Your Home

Moving into your new home

Before you move in to your home we will:

- Ensure that all of our empty properties are secure.
- Put net curtains in the windows of empty properties and where screens are needed we will use clear plastic rather than metal.
- Check all work carried out on empty homes before you move in to make sure that the work meets agreed standards.
- Make sure that your home is clean before you move in including removing building debris, cleaning kitchens, bathrooms, floors, woodwork and the inside of windows.
- Clear gardens of rubbish, strim overgrown grass and cut back overgrown hedges and bushes in empty properties.

When you are ready to move into your new home we will:

- Arrange for you to sign your tenancy agreement at a time that is convenient to both you and Helena.
- Give you a copy of your new tenancy agreement in a format that is appropriate to you.
- Make a referral to the Fire Service for a home safety and fire check.
- Provide you with a pack of relevant information about your home and neighbourhood, including the standard you can expect the property to be in when you accept it.

- Assist you to complete all relevant forms relating to the property including housing benefit and utilities application forms.
- Offer all new tenants under the age of 25 and new tenants moving into homes specifically for older people, a full 'life check' to assess any extra support you may need to settle in your new home and give advice to help you live independently.

After you have moved in we will:

- Consult you, in writing, on any changes to your tenancy agreement.
- Contact you within 20 working days of moving in to make sure you are settling in and provide advice as necessary.
- Carry out a gas and electricity safety check within 48 hours of you moving into your new home.

How you can help

You can help us by:

- Where applicable, provide St Helens Council's benefits team with all the information they need at the time of you moving in so they can calculate your housing benefit straight away.
- Decorate your property on a room by room basis so we can undertake any minor repairs in a timely fashion.
- Informing us and getting permission from your Neighbourhood Manager before undertaking any alterations to your property.
- Make arrangements at sign up to pay your rent from the first week and continue to do so until any direct debit or standing order arrangements
commence.

- Allow us access to your home in the first 4 weeks and complete our new tenant survey as your feedback, which is important and valued.
- Please create a good impression of yourself by maintaining your garden and putting out the bins for emptying.

Having work done on your home

We want to make sure that we provide the best possible customer care when doing work in your home. Most repairs are carried out by our Propertycare team and we also use approved contractors. When you report a repair we will tell you how long it will take to complete.

We will:

- Respond to Emergency Responsive Repairs within 8 hours. These are repairs that we need to act on straight away because they pose a health risk or may cause harm to the property or its occupants.
- Carry out all other Responsive Repairs within 15 days at a time that is convenient to you. These are less urgent repairs which do not pose any danger or health risk to the property or its occupants.
- Complete Gas Breakdown Repairs within one of three time frames: Emergency (24 hours) Urgent (5 working days) and Routine (20 working days).
- We will offer appointments until 6pm during the week.
- For those who are not home during the day we will offer appointments between 6pm and 8pm on a Wednesday and from 9am until 12 noon on a Saturday.
- We will let you know if your repair is delayed for any reason and when it will be completed. This includes 'follow on repairs' that are needed to finish a job.

Responsive Repairs are completed by our operational trades including plasterers, joiners, plumbers, roofers, electricians and drainers. They carry out repairs such as replacing broken windows, unblocking drains or fixing a plumbing or electrical fault.
Gas Breakdown Repairs cover all aspects relating to central heating and gas fires.

External Maintenance

If your repair is not urgent we may decide to wait and carry out other similar repairs in one area or neighbourhood at the same time. We will write to you if this is the case.
External repairs are often things outside your home that wear out over time like gutters and fences. Outbuildings that are not attached to your property will not be included. We will carry out these repairs within 3 months of the work being started and write to you before the work begins. We will paint the external surfaces to your property which have been painted by Helena in the past, every 6 years. This includes woodwork, metal work, timber doors and attached outbuildings. Fencing will not be painted unless it has been
erected as part of an estate refurbishment scheme and has been painted by Helena in the past.

Making improvements to your home

We will:

- Give you a chance to have a say about improvement work we are planning to carry outin your home and area.
- Invite you to show houses, exhibitions and meetings to discuss the plans we have.
- If we can, we will give you a choice, e.g. kitchen units, type of doors.
- Give you a booklet before any work starts that answers frequently asked questions and tells you who to contact for more information.
- Write to you at least 3 months before we intend to carry out any work unless it is an emergency.
- Use our own equipment and not use your domestic services without permission.
- Clear all rubbish and dirt caused by the work.
- Take responsibility for any damage or loss we cause. You should tell us straight away if you suffer any damage or loss as a result of work we do in your home.

When we have completed the work we will:

- Explain any new equipment fitted in your home and how it works.
- Leave your home in a safe, secure and clean condition.
- Tell you if we need to come back to carry out any more work.

How you can help

If you need work completing on your home you can help us by:

- Reporting any repairs promptly.
- Ensure that access can be made to your home on the appointment date. If for any reason you will be unavailable on the appointment date please inform us at the earliest convenience.
- Make sure the area where the repair will be completed is clear and can be easily accessed.
- Keep pets under control while the repair is completed.
- Make sure children are clear of the work area while the repair is completed.
- Ensure a responsible adult is in attendance while the repair is completed.
- Please refrain from smoking in your property while the repair is completed.

Gas servicing

Contact Helena Homes immediately on 01744 63 73 83 if you know or suspect your gas appliance is not working correctly. If you smell gas or fumes you should contact the National Grid immediately on 0800 111 999.

We will:

- Carry out a gas safety check within your home every 11 months to ensure that all gasappliances, flues, gas pipe work, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors installed by Helena are maintained and operated in a safe condition. We will carry out a visual inspection of your gas cooker if you have one.
- Ensure that a record is kept of each annual gas safety check and service.
- Ensure that you receive a copy of the current gas servicing and safety record (Landlord's Gas Safety Record) within 28 days of the service being completed.
- Make you aware of where the gas meter is located and how to turn off the gas in an emergency.

Repairs

- If your central heating or hot water fails our contractor will attend within 24 hours (usually that day).
- If repair work cannot be completed on the first visit, follow up repairs will beundertaken as soon as possible but within 5 days.
- Priority will always be given to customers who are totally without heating or hot water.

Replacements

- We will seek to maintain existing gas appliances for as long as they are in a safe working condition. If your appliance becomes uneconomical to maintain in a safe working condition, it will be replaced.

Emergency Call-out

- If your heating system breaks down during out of office hours, our emergency call-out service will attend as soon as possible and will ensure that your system is in a safe condition.
- No repairs will be undertaken by the emergency call-out team.
- To ensure that you have a source of heating, at least one 2 kilowatt electric fire will be left with you until the system is repaired. Additional temporary heaters are available if needed.
- The out of hours number is Helena's One Call service - 01744 63 73 83. If you smell gas or fumes you should contact National Grid immediately on 0800 111 999.

Your responsibility as a resident

- Helena Homes' maintenance records are computerised so our contractor will automatically undertake a gas safety check every 11 months. Most of our residents co-operate with this, allowing the inspection to be undertaken quickly and efficiently. As a Helena Homes resident, you have certain responsibilities.

How you can help

You should:

- Allow us prompt access to your home to carry out maintenance or safety checks on gas appliances, flues and gas pipe work installed by Helena.
- Not use or allow the use of any appliances which you know or suspect could constitute a danger.
- Always keep the appointment made for your gas safety inspection.
- Give our gas contractor reasonable access to your home. Failure to do so is a breach of the terms of your Tenancy Agreement and could result in legal action to enforce access or end your tenancy. We hope this will never be necessary, but we will not hesitate to take action where the health and safety of our residents or their neighbours may be at risk.