Frequently asked questions

The tenancy agreement is a legal document which is a contract between you and Highstone Housing Association (referred to as HHA). It sets out your rights and responsibilities as a tenant and the rights and responsibilities of HHA as your landlord. When you accept your tenancy agreement you are agreeing to all the rules set out in that agreement

Highstone use two different tenancy agreements.

In our supported accommodation all tenants are given Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreements.

In our general needs accommodation all new tenants are given a Starter Tenancy and permitting there are no breaches of the tenancy agreement within the first 12 months then this tenancy will convert to an Assured Tenancy.

This depends on a variety of factors such as the size of your home, location, type of property and services provided

Your rent will be increased in accordance with the relevant clause in your tenancy agreement and will increase at least annually.

As well as your rent, you will need to pay for utilities at your property. Dependent on the type of property you rent from Highstone you will be responsible for gas (if there is a gas supply), electric and water.

You will also be responsible for insuring your belongings and the contents of your home.

You will also need to pay for Council Tax unless you are entitled to Council Tax Reduction, or and discounts or disregards. Your entitlement is decided by the local authority where you live.

You will also be responsible for items such as a TV licence if you have a television, broadband if you have this installed and other items such as a home telephone or mobile phone.

Food, toiletries, clothing, activities and holidays will need to be budgeted for.

Highstone Housing Association insure the structure of the building.

You will need to take out home contents insurance to cover your belongings and items within your home against any loss or damage.

Highstone Housing Association are not liable for the items within your home.

Paying your rent is very important.

If you do not pay your rent in line with your tenancy agreement you could lose your home.

If you are on a low income or certain benefits you can receive assistance from the government to help you pay your rent.

If you live in one our supported housing properties then Housing Benefit can consider your application for help. To do this a claim for Housing Benefit will need to be made. Highstone Housing Association will help you to make your claim for Housing Benefit if you or someone else acting on your behalf provides us with signed permission to do this for you.

If you live in one of our general needs properties you may be entitled to help from Universal Credit Housing Costs. You can apply online for help through Universal Credit.

If you fall into rent arrears this would put your tenancy at risk. Highstone Housing Association are here to help. Its very important that you speak with us about any financial difficulties you are facing so we can give you the right help and support to get you back on track if you get behind with your rent.

There are also other services available if you are experiencing financial difficulties.

Step Change

• Online debt advice service
  Available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year
• 0800 138 1111
  Monday to Friday 8am to 8pm and Saturday 9am to 2pm

The service charges are detailed in your tenancy agreement.

Service charges cover things to do with works and services which need to be carried out on the building and communal areas.

Examples of service charges are :

• Cleaning communal areas,
• Lighting,
• Window Cleaning
• Communal Gardening

No, your tenancy is only for you and any other person named on it.

You cannot pass your tenancy on to another person.

You cannot let anyone else live at your address without gaining permission from Highstone Housing Association.

You must never charge rent to anyone for staying at your house or take in a lodger

If you break the terms and conditions of your tenancy agreement we will make contact with you or someone advocating on your behalf to discuss the breach or we will contact you in writing if we cannot make contact.

We will tell you what part of your tenancy agreement you have breached and give you clear advice on how to avoid this in the future.

We will work with you and any professionals you have in place to support you and will give you clear guidelines on how to improve your behaviour in cases of Anti Social Behaviour and will make use of Tenancy Improvement Agreements.

If the issues are not addressed and there are continued breaches of your tenancy agreement we may take legal action against you and this could result in eviction from your home.

You will need to contact our office 01484 609189 or email enquiries@highstoneha.co.uk to inform us of the death. We ask that you provide us with a contact number so we can keep in touch.

If you are the responsible person for emptying the property we will give 28 days to allow for any personal items and furniture to be removed and will make arrangements to meet with you to pick up the keys.

The tenancy will only end at the point the keys are returned to us and rent will continue to be payable.

Highstone Housing Association will claim any outstanding rent from the estate left by the deceased person.

Please be aware that Housing Benefit payments cease on the first Sunday after death – full rent is due each week after that.

