Delta Resident Information Pack

Getting in Touch 

You can get in touch with us in any of the following ways:

• Call us on 0300 304 5000 (Monday to Friday, 8.30am-5pm). 
• Email info@estuary.co.uk.
• Message us on social media. Search for Delta Housing on Facebook and Instagram. 
• Write to us or visit our office at Centre Place, Prospect Close, Southend-on-Sea, SS1 2JD (Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm).

 

Accessing Our Services: 

Your Online Account To easily access our services and manage your home, set up an online account with us. It’s quick, easy, and managing your tenancy online will save you time.

By registering for an online account you can:

• make payments; 
• view statements; 
• book repairs; 
• report anti-social behaviour; 
• access information about your home and our services; 
• and more. 

To register:

• you’ll need your rent account number (found on your rent letters); 
• your name must match what’s on your tenancy agreement; 
• your email address must be the one we have on file; 
• when answering the spam guard question, you must type the words in lowercase letters. 

Our Customer Ambassadors can help on 0300 304 5000, or visit Your Online Account to get started.

 

Look Out for Our Monthly e-Newsletter 

It includes handy updates on services, events, and ways to get involved. We send it to all customers who have registered their email address with us. If you don’t get the newsletter, update your online account or contact us to add your email address to our records.

 

Accessing Information in Different Formats 

We can provide documents in different ways to make them accessible to you. For example, we can provide information:

• in large print; 
• in ‘Easy Read’ format; 
• by email. 

We’ve also got a user-friendly toolbar on our website that lets you access information in different ways.

By clicking ‘Accessibility tools’ in the top left corner of our website, you can:

• translate text into more than 100 different languages; 
• hear content read aloud in over 50 languages;
• change font sizes and colours; 
• add screen masks and other reading aids;
• plus much more. 

 

Understanding Your Needs

We understand that people face different challenges, health problems, conditions, life events, or other circumstances that may make it more difficult to access our services.

You can tell us about your support needs at any time, and we’ll encourage you to discuss your changing needs and circumstances throughout your tenancy.

With your permission, we’ll record your support needs on your customer record and agree how we’ll respond to your individual needs.

It’s your responsibility to maintain the inside of your home and make minor repairs. We provide a repairs and maintenance service where damage has occurred through normal wear and tear. We’ll repair certain fixtures and fittings inside your home, like heating systems and kitchen units.

If you live in a shared building, we’ll also make sure that communal areas are well-maintained. Our repairs service is provided by our contractor, Axis. For a full list of responsibilities and more information, visit repairs.

How to Report a Repair

You can report a repair by contacting Axis via email at estuaryrepairs@axiseurope.com, by calling 0808 169 1969, or through Your Online Account, where you can also manage repairs bookings.

Emergency Repairs 

An emergency repair is a fault that couldn’t be foreseen and could cause serious damage to your home or could pose a risk to your health or safety.

If you have an emergency, you can call Axis at anytime on the number above. They’ll attend to the repair within 24 hours.

We’ll charge you if you misuse this service for repairs that aren’t emergencies.

If you’ve got mould in your home or think you have an issue with damp, we’re here to help. Please contact us as soon as possible so we can assess the problem and arrange suitable repairs quickly.

You can call Axis on 0808 169 1969, email estuaryrepairs@axiseurope.com, or report through Your Online Account.

If you have small amounts of mould, please wipe it away using a mould cleaner. Get in touch if it keeps coming back.

For more information, and tips to help manage condensation visit our Condensation, Damp and Mould area. 

If you live in a flat, you can find out what to do in the event of a fire on our Fire Action notice. This is displayed at the entrance to your block.

We carry out monthly checks in blocks of flats to make sure there are no fire hazards, and firefighting equipment is checked. To make sure the safety measures in place are as effective as possible, please keep fire doors closed and exit routes clear.

You should also:

• test your smoke alarm regularly; 
• check your electrical appliances; 
• avoid leaving mobility scooters and e-scooters charging unattended. 

You can report any fire safety concerns to info@estuary.co.uk with your address and details of your concern. For more information visit our fire safety area.

Loft Space

If your home has a loft, please don’t use it for storage. It isn’t designed to hold stored items and using it this way could damage the structure of the property.

