Cookies help us to understand how you use our website so that we can provide you with the best experience when you are on our site. To find out more, read our privacy policy and cookie policy.
Manage Cookies
A cookie is information stored on your computer by a website you visit. Cookies often store your settings for a website, such as your preferred language or location. This allows the site to present you with information customized to fit your needs. As per the GDPR law, companies need to get your explicit approval to collect your data. Some of these cookies are ‘strictly necessary’ to provide the basic functions of the website and can not be turned off, while others if present, have the option of being turned off. Learn more about our Privacy and Cookie policies. These can be managed also from our cookie policy page.
Strictly necessary cookies(always on):
Necessary for enabling core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies. This cannot be turned off. e.g. Sign in, Language
Analytics cookies:
Analytical cookies help us to analyse user behaviour, mainly to see if the users are able to find and act on things that they are looking for. They allow us to recognise and count the number of visitors and to see how visitors move around our website when they are using it. Tools used: Google Analytics
Social media cookies:
We use social media cookies from Facebook, Twitter and Google to run Widgets, Embed Videos, Posts, Comments and to fetch profile information.
Following the tragic fire at Grenfell Tower in 2017, the Government spoke to residents to understand how people feel about their housing association, and what change needed to happen. The main theme from these conversations was that residents aren’t listened to enough.
In 2018, the National Housing Federation (NHF) created an initiative called ‘Together with Tenants’ to improve this. Its aim is to strengthen the relationship between residents and housing associations.
After speaking to lots of residents and their members, the NHF developed a four-point plan for change. This included a newContinue reading
So, what’s the aim of Together with Tenants?
Following the tragic fire at Grenfell Tower in 2017, the Government spoke to residents to understand how people feel about their housing association, and what change needed to happen. The main theme from these conversations was that residents aren’t listened to enough.
In 2018, the National Housing Federation (NHF) created an initiative called ‘Together with Tenants’ to improve this. Its aim is to strengthen the relationship between residents and housing associations.
After speaking to lots of residents and their members, the NHF developed a four-point plan for change. This included a new charter with six commitments, setting out in clear terms what residents can and should expect from their landlord – and how residents can hold them to account on these.
Longhurst Group has signed up to this charter!
It means that we’ve committed to six things:
Relationships: To treat all residents with respect in all of their interactions, and for relationships between residents and housing associations to be based on openness, honesty and transparency.
Communication: To send you clear, accessible and timely information on the issues that matter to you, including important information about your home and local community, how the organisation is working to address problems, how the organisation is run, and information about performance on key issues.
Voice and influence: To seek and value the views of residents and use this information to inform decisions. Every individual resident should feel listened to on the issues that matter to them and be able to speak without fear.
Accountability: To allow residents to collectively work in partnership to independently scrutinise and hold their housing association to account for the decisions that affect the quality of homes and services.
Quality: To ensure homes are good quality, well maintained, safe and well managed.
When things go wrong: To provide residents with simple and accessible routes for raising issues, making complaints and seeking redress and for residents to receive timely advice and support when things go wrong.
We need your input, views and most importantly we want YOUR voice heard. We encourage you to use the poll to select which of the commitments is most important to you.
You can click subscribe, this means you will then be notified of any updates on this page.
Select from the six Together With Tenant themes, can you tell us the reason for your choice?
Consultation has concluded
CLOSED
Thank you to you all for your valued contributions today. It's interesting to hear that the commitments are important to you and in the ways you've explained.
I'll be summarising the key points and using it as part of a self assessment. The Customer Scrutiny Team are also looking into how we are performing, taking your views into account and cross referencing it with other sources.
We will post their findings when the project has concluded.
Helen - Customer Engagement Manager
over 2 years ago
Communication - It certainly needs to improve with Mears. Twice now they have planned work at my flat but not told me the date. Fortunately I chose to chase it up and found out that way. In both cases it had to be rearranged as I would not have been in. This is a waste of time, resources and money. Avril
Avrilb
over 2 years ago
They are all important, but Quality stands out. Perhaps if workmen were given enough time and materials to do repairs properly the first time there would be no need for constant return trips. Quality work would actually save the housing association money in the long run. Making sure the home is of good quality would mean less calls for repairs, and we would not have to wait on the phone for an hour before it being answered. Only to be told either that 'we just have to wait' or that the repair has been 'sent to planning' and they will call with an appointment. The call never comes. We desperately need a new bathroom and kitchen, yet we will never get quality, just patch jobs to shut us up when we complain loudly enough.
sj123
over 2 years ago
I'm paralysed wheelchair user. I'm unable to now do decorating in my Longhurst property. No one helps anymore. I think that Longhurst should help me to take care of their property by assisting in decorating.
