customercare@suttonhousingpartnership.org.uk
Your Estate and Environment 10
10.1 Estate caretaking and cleaning
If you live on an estate or block with communal areas, we provide weekly estate care services to
your block.
The service covers:
• cleaning entrance halls and other internal communal areas such as stairs, lifts, walls, landings and
bin rooms
• graffiti removal
• litter picking and sweeping
• emptying dog bins
• inspecting playgrounds to check they are safe
• seasonal work where required including grass cutting, pruning and leaf clearance services as well
as weed and moss control
• removal of fly tipped rubbish
The caretaker(s) covering your estate only work in communal areas – they do not provide
assistance in your home.
Further details of services to your block are contained on the Attendance Sheets placed on notice
boards inside blocks, in Homefront or, where this is not possible, can be obtained by written
request from our Customer Care Team.
10.2 Window Cleaning
If there are communal windows in your block, these are cleaned twice yearly up to and including
3rd floor height internally and externally. We do not clean windows inside your home or their
external panels. On blocks with higher floors, we may undertake bespoke cleaning where
necessary and where there is sufficient resident demand.
10.3 Tree maintenance programme
If your block has communal grounds, we maintain trees every 2 years, where required, to ensure
they are in a safe condition. We only tackle trees on our estates outside our normal programme
where there is an immediate threat to life, limb or property, for example during storm damage.
We do not attend to trees blocking light or shedding sap. During the programme, shrub renewal
planting is undertaken where required.
10.4 Your garden
You are responsible for ensuring that your garden is maintained in a neat, tidy and safe condition
avoiding nuisance or obstruction to neighbours or members of the public. This includes keeping
grass, bushes and trees maintained as well as keeping garden areas free of junk or vehicles causing
a nuisance.You must not plant trees in your garden without prior written permission or allow self
seeded saplings to take hold and grow.You must maintain your trees and prune them regularly so
that they do not grow too large or cause any damage to properties or fences.
Telephone: 020 8915 2000 Website: www.suttonhousingpartnership.org.uk
10 Your Estate and Environment
10.5 The gardening scheme
In addition, The Vine Project will collect good
re-useable furniture and household items.
If you are elderly and/or disabled you may
qualify for help with garden maintenance by
applying to The Gardening Scheme. This is a
very limited service which offers help with
gardening. Please contact our Customer Care
Team for more information.
10.8 Salting Communal Paths
We provide a limited responsive service
treating icy footpaths during winter weather.
Owing to our overall capacity to respond to
adverse weather conditions, we are not able to
10.6 Getting rid of your rubbish
guarantee immediate service to all paths at
once.
Please dispose of your rubbish and waste
Priority is given to salting sheltered scheme
thoughtfully and in the bin areas provided and
paths, to slopes and access paths to building
consider other residents. Dumped rubbish, such entrances and to refuse bin areas.
as furniture, is an eyesore and can be
dangerous. If you or anyone living with or
10.9 Garages, sheds and parking spaces
visiting you breaks this condition, we may take
action to put things right and may charge you
We manage over 1,200 garages including some
for removing bulky items.
reserved parking spaces. Most of our large
estates have garages. There is a waiting list for
You must not store bikes, prams and bulky
garages, and application forms and eligibility
items in communal staircases or corridors as
information can be downloaded from our
this causes obstructions to the blocks being
website or can be e-mailed or posted upon
cleaned freely and may also cause fire hazards
request via our Customer Care Team. Some
and blockage of means of escape. Any items left garage areas have greater demand than others
may be removed without notice for disposal if
and waiting list times vary considerably.
they are causing an obstruction or are a fire risk.
If you are in arrears of rent or service charges
Please report any rubbish-dumping or graffiti to you will not be offered a garage to rent but can
our Customer Care Team.
remain on the waiting list. Garage rent is due in
advance and payments are expected to be made
10.7 Recycling/Disposal of Bulky Items
by direct debit or standing order.
