LSHA News A4 Pages Artwork.indd
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LSHA News A4 Pages Artwork.indd
Welcome to your new look newsletter... Spring is here, and we are pleased to introduce a fresh look to your newsletter. We listened to your views and you asked for more information in an easy-to-read style. Please let you know what you think! Don’t forget we are always on the look-out for news. If you have a suggestion for our next newsletter, tell us about it. Tenant Scrutiny Hearing from You Home Contents Insurance New Homes Repair Target Times & Tenant Satisfaction Maintenance Satisfaction Survey Prize Draw The site is a conservation zone close to transport links and shops, and three of the flats will be wheelchair-accessible. The flats are funded in part by grant from the Homes & Communities Agency and in part out of the Association’s reserves. Tenant Board Member Vacancies Looking for a Transfer? One Stop Gas and Plumbing Free to a Good Home Our application for these new homes has been supported by the London Borough of Southwark, who will be nominating tenants to us. We expect tenants to move in towards the end of 2011. New Website Coming Soon Are you paying too much… Building new homes for an affordable rent is one of our main ambitions. The Association has plans to build or buy 50 new homes in the next few years, in Lambeth, Southwark and perhaps in other boroughs too. I am looking forward to this exciting phase in the Association’s work. Rent Arrears Scheme Inspection Schedule Tony Withnell Chief Executive I am pleased to announce that the Association has exchanged contracts to buy ten new flats near London Bridge SE1, providing homes for 40 people. OUT OF HOURS EMERGENCY REPAIRS For Emergency Repairs: For Central Heating Repairs: X-Bild Limited 07950 144 891 One Stop Gas & Plumbing Limited 07946 314 749 The out of hours service is for genuine emergencies only, please check your tenants handbook to see what constitutes an emergency. Hearing from You… Tenant Scrutiny Tenant scrutiny involves examining information in detail. The purpose is to check what we are saying about service performance is accurate, based on tenants’ views and that we are taking reasonable steps to improve performance where required. The process includes having a close look at performance information, tenant satisfaction and complaints. To support this, we wish to set up a Tenant Scrutiny Panel. If you would like to join the Tenant Scrutiny Panel, please contact Jean on: 020 7735 3935 or email: vioris.blake@lsha.org.uk LSHA will provide training and coaching to assist the tenant Scrutiny Panel to carry out their function. At the 2010 AGM we launched our tenant involvement strategy prompted by the requirements of our regulator the Tenant Services Authority (TSA). This included Lambeth and Southwark appointing me as an independent facilitator for tenant meetings. Over the past year I have held several sessions with some of you both at lunchtime and in the evening. Initially we invited all of you to every meeting but then moved onto working with a core group of tenants who consistently attended meetings. This worked well and we have had valuable input from you into a range of topics. For example you took on the role of monitoring our performance in the key areas of rents, voids and repairs. You gave us your views on the Business Plan and our newsletter and you helped in the production of our annual report to tenants. This summer we are joining forces with other small housing associations in south London (the SOLFED group) on a joint tenant involvement project. This will be about new ways for you to look at us, and you can read all about it in the enclosed information sheet. Some different people will be running that project, but I will be back later in the year. Thanks to all of you for the time you have given! Jenny Crook Home Contents Insurance The National Housing Federation provides a special service for tenants, by providing low cost home contents insurance. As well as new for old cover they also have special rates for over 60’s. To find out more and to obtain an application pack, contact the NHF on 0845 337 2463. 7 Working Days 126 Repair Target Times & Tenant Satisfaction 52 01 October 2010 – 31 December 2010 10 0 Percentage of Repairs Completed within Target Time 28 Working Days 90 80 % 70 10 0 90 Number of Repairs Completed 24 24 Hours 100 % 92 % 100 % 60 50 80 40 70 Two contractors experienced difficulty contacting tenants and therefore failed to complete within the time period specified. It is therefore vital that you provide us with your up-to-date contact number. Of the 202 repair orders sent out, we received 42 (20.7%) responses. 