Harrogate Housing Association

CAP (Christians Against Poverty) are offering free, expert money coaching on 2 dates,12 and 19 October from 10.00am to 1.00pm at Harrogate Neighbours Community Hub, on High Street, Harrogate. This is a free service to learn the skills to make managing your money easier. To book your free place ring 01423 593846 and get in the know or take a look at www.capuk.org/trymoneycoaching.

Better Safe than sorry … When charging your electronic items make sure that you follow the manufacturers guidance. A particular fire risk are phones/laptops left charging on soft furnishings or covering them while charging. You should always use the correct chargers for a device and not just one that fits, it could work on a different voltage and cause the battery to catch fire. Never use a charger that has loose wires or is damaged. The consequences if they catch fire can be fatal and could destroy your home. Keep safe!

Looking for a home that suits your needs, if you are a customer of ours, have you looked at Homeswapper? Homeswapper is the UK's leading mutual exchange service with over 500,000 tenants looking to swap Council and Housing Association homes. To get on to the list you will need to register and create an account on the Homeswapper website by going to https://www.homeswapper.co.uk/Account/Register. You will be able to view what available properties there are, and also be able to put your home on and hopefully find a home.

Your Voice Matters – Thankyou to all our customers who have completed and returned their customer satisfaction survey form. Acuity have been carrying out the survey on our behalf, will be making some calls to those who haven’t yet had the chance to return their form. We hope to get the results in September and will let you know the key outcomes, and then the real work begins!

Shaping your repairs service…… A big thank you to those who turned up to the event on Tuesday 20 August 2024. This gave us a good understanding of what works for you and what you need us to do to be even better. Whilst overall customers thought we delivered a good repair service they asked us to deliver on 3 key priorities. These deliver all the health and safety requirements in their homes, such as annual gas servicing, electrical checks etc. and that customers feel safe, and better communication with customers through text, email and phone calls that keeps them updated on their repair status. This together with the outcomes from the Customer Satisfaction survey will shape the service we provide. So watch this space!!

A warm welcome to Harrogate Housing Association for Lenny Hartley (on the left) and Paul Wadsworth (on the right) who have recently joined our team. Lenny has joined us as our Repairs Surveyor and, as a former tradesman with his own business, he has a lot of practical knowledge to complement his surveying studies. Lenny is on a phased start and will join us full-time from the week beginning 26 August. Paul is a housing professional with a wealth of experience, especially around rent accounts and benefit claims. Paul has joined the team as a temporary support for us. So why not drop in and say hello.

It’s happening!! Tuesday 22 August, at 5.30pm until 7pm, at Harrogate Neighbours Community Hub, 16 High Street. This is your chance to have the power to make the decisions about your home and how it is maintained? Are you up for the challenge to make decisions that aren’t just right for you but others too? How much are you prepared to invest in things like kitchens and bathrooms? Simple, right, but can you decide who will have to wait and who won’t? At this year’s Customer Event there will be a fun and interactive way for you to grasp the power and tell us what and where to spend your rent. A buffet and drinks will be available, so why not come along. Any queries please contact us on Tel 01423 884018. We hope to see you there.

TIME IS TICKING - Complete your satisfaction survey now, send it back and you will be automatically entered into a draw to win one of 2 £50 vouchers. We want to hear what you really think about our service to you, so why not fill it in and get a chance. So act now!

Do you want to have the power to make the decisions about your home and how it is maintained? Are you up for the challenge to make decisions that aren’t just right for you but others too? How much are you prepared to invest in things like kitchens and bathrooms? Simple, right, but can you decide who will have to wait and who won’t? At this year’s Customer Event there will be a fun and interactive way for you to grasp the power and tell us what and where to spend your rent. Why not come along to this event and help us understand what you want us to do. The event will be at Harrogate Neighbours Community Hub,16 High St, Starbeck on Tuesday 20 August 2024 from 5.30pm until 7pm. A buffet and drinks will be available, so why not come along. Any queries please contact us on tel 01423 884018. We hope to see you there.

Summers finally arrived – at least for a few days. Take care of yourself and keep hydrated but also take time to think about your pets. They need to keep hydrated and cool as well.

Complete the survey!! If you didn’t complete the online survey, look out for a copy coming through the post! Don’t miss out on your chance to win a £50 voucher. All you need to do is complete and return your customer satisfaction survey and you will automatically be entered into the draw for 1 of 2 vouchers! It is that simple, so why not return your survey?

Your Association needs you!! We are looking for customers who would be happy to accompany us on the up and coming estate walkabout in your neighbourhood? If you are interested in showing us the areas that you want us to deal with then come and join us! We are looking forward to seeing you. Look out for a text from us saying when we are coming or get in touch with us on 01423 884018. The walkabout timetable is on https://www.hhal.org.uk/news-and-events/estate-walkabouts-2024-2025/

Check out our latest Newsletter at https://www.hhal.org.uk/news-and-events/. It’s full of really useful information and includes statistics on how we have performed in the year against other similar sized associations. Also included are details on our latest Customer Event on 20 August, putting the power back into your hands on what investments you want to see in your home. Go on, take a look!!

We will shortly be issuing our Summer Newsletter, which is your chance to get up to date with how we have performed last year on things like gas servicing and the repairs service. Take a look to find updates on what we have got planned for this year as well as a host of other useful information including our annual customer event on 20 August. So keep a look out for a text from us next week on how to catch up with what’s going on!!

We will shortly be carrying out our biannual Satisfaction Survey!! The survey will be independently carried out by Acuity, so look out for this coming to you. The survey is an opportunity for you, our customers, to let us know what you think about all the services we deliver. It’s also a great chance for you to get your hands on one of two £50 shopping vouchers. To be in with a chance of winning all you have to do is return your completed survey. Once you have returned the survey you will automatically be entered into the draw. Don’t miss out!!