Garage rent arrears are not permitted. Garages
For full information on recycling, contact the
will be repossessed if arrears are not cleared or
Council or visit their website.
if an account is persistently falling into debt.
You can find facilities for recycling and for
getting rid of other waste at the Council’s waste
and recycling centre at Kimpton Park Way (off
Oldfields Road) in Sutton. The centre is free to
all borough residents and there are also many
neighbourhood recycling centres throughout
the borough.
The Council also offer a bulky household waste
collection service for a small charge.
Telephone: 020 8915 2000 Call our Customer Care Team for more
information on garages including allocation and
rent or to report garage repairs, inconsiderate
parking or any other garage related issues.
We also have some sheds available. If you are
interested in using a shed, please contact your
Neighbourhood Manager. They will be able to
advise on availability.
E-mail: customercare@suttonhousingpartnership.org.uk
Getting Involved 11
We want to work in partnership with you and your families to improve housing services and
neighbourhoods. We offer a variety of ways for you to be involved in shaping housing services at a
level that suits you.
You can take part as little or as much as you want and your involvement gives you the chance to
influence or make decisions that will affect your homes and neighbourhoods.
11.1 Tenant Participation Compact
The Tenant Participation Compact is an agreement which sets out how we will work with and
involve residents in improving housing and local neighbourhoods. The compact has been developed
with residents, the Council, the Sutton Federation of Tenant and Resident Associations and the
Sutton Leaseholders Association.
The compact explains all the different ways you can get involved and what you can expect from us
when you choose to become involved. It also has details about the support and guidance we offer
to individuals and residents’ groups.
A variety of ways to get involved – You choose
We appreciate your time is valuable, so for each involvement method we have give an indication of
the time commitment to you.
Low time commitment:
less that 2 hours a month and irregular
Medium time commitment:
more than 2 hours a month, both regular and
irregular
High time commitment: more than 4 hours a month and regular
If you are interested in getting involved in any of the ways highlighted in this chapter please contact
our Customer Care Team to find out more.
11.2 Getting involved at a local level
Neighbourhood Inspections
We encourage residents to get involved in neighbourhood inspections. Inspections take place
at least twice a year on each estate and involve Neighbourhood Managers, repair surveyors and
sometimes local councillors and contractors if this is appropriate. The purpose of the inspection is
to identify issues that need to be tackled including repairs, grounds maintenance and cleaning and
to suggest any improvements.
Telephone: 020 8915 2000 Website: www.suttonhousingpartnership.org.uk
11 Getting Involved
We welcome residents who want to be present at the inspections to raise issues of concern about
the shared parts of the estate.You can get details and dates of the inspections from your
Neighbourhood Manager, from estate notice boards, on our website or from Homefront
magazine.
Resident Repair Inspectors
Any tenant or leaseholder can become a repair inspector. As a repair inspector you will help to
check and monitor the standards for communal repairs in your block or on an estate. This helps to
ensure communal repairs are completed right first time.
Major Works Steering Groups
These groups are set up before major works projects like kitchen and bathroom renewals take
place in an area or on an estate. The groups give residents an opportunity to get involved in design
choices and meet contractors carrying out the works.
Sheltered Housing Forum
Sheltered housing residents play an active role in having a say through the Sheltered Housing
Forum. This group meets regularly at one of the schemes to discuss how services are being
provided and suggest areas for improvement. The group also take part in social activities on
schemes and always welcome new members.
Residents’ Associations and panels
Residents’ associations are groups of tenants and leaseholders who have come together because
they want to have a say in issues that affect the area where they live. As a member of a group, it is
sometimes easier to put forward your views because together you have a stronger voice and can
really make a difference.
Residents’ associations discuss issues that can have a real effect on their local community, such as
repairs and estate improvements, play facilities, car parking, anti-social behaviour and many other
issues. They can also influence housing policy, campaign for a better environment, help to build
community spirit and organise social activities.
