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How can I pay my rent?
I am in rent arrears. Can I come to an agreement to pay?
I am having problems with my neighbours, what can I do about it?
How do I make a complaint or comment about a service?
Can I swap my house with anyone else?
Can I transfer to another area with Estuary?
What is shared ownership?
How do I arrange for a nursing home, residential home or supported living accommodation?
How do I report a repair during the working day?
How do I report a repair out of hours?
How quickly will you do my repair?
Whether you have a weekly or monthly tenancy your rent is payable in advance and is always due on a Monday or the first day of the month. If you prefer to pay at the end of the week/month, this is acceptable but your payment should be in advance for the following week/month, and not in arrears.
There are a number of payment methods, as follows:
- On-Line - you can now pay your rent on-line via the allpay website. You will need your rent payment card and your bank account or credit/debit card details.
- By phone - you can pay your rent over the phone via the automated telephone service. This service is available 24 hours a day on 0870 243 6040 (calls charged at national rate). Just follow the simple instructions and make sure you have your rent payment card and debit/credit card to hand.
- Direct Debit - this is our preferred method. Direct debits are always taken on the first working day of each month. We can alter the amount to be collected when, for example, the rent is increased each year.
- Standing Order - if you want to pay your rent direct from your bank account, but a direct debit isn’t appropriate you may wish to set up a standing order. This can be set up either weekly or monthly or on a date to suit you. Please ask the Housing Services Office for a mandate.
- 'Swipe Card' - if you prefer, we can order a swipe card for you, which you can use to make payments at your local Post Office, PayZone, PayPoint & e-pay outlets, and over the counter at any Woolworths store.
- Payments by post / cheque - we can accept your payment by cheque, although this can sometimes delay your payment reaching your account. Please make cheques payable to Estuary Housing Association Ltd and send them to our Centre Place office.
I am in rent arrears. Can I come to an agreement to pay?
Yes, please contact your local management office urgently as help and advice is available. We are happy to enter into a reasonable agreement to repay arrears but it is essential you keep to it. If you have other debts we would recommend that you contact the Citizen’s Advice Bureau or Housing Advice Centre.
I am having problems with my neighbours, what can I do about it?
Neighbour problems, anti-social behaviour and harassment take various forms. They can range from a barking dog, loud music or worse still violence.If you experience problems please contact your Housing Management Officer to ask for help and advice.
Normally we will ask you first if you have tried to sort things out, for example by asking your neighbour to turn their music down.We can provide you with a Anti-Social Behaviour Pack that explains how we can help you. We will tell you what you need to do, what evidence we may need and how we can take action. We promise to take your problem seriously and thoroughly investigate.
Where we cannot help you we will tell you why and how else you might solve the problem.
How do I make a complaint or comment about a service?
How do I make a complaint or comment about a service? We want to make sure that our services meet our published standards and the needs of our customers and partners – your needs as residents – so your feedback is important to us.
Happy?
If we are doing a good job please tell us. Your compliments show that our customers are satisfied with our services and helps us see what works well. You may just simply wish to make a suggestion on how we can improve our services or let us know when a member of staff has done a good job. To do this, you can use the feedback form on this website or contact the Customer Services Officer on 0845 634 0635.
Unhappy?
If you are unhappy with any of our services and you are a resident, leaseholder or service user, you have the right to complain. Firstly, please speak or write to a member of staff and tell them your problem. They will try to help you or pass you onto the relevant person. Take the name of the person who will be dealing with your enquiry and ask for a written response and the date of when they will respond by. Hopefully your problem can be sorted out fairly quickly.
If you are dissatisfied with the outcome of your complaint you need to contact the office within 1 month and ask a member of staff to send you an official complaints form. Your complaint will then proceed to the next stage.
There are 3 stages to our complaints procedure but if you are still unhappy after going through all stages you can take your complaint to The Housing Ombudsman Service.
All complaints will be recorded onto a database and Estuary will use these statistics when looking at improving its services.
Who to contact
You can get a copy of the Customer Feedback Policy from any of our offices, call the Customer Services Officer on 01702 462246, or download it here (PDF - 18KB)..
Can I swap my house with anyone else?
This is called a mutual exchange and can take place with another council or housing association tenant. We do not allow mutual exchanges if you are in rent arrears or if the property is unsuitable for the incoming tenant. Your local authority will hold lists of people in your area wishing to exchange accommodation. We do have an information leaflet which explains how to exchange in more detail, please contact our housing department for more details, or you can register your home to swap free of charge at HomeSwapper.co.uk.
Can I transfer to another area with Estuary?
Yes, we have a transfer waiting list. The length of time you will have to wait will depend on your circumstances, the area you want to move to and the availability of accommodation in your chosen area. If you have a medical reason for requiring a move you will need to supply evidence from your Doctor which will be considered by our medical advisor. Transfer Form (PDF - 35KB)
What is shared ownership?
Shared Ownership is the opportunity to purchase a property on a part-rent / part-buy basis. You would normally buy 50% equity in a property, and pay rent to the Association for the 50% that we still own. For futher information click here
How do I arrange for a nursing home, residential home or supported living accommodation?
You are welcome to contact us for advice but we do not allocate places directly. All these placements are made by social services. For further information click here
How do I report a repair during the working day?
Telephone our freephone repair line on 0800 783 0496
How do I report a repair out of hours?
If you need to report an emergency repair outside office hours please call 0845 769 7820.
What counts as an emergency?
· Gas Leak
· Total loss of electricity
· Dangerous electrical installation
· Total loss of water
· Serious water leak
· Blocked drains and sewers
· Loss of heating
· Damaged property entrance door
· Serious roof leak
· Loos roof tile, gutter or drain pipe where dangerous
· Loose bricks or masonry where damaged
However, if your call is later found not to be an emergency you could be charged.
How quickly will you do my repair?
We have three categories of repair:- Emergency - should be carried out within 24 hours. Urgent:- should be carried out within 5 days. Routine:- should be carried out within 28 days.
To discuss any of the above in greater detail, or to request a Direct Debit Form, Standing Order Form, or a swipe card, please contact your local management office, use the Request Info form or e-mail the the Director of Housing Services at dhs@estuary.co.uk
For a new swipe card please contact your Housing Management Officer.