About Your Tenancy Service Standard
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These are the standards about your obligations and what you can expect from Ascham Homes as a tenant. More detailed advice about your tenancy is available in the ‘Residents Information Pack’.
Keep you informed
We will:
- tell you about your rights and obligations as a tenant, joint tenant, non-secure tenant or licensee
- advise you when you ask to make improvements to your home (for more information on this, please refer to the ‘Residents Information Pack’, specifically in the ‘Looking after your home and estate’ booklet in the pack)
- advise you on what to do when a tenant dies. It is important that you contact us as soon as possible if you think you have the right to take over a tenancy, where the tenant has died
- advise you if you want to transfer your tenancy to another person
- advise you about subletting and taking in lodgers
- advise you about what you should do if you need to leave your home for some time, and
- advise you, when you are moving home, about what you legally must do to end your tenancy and about the practicalities of ending your tenancy.
When you write to us for advice or guidance about a tenancy matter, we will respond to you within seven working days of receiving your correspondence.
Learn and improve
We will:
- regularly check that homes are occupied by the person who has the right to live in them. For further information see ‘Property Audit Checks’.
Be professional
We will:
- follow all necessary legal steps if we need to end your tenancy because of your actions or for any other reason.
Where we need to re-house you because of major disrepair, you may be entitled to financial compensation called a Disturbance Payment; you may also be entitled to Home Loss Payment. We will advise you about any rights you may have to these payments.
Performance targets
Our aims include:
- to carry out a new tenant visit for 100% of new tenants
- to carry out tenancy audits with 10% of tenants each year
- to respond to enquiries concerning tenancy succession and becoming a joint tenant in 42 days
- to respond to enquiries requesting permission to carry out an improvement in 20 days, and
- to turn around squatter and unauthorised occupancy cases in 98 calendar days (Notice to Quit, to Eviction Date) in 2005/06, in 90 calendar days in 2006/07, and in 85 calendar days in 2007/08.
Customer care
We will provide good customer care to all our customers, our staff will be friendly, polite and keen to help you, dealing with your enquiry with sensitivity and discretion.
We will:
- wear a visible identity badge
- promote and provide equality and fair treatment for everyone
- reply to all correspondence within seven working days
- provide a contact name, office and e-mail addresses, and a direct dial number in all our letters
- deal with all complaints within 28 days and learn from them
- write in plain English
- answer your phone call within five rings, telling you who we are and asking how we may help you
- forward our phone to colleagues when we are out of the office
- call you back on the same day if you call before 1pm or call you back by 1pm the following day if you call after 1pm
- offer translations or special formats of our main documents and of any letter we send. Translations are available for the most common community languages and our special formats include audio tape, Braille for deaf-blind residents, and large print
- communicate through interpreters and British Sign Language (BSL) signers for residents who have specific needs, and
- do our best to give you information and advice about other local services that we do not provide, including services provided by the council and by other agencies.
Further, we agree to:
- provide your personal details when we pass your enquiry to a specialist, together with the details of your enquiry so, that you do not have to repeat it to another person
- keep the appointment that you have made and tell you beforehand if we have to cancel it
- carry out customer satisfaction surveys of at least 10% of our customers, and
- keep you informed of how well we are doing in delivering the service.
You can help us by:
- treating your home and surroundings and our staff with respect
- telling us about any changes in your circumstances so that we can provide you with the best possible service, and
- telling us what you think of us.
We will use customer feedback to improve our service. Please tell us if you feel that we have not met any of the service standards.
If you are not satisfied with our response, you can make a formal complaint. The leaflet ‘Ascham Homes Complaints Procedure’ gives you information about making a complaint and is available through all of our outlets. Our staff will help you make a complaint if you are not able to do so.
How to contact us
You can access our services in a number of ways.
Telephone Ascham Direct on 020 8496 4197
The lines are open 8am to 8pm, Monday to Friday for a full service.
If you live in Billericay or Wickford, you can phone Ascham Direct on 0845 3000 363 (charged at the local rate).
You can write to us at:
Ascham Homes
1 Wood Street
Walthamstow
London E17 3JU.
Ascham Homes
1 Wood Street
Walthamstow
London E17 3JU.
You can e-mail us at:
direct@aschamhomes.org.uk
direct@aschamhomes.org.uk
Please note that although we check this site regularly during the day, you should not use it to report urgent repairs.
You can visit us at:
Ascham Homes
1 Wood Street
Walthamstow
London E17 3JU.
Open 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday
Ascham Homes
1 Wood Street
Walthamstow
London E17 3JU.
Open 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday
Ascham Homes (Billericay office)
16 Morris Avenue
Billericay
Essex CM11 2LB.
Open 9am to 11am, Tuesdays and Thursdays
16 Morris Avenue
Billericay
Essex CM11 2LB.
Open 9am to 11am, Tuesdays and Thursdays
In an emergency outside the normal hours, as mentioned above, contact the joint Ascham Homes and London Borough of Waltham Forest emergency service on:
020 8496 3000
Other useful contacts:
Waltham Forest Direct, 772-776 High Road, Leyton, London E10 6AE
Waltham Forest Direct is the London Borough of Waltham Forest Council’s contact centre. For all council services, call them on:
020 8496 3000
Leytonstone Citizens Advice Bureau
Greater London House
547 – 551 High Road
Leytonstone
London E11 4PB
Phone: 020 8988 9620
Fax: 020 8558 7911
Walthamstow Citizens Advice Bureau
167 Hoe Street
Walthamstow
London E17 3AL
Phone: 0870 126 4026
Website: www.walthamforestcab.org.uk/wcab
167 Hoe Street
Walthamstow
London E17 3AL
Phone: 0870 126 4026
Website: www.walthamforestcab.org.uk/wcab
Ascham Homes's publications
You can get copies of our service standards, information leaflets, Decent Homes programme, Tenants Compact and Residents Information Pack from:
- Ascham Homes reception at 1 Wood Street
- Waltham Forest Direct Shops, and
- Social services public reception areas
If you would like us to post a publication to you, please call Ascham Direct on 020 8496 4197.
Related Documents
These are the standards about your obligations and what you can expect from Ascham Homes as a tenant. (238 KB)