Your area may have a residents’ association which you can join.Your Neighbourhood Manager will
have details of the local residents’ association. If there is not one in your area and you are
interested in setting one up, we can provide information, advice, training and support to do so.
Telephone: 020 8915 2000 E-mail: customercare@suttonhousingpartnership.org.uk
Getting Involved 11
11.3 Getting involved at a borough wide level
Mystery shopping
We want to provide excellent services for our residents. To help us ensure our services are
regularly tested and quality checked we have a Mystery Shopping Programme. Mystery Shoppers
help test our services to see how well they meet the standards expected, and give us feedback.
Residents’ Reading Panel
Members of our reading panel help us to ensure the information we produce is interesting,
informative and clear. The panel also review our Homefront magazine and give us ideas on what to
include in each issue.
Scrutiny and Improvement Group
This resident led group are directly involved in regulating and challenging how we perform.
Members are empowered to make recommendations for improvement and have influence over
change in strategies. The group have direct access to our board and officers and are supported in
their roles with ongoing training and development opportunities.
SHP Board Member
SHP is managed by a Board of Directors which is made up of 12 members – four of these are
tenants and leaseholders. Resident board members play a vital role in helping to shape the
direction of SHP. Anyone can apply to be a board member, no special skills or qualifications are
needed. You do need to able to talk about issues relating to housing and be confident to voice
your opinion.
The role of tenant board member is different to other resident involvement in that board members
must work for the best interests of the organisation, rather than representing a group of residents.
The Sutton Federation of Tenant and Resident Associations (SFTRA)
This group is a Borough-wide organisation representing the interests of tenants and leaseholders.
SFTRA is a resident led volunteer group which works closely with residents’ associations to ensure
they have one voice in the Borough. SFTRA has its own office, facilities and staff at Sutton Gate.
Telephone: 020 8915 2000 Website: www.suttonhousingpartnership.org.uk
11 Getting Involved
Sutton Leaseholders Association (SLA)
The SLA is a resident led group that represents the interests of our leaseholders. They have a
committee which meets regularly to discuss issues affecting leaseholders.
11.4 Telling us what you think – your compliments, comments and feedback
If you prefer not to use one of the involvement methods detailed above, we would still
like to hear from you when:
• you want to compliment us on our delivery of service, standard of service or for a particular
staff member
• you have a comment or suggestion on how to improve or put right a particular service, or
you have ideas on how we can use services in the future
• you receive one of our surveys or satisfaction reply slips
The easiest way to comment or compliment us is to contact our Customer Care Team via e-mail
or phone.Your compliments are fed back to staff, used in our internal staff newsletter and shared
with our Board Members.
Sometimes you will be asked to give your views about a service you have received or contact you
have had with staff or our contractors. These will be through postal questionnaires, telephone
surveys or face to face with staff.
All tenants also receive an annual residents’ survey. The purpose of the survey is to find out what
you think about our services overall and it will only take about 5 minutes to complete. We survey
residents throughout the year, so not everyone is sent a survey at the same time. We select when
you are surveyed on a random basis but by the end of the year everyone will have received a
survey. We report back on the results of the survey every quarter via our Homefront magazine.
We really appreciate your views and opinions. We will use your comments and suggestions to help
us continuously improve the services we provide. For more information about how you can have a
say and get involved, contact the Customer Care Team.
Telephone: 020 8915 2000 E-mail: customercare@suttonhousingpartnership.org.uk
Safety, Security and Insurance 12
12.1 Fire Safety
If there is a fire in your home, please
follow this guidance.
• Don’t try to put it out, unless you can do
safely and quickly
• Do leave the room and close the door
• Do make sure everyone leaves the property
• Do call the fire brigade, immediately dial 999
• Do not use any lifts if applicable
Remember the following:
• Always keep escape routes clear
• Always know your escape route(s)
• Don’t wedge self closing fire doors open
12.2 Smoke alarms
We have fitted free battery or hard-wired
(wired into the mains) smoke alarms in all
homes.
