Managing Your Home

We are committed to helping you feel safe and secure in your home. We understand that financial problems may sometimes arise but we want to make sure that you know you can ask for help and that we will do our best to work with you to find the right solution.

We will:

• tell you how much rent to pay and how much housing benefit you may be entitled to
• tell you who your housing officer is
• visit you within six weeks of you moving into your new home
• provide a variety of ways for you to pay your rent
• send you a rent statement every 13 weeks
• offer you money and debt advice if you fall into arrears with your rent and are at risk of losing your home
• provide money and debt advice within five working days of you asking for help
• agree a repayment plan with you if you fall into arrears with your rent and you ask for our help
• agree a support plan with you that meets your needs if you are having difficulty in setting up or running your home
• with your permission, refer you to another agency if you need more specialist advice than we can provide
• ensure staff and contractors show you proof of identity when visiting your home
• give you the contact details of a Resident Liaison Officer one month before starting major works on your home
• offer to have a same-sex member of staff or contractor present during any visit to your home
• give you the opportunity to respond to us through satisfaction surveys
• offer you an appointment on emergency matters within 24 hours
• offer you an appointment about general matters at a place convenient to you and us within five working days of you asking
• answer telephones within five rings
• answer the telephone politely, giving our name and that of Dale & Valley Homes
• write to you in plain language and in a format that meets your needs
• reply to general enquiries within five working days
• interview you in private if you wish
• provide a same-sex interviewer if you prefer