Did you know that we run regular live chats through Facebook? This is a chance for our residents to ask questions around our work and future plans.
Our Customer Experience Manager, Kris Ablett, was in the hotseat this week. In case you missed it, here’s a selection of the questions asked and our responses.
We get a lot of questions about individual repairs, and we’ll be following up with each resident on these.
Q. Does NCH have any thoughts on bringing Lettings back in-house? My thoughts are that people could be more appropriately housed as lettings staff will know more about the properties being offered.
A. Our lettings have always been managed in-house and our colleagues make the final decision on all of our allocations, with full knowledge of the properties they are allocating.
The common housing register is managed by Newport City Council. This was introduced so that applicants from across Newport only have to complete one application, rather than one for each housing provider. Our team then allocates properties from this register.
Q. What do you do about nuisance pets in properties?
A. If you’re experiencing excessive noise or nuisance behaviour from a pet, please report this to our Resident Services team. We’ll then create a Nuisance Log and investigate. We might ask you to use the Noise app to record any noise and document evidence of an ongoing problem so we can hear first-hand how serious the problem is. If you don’t have a smartphone, we have some in-house which we can lend out for the purpose of logging potential cases of anti-social behaviour.
If we have evidence that pets are causing a serious an ongoing nuisance then we can take appropriate action under the tenancy agreement.
Q. When are the balcony windows due for replacement? Some flats have them and some don’t, there doesn’t seem to be any logic to it.
A. We have replaced some balcony windows in our flats which needed repair, and we’re continuing to look at this on an ongoing basis. If you feel that your windows need replacing, please get in touch with us directly.
Q. Are leaseholders able to access online services yet?
A. Currently, leaseholders aren’t able to access services online. However, we are working on this and we’re continuing to develop our online services.
Q. What’s the policy on overcrowding? For example, three children of the same gender aged 13, 12 and 9 sharing a bedroom.
A. Under the Home Options policy, an assessment is made for the number of bedrooms needed for a household based on the following minimum criteria:
- A single person requires a one bedroom property
- A co-habiting couple requires a one bedroom property
- Each independent adult (21 years+) requires one additional bedroom
- Children of the opposite sex where one child is aged over 10 should not have to share a bedroom
- Two children of the same sex can share a bedroom, unless one or both children are aged over 16
- Children under the age of one are not considered as part of the bedroom need assessment.
So, in this situation, the children would require two bedrooms.
Q. If you have a child who lives with another parent but stays with you on weekends, are you entitled to a two-bedroom house?
Under the Home Options policy, families who have overnight access to a child are only eligible for a 2 bedroom flat or maisonette, not a house. Two bedroom houses are in extremely short supply and are reserved for families with children who live with them full time.
More information is available on the Home Options website: https://www.homeoptionsnewport.co.uk/content/Information/Prioritisingapplications
Q. A rear garden fence can be 2000m tall from ground height, but how tall can a front garden fence be erected please?
A. Front garden fences are more complicated than rear garden fences - there is no ‘one size fits all’ answer to this question as there are several factors that need to be taken into account; such as distance to the public highway and risk of obscuring the view of traffic. In some circumstances you may need planning permission. You can find more information here:
https://www.planningportal.co.uk/wales_en/info/2/do_you_need_permission
Q. What’s your policy in relation to opposite-sex children sharing a bedroom please? And should tenants be made priority for a larger property once the eldest child reaches the age limit?
A. Under the Home Options policy, an assessment is made for the number of bedrooms needed for a household based on the following minimum criteria:
- A single person requires a one bedroom property
- A co-habiting couple requires a one bedroom property
- Each independent adult (21 years+) requires one additional bedroom
- Children of the opposite sex where one child is aged over 10 should not have to share a bedroom
- Two children of the same sex can share a bedroom, unless one or both children are aged over 16
- Children under the age of one are not considered as part of the bedroom need assessment
Home Options operates on a needs based banding system where applicants are placed into one of four bands (Band A – Band D) based upon the circumstances of the applicant and their household.
Additional priority is given to those households who don’t occupy a property with sufficient bedrooms to meet the above minimum criteria; Band B is awarded for those households with 2 bedrooms less than the assessed minimum need, Band C is awarded for those households with 1 bedroom less than the assessed minimum need.
Q. Do I have to get permission to put a patio in the back garden? If so, who do I speak to?
A. Yes, you do need permission to put a patio in your back garden. You can access a permission form from our website. Click here to access the form.
Q. There is a view shared by some that the association is concentrating on new builds at the expense of maintenance and repair.
A. There is a large shortfall in affordable housing within Newport, and we have a key role to play in helping to combat this – not just for current residents but for future generations too.
In order to build new homes, we borrow funds and receive grants towards our new builds from the Welsh Government. The income provided from our new properties will in the long-term provide us with more income, which we will be able to reinvest in to existing stock.
We are strongly committed to the regeneration and upgrading of our existing homes. We’re significantly investing in our properties to make sure they’re fit for the future, spending circa £10 million on residential property improvements including external wall insultation, kitchen and bathroom replacement and new roofs – future proofing homes for our residents and improving the appearance of properties.
Q. I don’t agree with the limited hours and days of community offices, such as in Ringland.
A. We understand that changes to our community offices may not suit everyone, but they do mean that we’re able to provide a better service to more of our residents by being available in the city centre. We’re also continuing to work on the ways that residents can get in touch with us, to make the process as simple as possible.
The quickest and cheapest way to contact us will always be online, but we know that this isn’t always suitable for everyone. Did you know that if you call us, we can call you straight back to save on the cost of the phone call?
If you need to see us face-to-face, whilst our front facing office is @195, we can also offer home visits for residents who may have difficulty travelling into town for health or affordability reasons by one of our specialist teams.
Q. When opening a city centre premise was first being discussed, it was intended that the office would be open on a Saturday morning. Is this likely to happen?
A. We don’t currently have any plans in place to open on Saturdays, but we do recognise that we need to offer more flexible hours of service for residents, particularly those that work.
We have expended our online webchat times so we’re online later in the evenings to speak to residents. We’re also currently expanding our internal repairs and maintenance workforce, and we’re actively looking to increase the number of evening appointments we offer for repairs and gas servicing.
Q. Can you tell me when the Mountbatten Close flats are going to be knocked down please?
A. The demolition of Mountbatten is dependent on the progression of our Cot Farm works, as many residents will be moving into this development once completed. At the moment, our timescale is winter/early Spring 2020. We understand that residents want to know when this will be happening, and as soon as we have more information we will update Mountbatten residents.