However, it is your responsibility to look after
them. When we fitted the alarm, you would
have received an owner’s manual. You should
read this and make a note of the advice on how
to look after the alarm.
Here is a reminder of the main points.
• Dust the alarm regularly.
• Test the alarm regularly, using the test
button, to make sure it is working properly
and that you know what it sounds like if a
fire breaks out.
• Do not decorate over the alarm or allow
paint to get into the workings of the alarm.
Please remember to replace the
batteries in your battery-operated smoke
alarm when you need to.The alarm will
give a warning bleep when they are low.
If your hard-wired smoke alarm does not
work when you test it, contact our
Customer Care Team.
Please remember that the alarm is not yours to
take away when you move. It has been fitted for
the benefit of anyone who may live in the
Telephone: 020 8915 2000 property. Where smoke alarms have been fitted
in homes they will be checked by our
contractor as part of the annual gas service. We
also recommend that you have a carbon
monoxide alarm fitted.
12.3 Home insurance
You should take out home contents insurance.
This will cover you against damage to your
personal belongings, carpets, furniture,
decorations and other household contents if
you have a fire or flood. Contents insurance will
provide cover if, for example, your bath
overflows or your washing machine leaks.You
should also make sure that your policy covers
you for accidental damage and for stolen items
if you are the victim of a burglary.
Sutton Housing Partnership is not responsible
for insuring your personal effects and will not
be held responsible for damage to them arising
from events beyond our control. If you think
damage caused to your home is our fault, we
will pass the details to our insurers. But, if they
decide that we are not negligent, you will have
to pay for the damage or claim on your
household insurance. For this reason, it is
essential that you have your own insurance
and that you do not rely on being able to claim
against us or someone else, such as a neighbour.
We have arranged an insurance scheme through
the Council where you can pay your insurance
premium in instalments along with your rent. If
you would like to apply for cover or would like
more details about the scheme, please phone
the Council’s insurance section.
12.4 Home security
It is important that everyone feels safe in
their own homes. To help you in this, we
offer the following guidelines.
• Always close and lock your windows and
doors before going out, even if it is only for a
few minutes.
Website: www.suttonhousingpartnership.org.uk
12
Safety, Security and Insurance
• Never leave your door key under the mat or
on a piece of string inside the letter box.
• Do not advertise the fact that you are not at
home by leaving messages for callers such as
the milkman.
• When you go on holiday, cancel the papers,
milk and other deliveries.
• Tell your neighbours or the police that you
are going away, and leave an address or
phone number where you can be contacted.
• Beware of callers who you do not know. All
official callers will carry proof of identity.
If you are unhappy about the identity of a
caller, do not let them in. Call the police –
they will not mind if it is a false alarm.
• If you see a stranger acting suspiciously in
your neighbourhood, call the police.
12.5 Identifying our staff
Our staff will always carry official identification.
If someone says they work for us or are
calling on our behalf, they will be able to show
you their identity card. If you are in any doubt,
call our Customer Care Team.
Never let anyone into your home
without looking at their identity card. If
you are still not sure, take the card and
ring the organisation to check the caller
is who they say they are. If you need to,
call the police.
Never let a doorstep seller (people who
call from house to house) into your
home if you are alone. Tell them you are
busy and they should call back at a more
convenient time, preferably when you
have someone with you.
12.6 Crime prevention officers
Metropolitan Police Service crime prevention
officers are available to give you advice on how
to increase your home security. If you would
like to make an appointment with your local
crime prevention officer, call your nearest police
station and ask to speak to the crime
prevention officer.
Telephone: 020 8915 2000 12.7 Safecall community-response
system
A number of Council homes in Sutton are
particularly suitable for elderly people. Some
of these properties are known as shelteredhousing schemes. They usually have a member
of staff available Monday to Friday from 8am
to 6pm. Outside these hours, there is a mobile
response service and an alarm system, where
there are pull cords in tenants’ homes and in
other shared areas at the scheme. If you pull
the cord, it will either link you to the shelteredhousing officer or, if they are not there, to a
control centre.