 

Asbestos

Note: This section is only relevant to customers living in homes built before 1999.

Asbestos was once a common building material, but we now know it can be harmful if disturbed. Some of our homes and blocks built before 1999 have asbestos, but it’s only a risk if damaged. We have an Asbestos Register that shows exactly where asbestos is and its condition. We check communal blocks containing asbestos every year, and aim to reinspect individual homes every five years. Most checks are visual only and cause minimal disturbance.

For more information, visit our asbestos area. 

Keeping you and your home safe is a top priority for us, but we need your help.

Keeping communal areas clear is essential to making sure emergency exit routes are accessible. For this reason, please don’t leave any items in the communal areas of your home. This includes buggies and prams, children’s toys, plants, and rubbish you’re waiting to throw away.

It’s especially important not to leave electric vehicles like e-bikes, mobility scooters, and e-scooters in communal areas, as they can be f ire hazards themselves.

It’s your responsibility to dispose of large or bulky items, and non-domestic waste. This can be at a local recycling centre, by a registered waste carrier, or through your local council. Leaving these items in the bin rooms or on the estate is fly tipping, which is illegal. To find out more about disposing of larger items, visit loveessex.org.

You can pay your rent in any of the following ways:

 

Direct Debit

The easiest way to pay your rent is by setting up a Direct Debit. You can do this over the phone by calling 0300 304 5000. Debit/credit card payments can also be made over the phone. 

 

Online

It’s quick and easy to pay your rent via your secure online account. Visit estuary.co.uk/online-account to get started.

 

Standing Order or Bank Transfer 

If you’d like to pay by standing order or bank transfer, please visit estuary.co.uk/how-to-pay for the bank details you’ll need.

 

Rent Card 

You can pay by cash or debit card at any PayPoint or Post Office in England using your rent card.

 

If you Claim Universal Credit 

If you claim for help with your housing costs, this will normally be paid directly to you. You’ll then need to use one of the methods listed on this page to pay your rent. In specific situations, you can have your Universal Credit Housing Element paid to us. Please call us on 0300 304 5000 or email income.team@estuary.co.uk to discuss this.

 

If you Claim Housing Benefit 

This is usually forwarded directly to your Delta rent account. If it’s not paid directly to us, please contact your local authority and ask them to arrange this for you. 

 

What is "Rent on Time"?

Simply put, this means paying your rent on time and never being in rent arrears (owing your landlord money).

Rent is a priority payment over other household bills. Whether you pay your rent from employment or benefits, it’s your responsibility to make sure it’s paid on time.

 

How Much Rent Should I Pay and When? 

Details of your rent will be in your tenancy agreement. You may have the choice about how frequently you make payments. Customers can choose from the following options:

• if you pay rent weekly, you should pay one week’s rent. Rent is then due every week; 
• if you pay rent fortnightly, you should pay two week’s rent. Rent is then due every two weeks; 
• if you pay rent four-weekly (this is often the case if you’re claiming Housing Benefit), you should pay four weeks' rent. Rent is then due every four weeks; 
• if you pay monthly (this is often the case if you’re claiming Universal Credit or pay rent yourself), you should pay one month’s rent. Rent is then due monthly.*

*Monthly rent is calculated by multiplying weekly rent by the number of chargeable weeks in the year, and then dividing by 12. E.g. £100 x 52 weeks divided by 12 is £433.33 a month.

 

What if I’m Struggling to Pay my Rent? 

If you’re struggling, please let us know as soon as possible. We can see if you’re eligible for any additional benefits and if there are other ways to support you. If you’re behind with your rent, we’ll make affordable payment arrangements.

If you don’t pay your rent when it’s due and you don’t contact us for help, you may receive a notice seeking possession. This is the first stage of the legal repossession process and could lead to you losing your home.

If you receive a notice, we’ll be in touch to arrange a payment plan to try and avoid any court action. Unfortunately, if we can’t arrange a payment plan with you, we may need to take court action. If we still don’t receive your payments after getting a court order for possession, we’ll need to apply for your eviction. This is a last resort, and our teams are dedicated to helping you keep your tenancy so please tell us if you’re worried about paying your rent.

