Cold Caller Warning – Watch Out for Bogus Traders Offering to Carry out Gardening Work

We’ve had reports of cold callers in the Angus area offering to carry out gardening work. If you need work done on the house or in the garden, look for a reputable trader instead.

Trading Standards are reminding residents to stay alert as it is the time of year for a rise in cold calling. Residents need to be on their guard if approached by anyone cold calling at their homes offering any type of property maintenance or gardening services. Often what seems like a quick cheap job turns out to be a lot more work and the costs escalate, sometimes with aggressive practices.

Our advice is not to deal with cold callers as this is a favoured approach used by rogue traders whose sole intention is to extract as much money from residents as possible.

If you do need work on your property or garden, use a reputable local trader who has been recommended by friends or family or someone who has been vetted and is part of the Angus Trusted Trader Scheme. You can search for local traders at www.trustedtrader.scot

Advertisement

Housing Repairs – COVID-19 Update April 2021

In line with the Scottish Government’s guidance on easing lockdown restrictions, we have been working closely with the repairs contractor in your area to make sure a measured approach has been taken to restarting provision of repairs within your home.

A full repairs service will recommence 26^th April 2021.

We would ask you to be mindful that there is a backlog of reported repairs that also needs to be addressed within tenanted homes and this may result in some delay with lower priority repairs. If you have reported a repair during lockdown there is no need to report this a second time as you will be contacted by your Housing Officer prior to the contractor contacting you to arrange a suitable time to attend.

Should you need to report a new repair please call ACCESSLINE on 03452 777 778.

We will keep our approach under regular review and provide updates as the guidance from the Scottish Government develops.  Please keep an eye on the Housing Blog and our website for further updates.

You can find NHS advice on the NHS Coronavirus COVID 19 website –– the main symptoms of the coronavirus include;

• A new, continuous, dry cough                                                                                       
  
• A high temperature
  
• Loss or change to your sense of smell or taste
  

   

We appreciate your co-operation at this time and hope you find this information useful, but if you have any queries about repairs, please contact your local Housing Team.

Below are documents that we hope will reassure you on the repairs process itself as well as providing guidance on your and our contractors’ responsibilities.

Tenant Repairs HS GuidanceDownload

Repair ProtocolDownload

Housing Planned Maintenance – COVID-19 Update April 2021

In line with the Scottish Government’s guidance on easing of lockdown restrictions, we have been working closely with contractors to make sure a measured approach has been taken to restarting planned maintenance work for tenants in our properties.

The following planned maintenance contracts will restart in the weeks following 26 April 2021;

•    Bathroom Replacements

•    Kitchen Replacements

•    Energy Efficiency Works

•    Window Replacements

•    Electrical Testing

•    Electric Heating Upgrades

•    Smoke Alarm and Heat Detection Upgrades

Where tenants had already been notified of planned works pre-lockdown the relevant contractor will be in touch to arrange installation or survey visits whilst also advising of new processes which have been put in place for everyone’s safety.

If your home is included in a new contract you will receive a letter from us as well as the appointed contractor to advise of works planned and the processes related to that contract.

Please be aware that some contractors are starting to get in touch with our tenants now to confirm start dates for works, design visits, safety checks to enable external works to start etc. If you unsure about any of this please get in touch with the Housing Technical team.

As we have done throughout the lockdown period, we will continue to carry out annual servicing of gas heating systems as we are required to do by law.

We will keep our approach under regular review and provide updates as the guidance from the Scottish Government develops. Please keep an eye on the Housing Blog and our website for further updates.

You can find NHS advice on the NHS Coronavirus COVID 19 website –– the main symptoms of the coronavirus include;

•    A new, continuous, dry cough

•    A high temperature

•    Loss or change to your sense of smell or taste

We appreciate your co-operation at this time and hope you find this information useful, but if you have any queries about this post, please contact us by emailing HousingTechnical@angus.gov.uk

New Private Tenancy Services from Safe Deposit Scotland

SDS Resolution is a free service operated by SafeDeposits Scotland and its aim is to help landlords and tenants to sustain tenancies and avoid the need for formal legal action.

They can deal with disputes relating to:

• Property standards
  
• Repairs
  
• Entry rights
  
• Rent arrears
  
• Threatened eviction
  
• Breach of tenancy terms
  
• Noise/antisocial behaviour (except serious antisocial activity).,
  

For more information see the SDS Resolution website

Safe & Sound service

This service has recently been launched with funding from the SafeDeposits Scotland Charitable Trust and has been introduced by Scottish charity Deaf Action to provide Scottish landlords and deaf tenants equal access to information and advice on the property rental market. Resources for tenants include BSL guidance videos, expert advice and interpreter access.

You can read full details about Safe & Sound on the Deaf Action website.-conflicts-tenants-tickets-149133

First Home Fund

The First Home Fund shared is a shared equity scheme, where both the home owner and the Scottish Government will hold an equity share in the property under a shared equity agreement.

The scheme has been re-launched to provide first-time buyers with up to £25,000 to help them buy a property that meets their needs and is located in the area where they want to live.

First launched in December 2019 with an initial budget of £150 million to pilot a new approach to supporting first-time buyers, it is open to all first-time buyers in Scotland and can be used for new build and existing properties.

With an available budget in 2021-22 of £60m, the funding provided by the scheme this time around will help around 12,000 first-time buyers purchase their first home.

For further information please visit the Link Housing website

New contract for Responsive Repairs and Voids goes live

Our new three-year contract for Responsive Repairs and Change of Tenancy works is now live.

Under the new arrangements, repairs will be carried out by two contractors, Derek McNulty Joinery & Building Contractors, for the Arbroath, Carnoustie & Monifieth areas; and MPS Housing Ltd for the Montrose, Brechin, Forfar and Kirriemuir areas.

A new dedicated housing repairs call centre has also been established through our ACCESSLine to enhance the overall customer experience.

Although the new contracts are now formally in place, continuing COVID-19  restrictions do mean that only emergency repairs and essential works, such as gas servicing, can be carried out at this time and until further notice.

We are monitoring this situation and a return to full service will happen as soon as restrictions are lifted. These restrictions have led to a significant backlog of repairs, but our contractors will work through them as a priority.

If you have an issue with your home, and haven’t already reported it, please let us know by contacting ACCESSLine on 03452 777 778.

We won’t be able to give you a date for when these repairs will be carried out, but we will make contact as soon as we can to arrange a suitable date, once national restrictions are eased.