We know that there are other tenants and
residents in the borough who would benefit
from using the alarm system, but who do not
live in the types of accommodation mentioned
above. These people have the option of renting
an alarm unit, with an emergency button and
pendant. The service is available throughout the
country to anyone with a phone line. You do
not need to live in council property to apply and
we have many of these types of clients.
Pulling the cord or pressing the button will
connect you to a trained operator at the
control centre. It should be possible to speak
to them from most parts of your home. The
control centre will arrange help, either by
contacting a family member, friend, key holder,
doctor or the emergency services, whichever is
most appropriate. It will not matter if you call
the centre by accident, the operators will be
happy to speak to you and in a real emergency
they will stay on the line until help arrives. If
you are not able to speak, the operator will be
able to identify you, as the alarm system
automatically displays your name and address.
People with limited savings and a long-term
illness may qualify to have their alarm paid for
by social services, and people with disabilities do
not have to pay VAT. Many people now have the
alarm service paid for by the Supporting People
Grant. For more information about the service,
call Safecall on 0845 600 1353.
E-mail: customercare@suttonhousingpartnership.org.uk
Moving Home 13
The Council are very keen to make the best
use of the borough’s housing and there are a
number of schemes that can help you with this.
Information about housing options available
to you can be found by visiting the Council’s
website where you can do your own individual
housing options assessment.
13.1 The Council’s Housing Register
If you wish to transfer to another property, you
may apply to join the housing register.
Information about the Housing Register can be
obtained from the Council or through the
Sutton HomeChoice website
www.suttonhomechoice.org.uk .You will be
given advice about how to apply to move and
your chances of being re-housed.
Once you have made your application your
housing need will be assessed and you will be
placed into a ‘Band’ with other households who
have similar circumstances. The time it takes for
you to be housed will depend on the priority
that you are given.
13.2 Choice-based lettings
All Social Housing Properties that become
vacant are advertised each week. If you are
placed on the Housing Register you will be able
to ‘bid’ for any of the properties that are
available to your band. The applicant with the
highest priority will be offered the property.
13.3 Mutual exchanges
This is a scheme for Council and HousingAssociation tenants who want to swap their
homes with other tenants. This can be in the
same area where you are currently living or you
can swap with someone who is living in a
different area. You have the right to apply for a
mutual exchange. There are conditions that you
will have to meet for your application to be
approved. If you complete a mutual exchange,
you are responsible for any repairs that need to
Telephone: 020 8915 2000 be done in your new home. For more
information contact the Customer Care Team.
13.4 Under-Occupation Scheme
The scheme aims to assist social tenants, who
already have secure tenancies and are living in
accommodation that has too many bedrooms
for their need, with the opportunity to move
within the borough to smaller accommodation.
This can include general, sheltered and extra
care properties.
For more information regarding this scheme you
can contact the Council’s Under Occupation
Officer on 020 8770 5695 or 020 8770 6080.
Alternatively you can visit their website at
www.sutton.gov.uk
13.5 Mobility Schemes
Seaside and Country
The Scheme aims to assist social tenants who
are aged over 60 with accommodation in the
country or by the sea that is suited to their
needs. The scheme’s landlord’s manage
approximately 3,500 bungalows and flats in
many areas from the south west of the country
up to the east coast. For more information
regarding this scheme contact Seaside and
Country on 0845 021 2020 or visit the
website at www.housingmoves.org
Pan London Mobility due to commence
2012/ 2013
Social tenants who wish to move are often
restricted to their own borough. The Pan
London Mobility Scheme aims to provide social
tenants with the same rights and freedoms to
move into different boroughs within London,
whether it be for work or training, to downsize
into smaller accommodation, or to care for a
family member or friend.
For more information regarding this scheme
please visit www.london.gov.uk or contact the
Council’s Customer Service team on 020 8770
6080.