Highstone Housing Association have voids and nominations agreements with local authorities where we hold supported housing stock. We do not accept direct applications for our supported housing units as we work in partnership with social work teams across the varying Local Authorities.

Tenancies are allocated through a selection criteria assessment process carried out by each local authority in conjunction with Highstone Housing.

We do have a small portfolio of non-supported accommodation. All our general needs properties will be advertised in accordance with our policies.

You should tell us as soon as possible when your home needs a repair.

You can :

• complete the ‘Report a Repair form’ here you can upload photos of your repair using this online form to help us to assess more effectively what and who is required for your repair.
• Email repairs@highstoneha.co.uk
• Call  03330 388410 during office hours
• 03300 584090 out of hours EMERGENCY repairs only

When you report a repair please tell us:

• Your name, full address and telephone number
• As much as you can about what is wrong, and where the problem is

We aim to carry out repairs as quickly as possible. Repairs are prioritised by our repairs service dependent upon:

• The seriousness of the defect
• The impact it will have on the safety of the household
• The potential damage to the property

Repairs are categorised into emergency, urgent or general

Emergency – attention within 24 hours

These repairs relate to damage which could affect the health, safety or security of the tenants or the building if the repair is not attended to immediately

Urgent – attention within 48 hours

These are repairs that are not an emergency, but cannot wait to be dealt with as routine repairs.

Routine – attention within 28 days

All other routine repairs come into this category.

If you think your repair is an emergency please contact us by Phone

– 03330 388410

Our office opening hours are:

9am – 5pm Monday to Thursday
9am -4pm Friday
We are closed on public holidays

If you need to report an emergency repair when our office is closed you can phone 03300 584090 and our emergency repairs helpline staff will deal with your call

Examples of an emergency include:

• Major water leak that cannot be stopped with a stop cock
• Major electrical failure, no lighting or power within a property
• Risk to security of property such as a broken window or lost key
• Tenant unable to gain access to property due to loss of key or door entry system failure
• Fire alarm sounding and will not re-set / silence
• Blocked drainage that is coming up within a property
• Toilets where the tenant only has access to one toilet
• Significant roof leak that compromises health and safety
• No heating or hot water (winter months only)
• No cold water to the property
• Gas leak

The contractors will normally make safe until a full repair assessment can be made

You must obtain written permission from Highstone Housing Association before keeping a pet at your property. If we do agree to let you keep a pet, this permission can be withdrawn at any time if the pet causes a nuisance or annoyance to neighbours.

We do not allow pets in any of our accommodation that shares a space with others, for example communal corridors. To be considered for a pet you must have a property that has its own entrance door that is not shared with any other person.

Registered assistance dogs will automatically receive consent which lasts for the duration of its working life. To apply for permission, contact your Housing Officer. For more information see HHA Pets Procedure Policy

If you would like to make an alteration or improvement to your home you need to get written permission from Highstone Housing Repairs Section

We’ll need to know :

• Information on the type of improvement or alteration
• The name of the person or company doing the work
• A full specification of the materials that will be used
• When the work will be carried out
• Why you require this

We’ll aim to give you a decision within 10 working days of us getting all the information required. This may take longer if we need to carry out an inspection. If we can’t make a decision at this time, we’ll contact you and tell you why there’s a delay.

Permission will not be refused unless there is a good reason, and we will explain this reason to you.

We will then notify you in writing either by post or email of our decision.

Please do not start any work before we inform you of our decision. If you do, this will be considered a breach of tenancy and you may be subject to legal action

Where permission is granted and you’ve finished your works, you must tell us so we can inspect it. We can instruct you to remove, put back, or make any improvement/ alteration that we have not approved. We can also take action to put the work right ourselves and recharge the cost to you.

If your personal needs have changed and you require adaptations to your property to help you remain at home you will need to seek specialist advise from your Local Authority’s Occupational Therapy Team. If you have a Social Worker they will be able to help you.

We do offer help for small adaptations such as grab rails, however any major adaptations we will need to have an OT report to agree any proposed works.