Scooter14
over 2 years ago
Communication: This should be taken out because you don't seem to learn from past issues. Yes, there are problems with the current maintenance teams - own them and STILL keep US informed (maybe weekly) without us having to call in again to find out what's happening. You shouldn't have to wait for a complaint before you escalate or take action because YOUR matrices should show the jobs still outstanding or those where issues have been raised and re-raised. At the moment, it's no different - shallow words until that changes
DavidEvans007
over 2 years ago
All of them I'm disabled I've had water dripping through my bathroom ceiling for months a so called essential repair and when are the out of date storage heaters going to be replaced
Mid-afternoon
over 2 years ago
All of them I'm disabled I've had water dripping through my bathroom ceiling for months a so called essential repair there is a scheme tho where I can sue longhurst I may do that also when is the outdated storage heaters going to be replaced some of them are illegal
Mid-afternoon
over 2 years ago
2.5.6 maintenance is a joke and ground work non existent
Jenny1
over 2 years ago
5. 6 If you your home is maintained in good condition then it would encourage tenants to look after their homes. Access to repairs service is very poor and being told it’s been sent to planning has become a new saying for nothing being done.
Candy
over 2 years ago
5. If you your home is maintained in good condition then it would encourage tenants to look after their homes.
Candy
over 2 years ago
All of the themes
25
over 2 years ago
2,5,6 once a repair is reported it should be completed within a set time, at present it seems like no one cares about this Ground maintenance leaves a lot to be desired, only seems to get done when tenants phone and really complain
Pettfenn
over 2 years ago
Fed up of scaffolding being up for months and a chemical toilet in the carpark when there's no work being done on the premises. Also carpark barrier not working. In the 17 years I have lived here it has been more out of use than in use. It would be much easier to have the barrier removed. Thus making it easier for emergency services to gain access.
25
over 2 years ago
2,3,5,6 are the most for me. To book repair you need to be available for few hours, then you have to wait years until it will be done, I get text saying "how was your maintenance today?" When no-one came, or I'm not told, if someone comes. When you live in a block of flats, you're in the end of the list...
Anastasija
over 2 years ago
Honestly, all of them.
Every time I’ve spoken to someone on the phone, I’ve been treated absolutely horrendously. With the agent being rude, condescending and belittling. It has gotten to the point that I don’t even bother making any contact unless absolutely imperative or an emergency. Even than, the thought of having to go to the right of a call, causes my anxiety to sky rocket and sometimes even exacerbate it to the point of having a panic attack.
I do not feel listened too or any value placed on my opinions. Instead, I’m made to feel unimportant and a burden.
Despite, raising concerns multiple times around serious health and safety issues (rat infestation numerous times, overflowing communal waste facilities and fly tipping, cracks allowing false black widows into home, no gas -including hot water - due to a leak) each time I’ve been met with considerable hurdles and made to fight a battle which can take months to years to reach a conclusion.
I’ve had a poor response when I have raised complaints which have ultimately led me to go to the housing ombudsman. This should not be necessary!
DTruelove
over 2 years ago
All six are extremely important however I feel number 6 in the priority since the changes with th H.O. Certainly another area of importance is the visual concept of our environment, so more scrutiny is needed with Garden maintenance and the value for money of The Longhurst Group investment in this area.
David411
over 2 years ago
4,5 & 6. The whole repair system is a mess - when I moved in I was told ‘it would be nice to get one back in a better state than it was received’ that’s hard to do when repeated repairs to the fabric and integrity of the building are not carried out. It would be good to have some sort of accountability as our scheme manager does see it as their job
FJM21
over 2 years ago
2, 3 and 5 are probably the most crucial. So far I have found everybody at Longhurst to be very polite and all try to be as helpful as possible. But it seems like interdepartmental communication doesn't always go smoothly. And it would be good to be able to report issues through a Twitter account or Messenger, not just by phone.
JacquiT
over 2 years ago
My choices would actually be all 6.we need to be able to communicate with the people who are supposed to look after us. If we have a repair, we don't want to wait till things get worse. Garden maintenance is dire!, needs improvement. Getting in touch with Longhirst is a nightmare 😫. I have waited on the phone for 40mins, before being answered!! Not good.
Suzy Q
over 2 years ago
3 and 5 constantly the some issues with maintenance and repair
Thank you to you all for your valued contributions today. It's interesting to hear that the commitments are important to you and in the ways you've explained.
I'll be summarising the key points and using it as part of a self assessment. The Customer Scrutiny Team are also looking into how we are performing, taking your views into account and cross referencing it with other sources.
We will post their findings when the project has concluded.
