Service Standards
East Durham Homes is committed to ensuring that all its leasehold customers have the opportunity and choice to directly influence the decisions that affect their homes and communities.
As part of this commitment East Durham Homes will provide the opportunity for leaseholders to monitor performance and influence service delivery, aiming to achieve excellence in the service we provide.
We aim to make our service promises:
Clear and easy to understand
Listen to and respond to all enquiries fairly, consistently and confidentially
Be polite and professional when dealing with your enquiry
To provide a leasehold service that you will value and we can be proud of
Customer Care
We aim to:
Be punctual, polite and helpful and aim to respond effectively and sensitively to your needs
Help to find the services that help you
Keep you informed with the progress of your enquiry
Be responsive to the special needs of any of our customers
Respond to your letter using plain English within 10 days
Respond to your email using plain English within 5 days
Respond to your formal complaints within 10 working days
Getting Involved
East Durham Homes will be committed to ensuring that its leasehold customers have the widest possible opportunities to participate in its activities as an organisation.
We aim to:
To increase satisfaction with opportunities to participate in East Durham Homes decision making process
Encourage leaseholders to estate meetings, to jointly walk with tenants around the estates
Encourage leaseholders to join Tenants and Residents Associations
Informing and Consulting Leaseholders
We aim to:
Where the individual cost of major work is likely to be more than £250, we will provide statutory consultation as set out in Section 20 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, as amended by Section 151 of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002
Provide a welcome pack & handbook to all new and potential leasehold customers
Offer a face to face interview with you if you are deciding to buy your flat
Annually survey leasehold customers on the standards of the service received
Provide leasehold customers with comprehensive, accurate and timely information that is clear to understand
Hold leasehold discussion groups every six months to ensure there is a formal consultation to enable leaseholders to influence, participate and make decisions about policies, strategies, services and performance issues
Provide a quarterly newsletter
Service Charges
We aim to:
Ensure that EDH meets its obligations under relevant legislation and the lease
Invoice you annually for the ground rent which is due for the current financial year
Ensure that you are only charged for the services that you received during the relevant accounting financial year
Provide you with an itemised statement of the elements that go to make up your service charge
Send an estimate for service charges each April
Send the actual statement for service charges each September
Offer you a variety of ways to pay
Repairs and Maintenance
We are responsible for keeping the structure and shared areas of flat blocks in reasonable repair. We are also responsible for keeping the communal areas reasonably clean and well lit and for maintaining the communal grounds outside.
To comply with these responsibilities we aim to:
Provide a responsive repair service for those repairs that are the responsibility of East Durham Homes
Provide a 24 hour, 365 days a year emergency call out service for repairs only