These are the standards of service you can expect from the Housing Service including, Home Improvement, Housing Standards and Performance and the Housing Advice Team.
The council's contact centre receives all initial enquires regarding financial assistance, disabled adaptations, handyman, energy efficiency and housing standards.
The council's contact centre and Housing Service are fully committed to meeting the requirements of the council's Customer Care Charter. For further details see our Customer Care Charter web page.
In addition, the Housing Service will ensure:
Phone
- We will answer telephone calls within five rings
- We will aim to return calls within 24 working hours
- If we cannot give you a satisfactory reply when you telephone we will call back at an agreed time
- We will always provide you with a contact name and number
- On occasions when staff are away from their office, we have to use answer phones, but in all cases we will get back to you as soon as we possibly can
- Our main switchboard and call centres will answer calls from 8.30am to 5pm Monday to Thursday and until 4.30pm on Friday
- There will be somebody in our main offices to answer the phone from 8.30am to 5pm Monday to Thursday and until 4.30pm Friday
- The person you talk to will tell you what action they propose to take to resolve your query
- If we have to transfer you to another person we will check they are there first and explain to them what your call is about so that you do not have to repeat yourself
- Give you the name and telephone number of the correct person before putting you through.
Writing
- We will answer letters within ten working days of receiving them
- If we cannot give you a full reply within that time, we will acknowledge your letter and let you know when you can expect one and why there is a delay
- Our acknowledgement will tell you when we expect to be able to respond and give you the name and telephone number of the person dealing with your contact
- All our responses will be clear and easy to understand.
Visiting
When you visit us:
- All the reception areas in our main offices are staffed from 8.30am to 5pm Monday to Thursday and until 4.30pm on Friday
If we visit you at home:
- Where appropriate, we will contact you in advance, to make an appointment to see you at a mutually convenient time
- We will show you our council identity card (with photo), on the doorstep
- If we need to change or cancel your appointment, we will let you know.
Assisting
How we will assist you:
We will assist by meeting the needs of people with individual or specialist needs. For example, people whose first language is not English, hearing or visually impaired people etc.
- We will arrange translators or interpreters where necessary.
- Providing easy access to most of our buildings and facilities for people with disabilities.
- Using Typetalk - the council subscribes to this national relay service.
- Our staff will be polite, helpful and treat all customers with respect.
- We will not discriminate because of race, age, gender, religion, sexuality or disability
- We will ensure that all our policies, strategies and procedures are available to all our customers through a variety of mediums or on request
How you can assist us:
- By showing us the same respect and courtesy that you expect from us
- By sharing information and participating with consultation to assist us in producing and informing the Housing strategies, procedures and policies for North Lincolnshire Council.
- By refraining from using abusive language and threatening behavior to staff
- By providing feedback and suggesting ways of how we can improve the delivery of our services
Housing standards and performance
The housing standards and performance team are responsible for the improvement of housing conditions through targeted regeneration and energy efficiency improvements and through advice, education and where necessary enforcement. We monitor the improvements in standards across the housing stock as well as the outcomes of the housing division with the objective of providing healthy homes, healthy lives and meeting the council priorities, such as communities that are confident and caring. We will:
- Deal with 98 percent of service requests within five working days. Emergency requests where there is a health, safety or welfare risk to the occupier, will be responded to within 24 hours
- Following a housing inspection we will issue 95 percent of schedules within 20 working days
- Respond to 100 percent of requests for accreditation within five working days.
Advance Crosby
The following are the minimum standards for the Advance Crosby transformational project:
- Communication with residents / stakeholders; twice yearly newsletter updating residents on progress and future phases
- Maintenance and management of shuttered properties and cleared sites; twice weekly inspection with remedial action to clear on a quarterly basis unless significant hazard's occur.
Home Improvement team
The Home Improvement team is responsible for giving advice, support and guidance to help householders improve their home or provide much needed disabled adaptations using the different financial and professional assistance available.
- We will provide you with comprehensive information on which grants and loans are available
- When we need to carry out a preliminary test of resources calculation, we will send written notification as to your likely contribution towards grant-aided works within 15 working days of receiving your completed enquiry form
- We will approve at least 95 percent of valid, formal Disabled Facilities Grant applications within eightweeks of receipt, and will approve all applications within the statutory six months set by Government
- We will visit to assess interim grant payments within ten working days
- We will process final grant payments and forward them to the council's finance department within ten working days of receiving a full and correct invoice, to assist the council in meeting its best value performance indicator target to pay all invoices within 30 days.
Financial and energy efficiency enquiries
- We will process from formal enquiry to application for a loan within 18 weeks
- We will refer enquiries to Warm Front within ten working days
- We will respond to enquiries for energy efficiency matters within ten working days
- We will process applications for financial assistance within 18 weeks.
Handyman service
The Handyman service provides minor adaptations, target hardening measures and garden services.
- We will complete minor adaptations for hospital discharge cases within four working days of receipt of a referral from occupational health. We will complete minor adaptations for palliative care cases within four working days of receipt a referral from occupational health
- We will complete security work for domestic violence cases within four working days of receipt of a referral from the domestic violence unit
- We will complete all non-urgent handyman tasks within 20 days of a referral being received.
Housing Advice Team
The Housing Advice Team (HAT) offers advice and help to people who are homeless or threatened with homelessness or who have other housing problems—if you have a problem, the sooner you contact us the better.
- The team will try to help tenants to keep their current home, or failing that offer advice and practical help to find somewhere to live
- We will see 95 percent of customers with appointments within five minutes of their appointment time.
If you make a homelessness application we will:
- Make a decision in 90 percent of cases within 20 working days and 100 percent within 33 working days
- If you ask for a review of that decision, we will carry out that review within 20 working days.
Complaints
Our complaints procedure ensures that:
- If you are dissatisfied with our service, you can take it up with the person you are dealing with, or you can make a formal complaint
- Once you have contacted the council to formally complain, you will get a reply within ten working days. If you are not happy with the council's response, tell us, and your complaint will be investigated further
- If you are still not happy there is a final stage where an independent senior council officer will look into the case.