At SYHA we aim to provide decent homes and quality services. This sets out the service you can expect to receive from us when we are managing your rent account. We take a firm but fair approach to the collection of rent and arrears, providing residents with quality advice and agreeing payment plans where required. These standards have been put together in consultation with our Resident Improvement Panel and we will review them annually.
We believe that everyone has the right to:
• Be treated with dignity and respect
• Be treated fairly with regard to our policies, procedures and practices
• Have equal access to opportunities in the provision of our services
In all of our dealings with you we will:
• Answer your phone calls promptly
• Respond to your letters, faxes and emails to rents@syha.co.uk and enquiries@syha.co.uk within 2 weeks
• Respond to your complaints within 2 weeks
We Wil:
• Have trained staff available to provide help and advice
• Provide a wide range of ways for you to pay your rent, including Direct Debit which is our preferred method of payment
• Set up Direct Debits within 2 weeks
• Ensure every resident has an Allpay card
• Encourage you to contact us at any point if you are worried about or are having problems in paying your rent
• Send you a rent statement every three months. You can ask for a rent statement at any time and you can also ask for a large print copy
• Ensure that every effort is made to prevent you from falling into arrears by making contact with you as soon as arrears start to build up
• Agree affordable payment arrangements with you – if these are kept we will take no further action
• Give you advice on whether you may be entitled to help with your rent through benefits
• Help you with debt situations by providing information on organisations that deal with debt and money advice
• Help you fill in Housing Benefit claim forms, and send forms with supporting documents to the relevant local authority’s Housing Benefit section
• If we take legal action to recover your debt, tell you in writing and explain your legal rights
We monitor how we are performing in the following areas:
• Processing of your application for a rent refund within 28 calendar days
• The percentage of rent collected
• The percentage of tenants in arrears owing more than 6 weeks rent
If you have any comments about the service you have received from our Rent Management Team, either good or bad we would like to know. You can contact us by any of the means below.
South Yorkshire Housing Association
Rent Management Team
43- 47 Wellington Street
Sheffield S1 4HF
0114 2900 200
rents@syha.co.uk