30 20 50 10 40 0 30 Satisfied 23 60 17 % 20 10 0 ou 24 H rs or k i 7W s y a D ng PRIZE DRAW or k i 28 W s y Da ng 2 Very Satisfied Satisfaction with Repairs Completed Not Satisfied Maintenance Satisfaction Survey Prize Draw REMEMBER: There are three ways to enter the maintenance prize draw: 1) post your completed repair order satisfaction slip, or 2) telephone Jean on 020 7735 3935 to discuss completion of the works, or 3) email your comments about your repair to Jean at vioris.blake@lsha.org.uk Congratulations to: Ms S Bray, Otha House SW9 (repair order: 16583) who received £25 Tenant Board Member Vacancies We are seeking new tenant board members as part of the continuous renewal of our membership. Tenant Board members oversee the work of the association. The Board meets six times a year in Kennington and holds an annual away day in June. If you are interested and would like further information please contact Jean our Housing Assistant on: 020 7735 3935 or email: vioris.blake@lsha.org.uk Are YOU interested in joining LSHA’s Board? Looking for a transfer? “We are now registered with Homeswapper, so LSHA tenants with a clear rent account, can register for free”. Find out more and join online at www.homeswapper.co.uk Homeswapper - the UK’s largest community of social tenants looking to swap homes. Each year they help thousands of tenants change their lives. They will automatically match you to any potential swaps They will email or SMS text you with details of those matches You use that information to find your new home! NE GAS S TOP AND P LUMBING L IMITED Gas servicing has been a real success and we have exceeded our aim with performance peaking at 100%. There is a huge amount of work involved to achieve this and we have been working very closely with our gas contractor One Stop Gas & Plumbing Limited. We hope our 100% achievement will continue. FREE to a ! e m o h d o o g am), ettee (cre ee table. s r te a e s IKEA two m) and IKEA coff (crea IKEA chair e o c h a ritgems a*h*o*me? n *** of these 35 0 7 73 5 3 9 n give any 02 Ca e office on be able to collect) th t c ta n o Please c liver, so you must t de (we canno NEW Website Coming Soon… We are currently in the process of re-designing our website. We’ll be including new features and helpful information for you. If there’s anything you would like to see, or you think we should include, please let us know. Please email your ideas to: info@lsha.org.uk Are you paying too much for your Gas & Electricity? HOME ENERGY SWITCH COULD SAVE YOU ££££’S Why use My Home Energy Switch? They take care of all the paper work for you – simply sit back, relax and enjoy cheaper energy bills! There is no charge to use their comparison and switching service. They have a dedicated phone line to answer all queries and help you switch. They compare ALL UK energy suppliers and are completely impartial. It only takes a few minutes to compare and switch. Ensure you’re getting the best price for your gas and electricity. Visit www.myhomeenergyswitch.org.uk today and see how much you could save or call us free on 0800 051 5346 This is a free-phone number but some mobiles may be charged. Rent Arrears Designed and produced by Buchanan Dean Design tel: 01494 677362 making sure your rent is paid is YOUR responsibility If you are having difficulty keeping up with payments, you should contact us straight away. We understand that sometimes difficulties arise and we want to help you pay your rent regularly so that you don’t fall into debt. When you sign your tenancy agreement you agree to pay your rent in full and on time. If you simply don’t pay or don’t take action to reduce your rent arrears, we will contact you to make sure you are aware of the problem. Failure to pay your rent could result in legal action and you could lose your home. You could also have problems borrowing money in the future. We don’t want that to happen and, whilst we will do all we can to help you, you need to remember that paying your rent is your responsibility. The rent that you pay for your home is our main source of income. We use this money to carry out repairs and improvements to the homes we manage, and to help us continue to provide a good quality service. We would like to thank those of you who pay your rent regularly and on time. Scheme Inspection Schedule Dates of future scheme inspections to be carried out by the operations manager: 11th April 2011 18th April 2011 9th May 2011 Antony House Albert Way Butler Court Richard House Commercial Way Montgomery House Roderick House Cator Street Bush Road Salisbury Court 23rd May 2011 6th June 2011 27th June 2011 Butler House Stockwell Park Road St Agnes Place Cooks Road Linden Hall Royal Road Steedman Street Liberty Street St Faiths Road Kennington Park Road Lorn Road Durand Gardens