Website: www.suttonhousingpartnership.org.uk
14 Wanting to Buy
14.1 Wanting to buy your current home – how the Council can help
Right to buy
You may have the right to buy the property you are currently living in. Contact the Council’s
Housing Information and Assessment Team to discuss what options may be available to you or
request an application or information booklet on 020 8770 6080 or from the Council’s website at
www.sutton.gov.uk or from www.direct.gov.uk .
14.2 Wanting to buy elsewhere – how other schemes can help
Shared Ownership & Equity Loans
Londoners who are social tenants, serving Armed Forces personnel, considered a housing priority
by their Local Authority or other first time buyers who are simply priced out by their local
housing market are potentially eligible for homes available through FIRST STEPS.
The two main FIRST STEPS products available are Shared Ownership and Equity Loans. Both
products are designed to bring down the cost of home ownership by reducing the amount of
deposit required to buy a new home and by making monthly housing costs manageable.
For more information on all the products that are available, please contact First Steps on 0844
406 9997 or visit the website at www.firststepslondon.org .
Telephone: 020 8915 2000 E-mail: customercare@suttonhousingpartnership.org.uk
Useful Contacts and Supporting Information 15
15.1 Useful Contacts
The Council – www.sutton.gov.uk
Customer Contact Centre
Environmental Health Services
Housing Benefit
Housing Centre
Insurance Team Social Services - Adults
Social Services - Children
Waste and Recycling 020 8770 5000
020 8770 5070
020 8770 5000
020 8770 6080
020 8770 5169
020 8770 6080
020 8770 6080
020 8770 5070
Resident Organisations
Sutton Federation of Tenants and Residents’ Associations 020 8915 2349
Sutton Leaseholders’ Association
020 8915 2349
Support Services
Advocacy Partners (specialists in helping people with learning
disabilities and mental-health problems)
Age UK Sutton
Asbestos – for information only
Careers Services – Connexions
Citizens Advice Bureau
The Croydon, Merton and Sutton Credit Union
Consumer Advice
National Domestic Violence Helpline (24 Hour)
Refugee Council Advice Line
Refugee Network Sutton
Sutton Centre for Independent Living (SCILL)
Sutton College of Learning for Adults (SCOLA)
Sutton Racial Equality Council (Racial Harassment and
Equal Opportunities)
Sutton Women’s Aid (Domestic Violence)
Sutton Youth Awareness Programme
The Vine Project (donating furniture)
Women’s Centre for Domestic Violence
Telephone: 020 8915 2000 020 8330 6644
020 8770 0206
020 7606 3110
020 8642 6600
020 8405 3552
020 8760 5711
020 8770 5070
0808 2000 247
020 7346 6777
020 8770 6983
020 8770 4058
020 8770 6901
020 8770 6199
020 8669 7608
020 8648 8600
020 8685 6640
020 8642 7782
Website: www.suttonhousingpartnership.org.uk
15 Useful Contacts and Supporting Information
Safety and Crime
Age Concern – Home Security Service
Safecall alarm service
Safer Sutton Partnership Service
Sutton Police Station
Sutton Police Community Safety Unit
020 8770 4097
020 8404 1509
020 8649 0666
020 8643 1212
020 8649 0773
15.2 Key Leaflets Available Upon Request
There are a full series of leaflets available in our reception, on our website and upon request to
our Customer Care Team with more in depth information on many of the subjects in this
handbook.
Key leaflets include:
• The Repairs Handbook
• Getting it Right (including complaints)
• Leaseholders’ Handbook
• Paying Your Rent
• Responding to Anti-social behaviour
• What is Sheltered Housing?
Telephone: 020 8915 2000 E-mail: customercare@suttonhousingpartnership.org.uk
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Please return to: Sutton Housing Partnership, Sutton Gate,
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Telephone: 020 8915 2000 Website: www.suttonhousingpartnership.org.uk
April 2012