If you’re worried about paying your rent, struggling to afford energy bills, or concerned about money, please get in touch. There are things we can do to help. For example, we may be able to put a payment plan in place or signpost you for additional support.

 

Welfare Benefits Support 

We have a dedicated Benefit Coach who can check to see if you’re eligible for additional benefits and support you to apply for them. They can also help with appeals if you’ve had any benefits taken away or an application was refused.

Our friendly advisor can help with all kinds of working age, disability, and retirement benefits including:

• Personal Independence Payment; 
• Attendance Allowance; 
• Pension Credit; 
• State Pension; 
• Housing Benefit; 
• Council Tax Reduction; 
• Job Seeker’s Allowance. 

For benefits support, call us on 0300 304 5000, email info@estuary.co.uk, or drop in to one of our sessions at Centre Place, Prospect Close, SS1 2JD from 10am-12pm, on the second Tuesday of each month.

Contents Insurance can cover your belongings against fire, theft and other risks, such as accidental damage. If something happens to destroy or damage your belongings, it can cost a lot of money to replace those items. Given the increased cost of living, this is something we can all do without.

Contents insurance can provide peace of mind, knowing that if the worst should happen, your items can be replaced or repaired. We encourage you to look in to contents insurance if you’ve not already done so.

The National Housing Federation work in partnership with Thistle Insurance Services Ltd. Call Thistle Tenant Risks on 0345 450 7288 or you can visit the ThistlemyHome website for more information or to request a call back. You can also go to Sum Insured Calculator | My Home Contents Insurance (thistlemyhome.co.uk) to work out the value of your home contents.

If you’re struggling to afford furniture and other household items, the following organisations may be able to help.

St Vincent de Paul

svp.org.uk 

0779 639 3131 

 

Free exchange websites 

Access free, unwanted items online.

• freeads.co.uk 
• freecycle.org 
• lovefreegle.org 
• trashnothing.com 

Get in touch with us if you’re struggling. There may be more we can do to help if we know your individual circumstances. 

We’re dedicated to providing a great service. To do this, we’ll always listen to you so that we can act on your feedback, keep doing what we’re doing well, and learn where we need to improve.

There are lots of ways for you to tell us what you think, which include the following:

• responding to any text surveys we send after you’ve received a service from us; 
• joining our Resident Voice and Influence Panel. This group examines our services and helps us improve customer experience, communication, and more. If you’re interested, email involvement@estuary.co.uk;
• getting involved in other engagement activities. Whenever we’re thinking about making changes, updating policies, or trying something new, we want to hear your views. We’ll usually do this by sending a survey in our customer newsletter and/ or organising a consultation; 
• calling us on 0300 304 5000 or emailing feedback@estuary.co.uk.

 

Making a Complaint

If you’re not happy about the service we’ve provided, you can make a complaint. We’ll always make it easy for you to do this.

You can:

• call us on 0300 304 5000; 
• email feedback@estuary.co.uk;
• fill out the feedback form;
• write to us or visit our office at Centre Place, Prospect Close, Southend-on-Sea, SS1 2JD; 
• message us on social media.

 

Behaviour Towards Employees 

We’re here to help and want to make sure you get the best service possible. To help us do this, it’s important our employees are treated with kindness and respect. We won’t accept any abusive language or behaviour that makes employees feel uncomfortable or unsafe. Thanks for your cooperation.

Your privacy matters We take your privacy seriously. To learn more about how we collect, use, and protect your personal data, and to understand your rights, please read our full Privacy Notice at deltahousing.org.uk/privacy-policy.

 If you have any questions, contact our Data Protection Officer in one of the following ways:

• call us on 0300 304 5000; 
• email dpo@estuary.co.uk;
• write to: Data Protection Officer, Delta Housing, Centre Place, Prospect Close, Southend-on-Sea, SS1 2JD.

 

Lettings Privacy Notice for Tenants 

The UK Government has a Privacy Notice for new social housing tenants and buyers that explains how your personal information is collected, used, stored and shared when you apply for or live in social housing. It sets out why your information is needed, who it may be shared with, and your rights under data protection law.

You can read the full Privacy Notice on the official UK Government website at submitsocial-housing-data.communities.gov.uk or ask us for a copy.