Our commitments outline how Great Places will provide services to you, our customers. They explain how we will work in partnership with you and what you can expect from us as a landlord. We encourage a two-way relationship with you, to make sure services are delivered in the best way possible and based on mutual respect.
We will make sure your new home is clean and tidy when you move in, show you where you can find everything you need such as stop tap and meters, and show you how to ventilate your home and use your heating system. We will:
We aim to make it quick and easy for you to contact us, whenever and however it suits you. This may be through our customer portal, MyPlace; Chatabot web chat; or you can talk to your Neighbourhood team or get in touch with our Customer Hub by email or a telephone call.
Rent is our main source of income and is used to pay for services, including repairs and improvements. It’s really important that you pay your rent on time, and so we will contact you about any missed payments. We offer different ways for you to make these payments, so get in touch if you’re struggling – don’t leave it. We can offer help and advice about managing your money and dealing with debt.
Please report repairs to us. It’s important to let us know when something needs fixing so we can help maintain your home and keep it safe and comfortable for you and the people living with you.
If you report an emergency repair, we will attend to it within 24 hours and prioritise our vulnerable customers first.
We will aim to complete routine repairs within 20 working days.
We provide appointment times which can be between 8am – 12pm and 12pm – 4.30pm. We will confirm your appointment with you and send you a reminder before we arrive at your home. To help us deliver an efficient repair service to our customers, please be available for your appointment. Let us know if you need to cancel or change your appointment so we can use the appointment for another customer.
If you see any signs of damp, mould or condensation, let us know by reporting it to us. Our commitment is to carry out a damp and mould inspection within 10 working days of receiving your request.
Keeping you safe is a top priority and we have certain responsibilities around safety within your home and in communal areas.
Properties with a gas heating system will have a safety check once a year and electrical checks every five years, or when a customer moves out. We will contact you in advance to arrange an appointment and answer any questions you have.
We provide smoke alarms in every home and carbon monoxide detectors for homes with gas. Please test your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors every month and report any faults to us.
We take a collective responsibility to make sure neighbourhoods and communal spaces are well maintained, working with others as needed. Many of our properties have communal spaces, for instance blocks of flats with communal stairwells and corridors. We also have green spaces to maintain in many areas around our properties.
We aim to keep the internal communal areas clean – such as entrance halls and stairwells. This includes sweeping, hoovering and mopping of floors, dusting, signposting and the reporting of communal repairs. Each scheme has individual details about frequency, but our aim is to do this work every fortnight.
You can help us by:
We aim to keep external communal spaces in good condition by looking after the communal grounds around your home. We will carry out work including grass cutting, hedge and shrub trimming and weeding. We will work with our Green Guardians, customer volunteers to measure the quality of this service four times a year.
We know that noise nuisance and anti-social behaviour can affect your ability to enjoy your home. And can make you feel unsafe if things escalate.
From receipt of your antisocial behaviour/nuisance report into our Customer Hub, we will record your contact and respond within three working days. We will provide you with a named person who will be your contact throughout, and let you know if this person changes.
We may ask you to help in our investigations, which might include keeping records of incidents. Before we close any case, we will speak to you and update you.
Our Voice is a new digital tool for you to engage with us on a variety of topics in a flexible way. You can help us to improve our services by signing up and sharing your views and ideas. In return for your feedback, we commit to sharing with you through our customer publications and website how your voice is shaping and influencing services and improving our customers’ experience.
We will aim to acknowledge complaints within 3-5 working days and call you to discuss your concerns. We will investigate your complaint and respond to you within 10 working days.