Communication - It certainly needs to improve with Mears. Twice now they have planned work at my flat but not told me the date. Fortunately I chose to chase it up and found out that way. In both cases it had to be rearranged as I would not have been in. This is a waste of time, resources and money.
Avril
They are all important, but Quality stands out.
Perhaps if workmen were given enough time and materials to do repairs properly the first time there would be no need for constant return trips. Quality work would actually save the housing association money in the long run.
Making sure the home is of good quality would mean less calls for repairs, and we would not have to wait on the phone for an hour before it being answered. Only to be told either that 'we just have to wait' or that the repair has been 'sent to planning' and they will call with an appointment. The call never comes.
We desperately need a new bathroom and kitchen, yet we will never get quality, just patch jobs to shut us up when we complain loudly enough.
I'm paralysed wheelchair user. I'm unable to now do decorating in my Longhurst property. No one helps anymore. I think that Longhurst should help me to take care of their property by assisting in decorating.
Communication: This should be taken out because you don't seem to learn from past issues. Yes, there are problems with the current maintenance teams - own them and STILL keep US informed (maybe weekly) without us having to call in again to find out what's happening. You shouldn't have to wait for a complaint before you escalate or take action because YOUR matrices should show the jobs still outstanding or those where issues have been raised and re-raised. At the moment, it's no different - shallow words until that changes
All of them I'm disabled I've had water dripping through my bathroom ceiling for months a so called essential repair and when are the out of date storage heaters going to be replaced
All of them I'm disabled I've had water dripping through my bathroom ceiling for months a so called essential repair there is a scheme tho where I can sue longhurst I may do that also when is the outdated storage heaters going to be replaced some of them are illegal
2.5.6 maintenance is a joke and ground work non existent
5. 6 If you your home is maintained in good condition then it would encourage tenants to look after their homes. Access to repairs service is very poor and being told it’s been sent to planning has become a new saying for nothing being done.
5. If you your home is maintained in good condition then it would encourage tenants to look after their homes.
All of the themes
2,5,6 once a repair is reported it should be completed within a set time, at present it seems like no one cares about this
Ground maintenance leaves a lot to be desired, only seems to get done when tenants phone and really complain
Fed up of scaffolding being up for months and a chemical toilet in the carpark when there's no work being done on the premises. Also carpark barrier not working. In the 17 years I have lived here it has been more out of use than in use. It would be much easier to have the barrier removed. Thus making it easier for emergency services to gain access.
2,3,5,6 are the most for me. To book repair you need to be available for few hours, then you have to wait years until it will be done, I get text saying "how was your maintenance today?" When no-one came, or I'm not told, if someone comes. When you live in a block of flats, you're in the end of the list...
Honestly, all of them.
Every time I’ve spoken to someone on the phone, I’ve been treated absolutely horrendously. With the agent being rude, condescending and belittling. It has gotten to the point that I don’t even bother making any contact unless absolutely imperative or an emergency. Even than, the thought of having to go to the right of a call, causes my anxiety to sky rocket and sometimes even exacerbate it to the point of having a panic attack.
I do not feel listened too or any value placed on my opinions. Instead, I’m made to feel unimportant and a burden.
Despite, raising concerns multiple times around serious health and safety issues (rat infestation numerous times, overflowing communal waste facilities and fly tipping, cracks allowing false black widows into home, no gas -including hot water - due to a leak) each time I’ve been met with considerable hurdles and made to fight a battle which can take months to years to reach a conclusion.
I’ve had a poor response when I have raised complaints which have ultimately led me to go to the housing ombudsman. This should not be necessary!
All six are extremely important however I feel number 6 in the priority since the changes with th H.O.
Certainly another area of importance is the visual concept of our environment, so more scrutiny is needed with Garden maintenance and the value for money of The Longhurst Group investment in this area.
4,5 & 6. The whole repair system is a mess - when I moved in I was told ‘it would be nice to get one back in a better state than it was received’ that’s hard to do when repeated repairs to the fabric and integrity of the building are not carried out. It would be good to have some sort of accountability as our scheme manager does see it as their job
2, 3 and 5 are probably the most crucial. So far I have found everybody at Longhurst to be very polite and all try to be as helpful as possible. But it seems like interdepartmental communication doesn't always go smoothly. And it would be good to be able to report issues through a Twitter account or Messenger, not just by phone.
My choices would actually be all 6.we need to be able to communicate with the people who are supposed to look after us. If we have a repair, we don't want to wait till things get worse. Garden maintenance is dire!, needs improvement. Getting in touch with Longhirst is a nightmare 😫. I have waited on the phone for 40mins, before being answered!! Not good.
3 and 5 constantly the some issues with maintenance and repair