Harrogate Neighbours, a local Housing Association in Starbeck, who work with elderly and vulnerable people in the area, have recently opened a new community space for people to meet and mingle! So why not pop in and see what the Community Hub on the High Street is all about!

We are coming out and about on our Estate Walkabouts and looking forward to seeing you. Why not take a look at the timetable on our website https://www.hhal.org.uk/news-and-events/ to check when Kirsty and Jack will be calling. They would love for you to join them and have a chat about the area where you live. You will receive a text reminder from us shortly before they are due to attend your Neighbourhood. So why not come along!

We are asking for your support to encourage North Yorkshire Council, Highways Department to make the entrance to Blind Lane in Knaresborough, going down the hill from the A6055 no entry and make access one way up from the junction with Somereley Lane. We want to prevent the below happening again – its the second time in three years this has occurred. Fortunately no one was physically hurt but that may not be the case if it happens again. So please show your support by contacting your local councillor and asking them to support this initiative. Like the post as well if you agree.

We are now members of TPAS!! TPAS stands for Tenant Participation Advisory Service and they are the tenant engagement experts. By joining TPAS we can get access to loads of training and good practice initiatives, which will help us to improve our engagement with you! We hope to use our membership to proactively listen and work with all our customers.

We have recently had a two bed flat become available in the heart of Knaresborough.
This property also comes with one allocated parking bay.
If you’re looking for a property with great travel connections and easy access to local shops/schools.
This property may be for you!

If you do wish to apply, please call us on 01423 884018 or email [email protected]

Looking for an opportunity to work in Housing, then we have a great opportunity for you! We are looking for a Repairs Surveyor to work with us , so why not take a look on https://uk.indeed.com/job/repairs-surveyor-776d2aa11e68ceb5

Knowing our customers.... Here at HHA we want to be able to deliver effective services that meet the diverse needs of all our customers. To do this, the best place to start is to make sure that we hold good quality information about all our customers, we can then shape how we deliver our services. To support the information we already hold we will be asking some additional questions on what factors affect the delivery of our service to you! We will be asking you and members of your household questions regarding ethnicity, age, gender, disability and long-term conditions, support needs and if you have any language barriers and updating your contact details so that we hold the correct information. We will aim to gather this information on any contact that you have with us. We will respect it if you prefer not to answer the questions we ask. This information forms part of the Housing Regulator’s new consumer standards which HHA is working to support.

Keep your doors locked! We are aware that potential burglars are in the Kingsley Road and Starbeck areas trying to gain entry to properties by testing if external doors are unlocked. Taking car keys that are lying around is a favourite. Please make sure your home is secure at all times and if you see something suspicious call the police.

Nobody’s Perfect!! Things do, sometimes, go wrong but we want to put things right ! Here at HHA we welcome and encourage our customers to tell us when we get things wrong. This way we can learn and improve the way we deliver our services to you. It’s easy to let us know what you are unhappy about – just ring us on 01423 884018, email us on [email protected] or via our website on the Contact Us section on www.hhal.org.uk. You can also pop into our office or stop us if you see us out and about. We promise to listen and understand the problem, keep you updated and tell you what we will do to put things right. So don’t hesitate, contact us we are here to help!

All staff and Board members at HHA would like to wish all our customers a very Happy Easter and we hope that you all enjoy the break. Our office will be closed from Good Friday, 29 March 2024 until Tuesday 2 April 2024. If you have any issues with your boiler, hot water or heating then please call SURE direct on Tel: 0151 728 5760. For any other emergency repairs, then please call our office number as usual and you will be redirected to our out of hours service. Please be aware that as all main suppliers for parts or supplies may also be closed on the Bank Holidays this may delay the contractors accessing these to complete your repair.

Did you know that the Energy Price Cap changes every three months, and from 1 April prices will fall due to lower wholesale energy prices in recent months. So, make sure that you take a meter reading on or after 1 April and send this to your energy supplier. The current predictions are that after the 1 April drop the Energy Price Gap will fall again by 13% in July 2024 followed by an increase of 4% in October to £1,521. But remember, it's the rates that are capped, so use more and you pay more!!

Just a quick reminder that your rent is due to increase on the 1 April 2024 and you will have received notification from us to advise what your new rent will be. If you pay by standing order, please ensure that you amend your order to the new amount, if you are in receipt of Universal Credit you will need to show a copy of your new rent to them to ensure that your new rent is covered. The staff here at HHA are here to help and support you with this, so if you are struggling come and talk to us. We have funds available if your budget is limited and need to purchase key household items, talk to Kirsty or Jack about the ways in which we can help. Contact us on email [email protected] or speak with us on Tel: 01423 884018.

It is International Women’s Day!! The campaign theme for International Women's Day 2024 is Inspire Inclusion. “When we inspire others to understand and value women's inclusion, we forge a better world. When women themselves are inspired to be included, there's a sense of belonging, relevance, and empowerment. Let's forge a more inclusive world for women!! “Who is the inspirational woman in your life lets us know who and why!

Are you looking for a safe and secure home for your family in Harrogate? We are currently accepting applications for those who need a 3-bedroomed home. As a Housing Association we offer submarket rent and a responsive repairs service to all our customers. There is an eligibility criterion, if you are interested and want to find out more about this? Then contact us on 01423 884018 and ask for an application form or send us an email requesting one on [email protected]

Just a Heads Up!! Our Office will be closed on Monday 26 February and Tuesday 27 February from 10am to 4pm for staff training. If you have an emergency repair, please leave a message on our answer phone and we will get back to you as soon as we can. Thank you.