Moving into your new home

Our aim is for you to be truly satisfied with your home by making sure it is in the best condition when you move in.

We are committed to carrying out any repairs to empty homes so that they meet our agreed Lettable Standard, while keeping the number of empty homes we have at any one time to a minimum. We also want to make sure that you can move into your new home as smoothly as possible.

Our promise to you

We aim to:

• let empty homes within 20 days of the previous tenancy termination date
• carry out the work listed here.

To make sure your home is up to the high standard we want for you, we will carry out work to the following areas:

Structure of the house

• Make all external areas of the roof, walls, and doors safe and watertight
• Treat any obvious damp, wet rot, or timber decay
• Remove any pests or insect infestations
• Remove polystyrene tiles and coving
• Repair or renew damaged floors
• Repair or renew faulty stairs, banisters, or handrails
• Adjust windows and doors for easy opening and closing
• Make sure glazing is safe and in good repair.

Services and utilities

• Take any meter readings once work is finished
• Check gas, electric, solid fuel or oil-fired appliances and flues to make sure they are in good working order, repairing, replacing or removing any faulty fittings
• Make sure that your home has a working heating system
• Make sure that your home has working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors
• Fix any plumbing faults
• Install ‘Sure Stop’ water supply stop taps where needed.

Fixtures and fittings

• Repair, clean, or replace any faulty sanitary ware
• Replace damaged wall tiles where possible
• Remove non-standard items, such as those put in by previous tenants
• Make sure that the kitchen and bathroom meet the Lettable Standard
• Fit a safe electric point or gas connection for the cooker.

Cleaning

• Remove all rubbish from your home
• Clean all surfaces, floors, and paintwork
• Issue decoration vouchers where appropriate or, in certain cases, redecorate individual rooms
• Carry out redecoration where your home is designated for older people or people with special mobility requirements, to make it suitable for you.

External work

• Remove rubbish and unsafe structures
• Replace, repair, or install fencing where necessary - this will usually be with post and wire or chestnut paling fencing
• Clear and cut back gardens that are overgrown or dangerous
• Restore or make safe footpaths and hard standings
• Back-fill ponds and remove barbecues.

During the process, we will:

• Contact you by phone, email, or in writing to offer you a tenancy and make an appointment to view your new home
• Inspect the building work to make sure your home is safe, clean, and ready for you to move in
• Show you around your home, explain the tenancy agreement, show you the location of stopcocks and meters etc
• Explain the process for signing up, paying rent, and claiming benefits, and give you any documentation you need
• Tell you about any repairs that need to be carried out after the tenancy start date and explain the decoration vouchers scheme
• Let you know about the information we have on our website where you can check whether your home is part of our planned maintenance programme (involving work such as doors/windows/kitchen/bathroom replacements) and when this will be carried out
• Explain what will happen if you do not want to accept the tenancy
• Make an appointment for you to sign up for the tenancy and let you know when the tenancy will start
• Ensure there is always a Welcome Box in your home when you move in, which will contain some items to help you settle in.

When you sign your new tenancy, we will:

• Confirm the rent and the different ways you can pay it – Direct Debit is the most efficient way
• Explain the conditions of tenancy and what will happen if you breach them
• Confirm which items of repair, if any, will be carried out after you have moved in and when this will happen
• Explain how you can report repairs to us
• Tell you which items of repair are our responsibility, and which are yours
• Give you decoration vouchers where needed
• Give you copies of any relevant safety reports and details about any asbestos which may be in your home – we will make sure that where present, it is in a safe and undamaged condition
• Give you at least two keys for each external door to your home and one, where available, to window locks and outbuildings.

After you have moved into your home we will:

• Visit you within two months of the start of the tenancy to make sure you have settled in well and to offer any advice or support to help you maintain your tenancy
• Carry out a short customer satisfaction survey with you, to help us improve our service.

You can help us by:

• Replying as quickly as possible to any offer of accommodation
• Keeping us up to date about any changes in your circumstances so that we make appropriate offers of accommodation
• Bringing all the documentation needed to make a benefit claim to the signup
• Filling in our customer satisfaction survey so that we can keep our service up to date and relevant
• Letting us know about any items that have not been repaired as soon as you move in.

Market rent homes

If you are moving into a market rent home, the lettable standard is different. Contact us for details.