We are aware that several applicants are experiencing difficulty with the Angus Homefinder system when trying to log in. We have escalated this to the developers and will update when the issue is resolved.
If your enquiry is not urgent then please do not contact the ACCESSline, please wait to log in once the issue has been resolved.
If your enquiry is urgent please contact ACCESSline in the normal way.
We will post updates when they are available
The Scottish Government has published new Statutory Guidance for Landlords on the Repairing Standard. Landlords will have one year to prepare for these requirements which come into force on 1 March 2024.
From 1 March next year all private rented properties in Scotland will need to have central heating, a kitchen with adequate space and facilities to prepare and store food.
The guidance brings together both existing and new duties included in the Repairing Standard with which private landlords will be required to comply from 1 March next year.
New duties cover kitchens, heating systems, common parts, and fuel supplies.
The revised Repairing Standard will include a requirement to have safely accessible food storage and food preparation space in private rented houses. Scottish landlords will also be required to provide a fixed heating system in their properties.
The guidance also covers the action landlords must already take to prevent damp and mould.
Housing Secretary Shona Robison said:
“Landlords have one year to meet our updated Repairing Standard, which will improve the condition of private rented property, make homes safer and ensure consistency between the social and private rented sectors.
“The majority of private landlords will already be meeting these standards. The guidance published today will help landlords better understand their responsibilities and ensure those who do need to carry out works can do so in advance of the 1 March 2024 deadline.
“All rented homes are required to meet standards that ensure they are free from damp and mould, and this guidance will help us to ensure this happens in the private rented sector.”
We currently have a problem with our computer system where we record repairs. At the moment, ACCESSLine can only take Emergency repairs and tenants are asked to call back to report any other repairs when our system is up and running.
Everyone involved is working as hard as they can to fix this issue and we will post here as soon as the issue is resolved.
Thank you for your patience.
If you are an Angus Council tenant (including garages and garage sites), you should have received your annual rent update letter for 2023/24 by now.
If you haven’t received your rent notification, please let us know by emailing HousingQPP@angus.gov.uk or call us on ACCESSLine 03452 777 778.
Here’s the latest in our series of posts explaining how our Choice-Based Lettings housing allocations work:
By law, we must give ‘reasonable preference’ to certain groups. We must give priority to:
We consider people to have unmet housing needs if they have housing needs that cannot be met by other housing options available. For example, an applicant with disabilities whose housing needs can only be met in social housing, because it is not possible to make essential adaptations to their current home, and there is no other suitable housing available in the area. For owner occupiers, we will consider any equity in their home and whether they can reasonably buy another property to meet their needs.
If you fall into the above ‘reasonable preference’ groups, we will confirm your needs by completing a housing options assessment with you.
Please keep following for more information on our Choice-Based Lettings and Allocation Policy
Choice-Based Lettings is our housing register. Anyone 16 years old or over can apply for social housing from the Council and its partners – Hillcrest Housing Association, Caledonia Housing Association and Blackwood Housing Association. We also work closely with other housing associations across the county. Even though they are not part of the partnership, they do take nominations from us to house applicants from our list, or advertise their properties on our site which allows those on our list to bid for those properties.
We want to give applicants choice about where they want to live, so we publicise the details of available homes and applicants can choose whether or not to bid (register interest) for the property. Where we have specialist supported housing or properties with particular adaptations, we try to match these to the most suitable applicant from the housing register, in the first instance.
Please follow this Blog for more on our Choice Based Lettings and Allocation Policy
We expect high winds in excess of 50mph in the Angus area to continue until late afternoon on Friday 17 February.
This is likely to result in an increase in repair calls today and over the weekend. As always, safety is paramount and all our contractors and staff have to take safety into consideration when attending all repairs, particularly those that are a result of bad weather. As has been the case previously, when we are experiencing bad weather, our contractors will only be able to carry out work and repairs if it is safe to do so.
This may include not being able to work on any damaged roofs and, if it is deemed unsafe to work on the roof, they will do their best to either board up from the inside or lay protection or buckets inside to catch any water leaks, making them as wind and water-tight as they can. They will follow up and complete the repair as soon as it is safe to do so.
We can confirm the Angus Homefinder site is now working again.
Our teams would also like to extend our thanks for your patience during this time.
We are aware of a fault this morning with the Angus Homefinder bidding site. Our service provider is working to fix this as soon as they can. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
Please be patient, we hope to have it resolved as soon as possible.
The Scottish Government requires every Local Authority to have a Local Housing Strategy (LHS). The LHS must be reviewed and updated every five years.
Our LHS for 2023 to 2028 will:
We believe that good, quality housing can:
To help prepare we have produced topic papers.
These set the scene and highlight the main housing issues in Angus.
But we need our LHS to truly reflect the housing issues faced by local people and communities.
We want to hear the views of the local community and stakeholders. This will help us identify the most important issues and priorities.
With your help, we can get it right.
Complete the Angus Local Housing Strategy Survey
The survey closes Wednesday 22nd April
Angus Council Housing News 