Crawley Homes’ customer service standards
Communicating with you
Phones
Instant messages (e.g. WhatsApp)
Online forms
Emails
Letters
Plain English
We will respond to voicemails and requests for contact via telephone within two working days. If the person you are contacting is away from the office, they will leave an alternative contact.
We will respond within two working days, provided that the person you are messaging is available. If your issue is urgent, please contact us in a different way.
We will review these within two working days. If your enquiry is urgent, please contact us by phone.
We aim to provide an initial response to you within two working days, with a maximum target of five working days. If your issue will take longer to resolve, we will keep you informed.
We will respond to other written communication within five working days of receipt.
We will write to you using plain English and explain any technical terms. Out of office
We will always set appropriate out of office responses to emails and voicemail, so you know when a named contact is unavailable.
Complaints
We will follow the standards set out by the Housing Ombudsman for formal complaint handling.
Contacting us
Contact information You will have named Surveyor and Housing Officer for your area. We will keep these updated on our website and provide contact information on (forthcoming) communal noticeboards if you live in a block of flats. The name of your Housing Officer will be included on all rent letters.
Right person
Ongoing issues
Needs and preferences
General Data Protection
Regulation (GDPR)
Alternative formats
We work as one council. If you raise an issue with any of our team, we will aim to assist you directly or we will transfer you to the right person. If we are unable to reach that person, we will send a ‘task’ to them through our housing management system and give you the task number. If your enquiry relates to another division within the council, we will transfer you to that division.
If you have an ongoing issue, we will agree with you how and when we will update you.
When you contact us to request a service, we will ask you about your specific needs and preferences to help us tailor our services to you.
We will respect your privacy and confidentiality by:
• asking you security questions when you phone us
• only passing sensitive information to contractors and partners in line with GDPR
We will ensure that we retain methods of communication that aren’t reliant upon online access for those who need it. We will provide translation services or alternative formats upon request.
Timescales
Notice for major works
Higher risk buildings
Compliance
Stock condition surveys
We will deliver on the timescales set out in our repairs policy for day-to-day repairs, including specific timescales around damp and mould and other hazards set out in the HHSRS (Housing Health and Safety Ratings System).
We will give you at least 12 weeks’ notice when major works will take place and if timescales change, we will update you. We will also keep our website updated with information about planned works programmes in the borough.
For higher risk buildings we will do at least two building safety engagements between 1 April and 31 March each year.
We will deliver on landlord compliance requirements at all times, relating to gas, electrics, water, fire, lifts, asbestos and fire/CO alarms and we will publish our compliance data online every quarter.
We will undertake a full stock condition survey of your home at least once every three years to make sure it is safe and of decent quality.
We will undertake an organised neighbourhood inspection in your neighbourhood at least once a year, where you can meet us and share your thoughts, but officers will also routinely inspect communal areas when undertaking site visits and raise relevant work. Your neighbourhood
Keeping you updated
Annual Report
Satisfaction survey
Performance
Newsletters
Calendar
Notice boards
We will produce an annual report by autumn each year and post the short version to all tenants.
We will undertake a Tenants Satisfaction Measures survey each year and publish the results.
We will publish a performance report every three months.
We will send newsletters to you at least three times per year.
We will publish a calendar of upcoming engagement activities and update this at least once a quarter.
We will apply our standard information and check content at least once a month in Crawley Homes’ notice boards (where applicable).
