Your Housing Officer

We have divided our communities into different areas, called patches, to make sure we can provide efficient support and services. There are eight patches, each looked after by one of our housing managers, Jennifer Needham or Sarah Bridge. These patches cover areas like Southend-on-Sea, Westcliff-on-Sea, Colchester, and others. Our housing officers take care of specific locations within their patches, helping residents and making sure our housing standards are met. This setup allows us to give each area the attention and support it needs.

Please keep in mind that we have a Duty Housing Officer available every day. This means you may not always speak to your assigned Housing Officer, especially in urgent situations. This way, we can deal with any urgent issues quickly while still providing high-quality service.

Larissa Farrey

Portrait of Larissa Farrey

Larissa's manager is Jennifer Needham. Jennifer is responsible for the following patches:

  • Centre Place
  • Coaster Steps
  • Fortune Steps
  • Lantern Terrace
  • Marionette Steps
  • Mirror Steps
  • Pierrot Steps
  • Prospect Close
  • Swingboat Terrace
  • Windmill Steps
  • Leigh-on-Sea
  • Southend-on-Sea (West)
  • Westcliff-on-Sea

Amy Webster

·      Portrait of Amy Webster 
  Amy's manager is Jennifer Needham. Amy is responsible for the following patches:
  • Beresford Mansions
  • Candy Terrace
  • Carousel Steps
  • Cascades
  •  Crystal Steps
  • Ferris Steps
  • Kursaal Way
  • Harlequin Steps
  • Penny Steps
  •  Romany Steps
  • Waterfall
  • Southend-on-Sea (Central)

Madeleine Spencer and Jenna Mansfield

 

·      Portrait of Madeleine Spencer Portrait of Jenna Mansfield 

Madeleine Spencer's and Jenna Mansfield's manager is Jennifer Needham. Madeleine and Jenna are responsible for the following patches:

  • Epping
  • Shoeburyness
  • Uttlesford

Stacey Rose

Portrait of Stacey Rose

Stacey Rose's manager is Jennifer Needham. Stacey is responsible for:

  • Havering

Aleisha Diss

·      Portrait of Aleisha Diss 

Aleisha Diss' manager is Sarah Bridge. Aleisha is responsible for the following patches:

  • Maldon
  • Southend-on-Sea (East)

Danielle Stewart

·      Portrait of Danielle Stewart   

Danielle Stewart's manager is Sarah Bridge. Danielle is responsible for the following patches:

  •  Barking and Dagenham
  • Basildon
  • Castle Point
  • Chelmsford
  • Redbridge

Jessica Hosten

 Portrait Image of Housing Officer Jessica Hosten·      

Jessica Hoston's manager is Sarah Bridge. Jessica is responsible for the following patches:

  • Brentwood
  • Thurrock

Tom Morley

·      Portrait of Tom Morley   

Tom Morley's manager is Sarah Bridge. Tom is responsible for the following patches:

  •  Braintree
  • Colchester
  • Rochford
  • Suffolk Coastal
  • Tendring

How Your Rent is Calculated

The Government set Housing Association rents. They tell us what we can and can’t charge. If you’d like to know more, you can view Policy statement on rents for social housing on the gov.uk website.

In 2022-23, most will see a 4.1% increase in their rent.

This is worked out through the September Consumer Price Index (CPI) rate plus the percentage allowed by the Government. For 2022-23 it is 1%. By combining the CPI and annual allowable increase, we get the percentage increase.

For 2022-23 the September 2021 CPI figure is 3.1%. 3.1% + 1% = 4.1%.

Changes To Your Household

It’s your responsibility to inform us if there are any changes to your household, this includes the birth of a new child or if someone passes away.

Check your tenancy details on your Online Account, if something needs changing, please call us on 0300 304 5000, or email info@estuary.co.uk, including supporting evidence (For example, a birth certificate). 

Please include your name, household address, and a good-quality photograph, if needed.

We carry out regular tenancy checks to make sure we have the correct information and the right people are living in our properties.

Mutual Property Exchange

You can swap homes with someone else through a Mutual Exchange.

Register for free with nationwide mutual exchange services, Homeswapper and House Exchange. These websites help find swaps throughout the UK. Visit the Homeswapper and House Exchange websites to find out more. Please note that these will open into a new window.

 

To apply to us for a mutual exchange, please complete and return the Initial_request_for_Mutual_Exchange.pdf[pdf] 169KB.

For further help and advice, please call us on 0300 304 5000. You may also wish to read our Mutual_Exchange_Policy.pdf [pdf] 699KB

Please remember, you must get written approval from all landlords before swapping your home. If you don’t, the exchange could be illegal and you may be evicted.

Visit HomeSwapper for guidance on swapping your home.

Home Contents Insurance

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.

Pet Permissions

Let us know if you’re looking to bring a new furry (or otherwise) friend into your home. You’ll need to apply for permission. Please don’t take on a pet unless your request has been approved.

To apply for permission to keep a pet, fill our the form below.

Your pet is your responsibility. Please keep your neighbours in mind and make sure it doesn’t cause any annoyance or nuisance.

  • This includes fouling in any communal area, and causing a nuisance to other residents.
  • If you do allow, or fail to stop your pet causing a nuisance, you’ll be breaking the terms of your tenancy. This could lead to you being asked to rehome your pet or an Injunction to allow us to remove it.

Please note, permission may be refused if you have rent arrears.

Fill in this form to apply to keep a pet in your home

Note: Questions marked by * are mandatory


Permission would only be granted for you to keep the animals identified above on the conditions that:

  • The animal does not cause a nuisance or health hazard to neighbours or other residents
  • The animal is kept under control at all times
  • Animals should not be left for lengthy periods alone in property
  • In addition dogs must be kept on a lead at all times in communal areas, and any fouling by your dog/s is cleaned effectively by you.

If we receive complaints relating to your animal/s this will be in breach of your tenancy conditions and, we may have to ask you to make alternative arrangements for them. Failure to comply with your tenancy could also lead to legal action being taken against you.

If you wish for more pets in the future you must apply in writing to you Housing Officer prior to obtaining these animals.

I agree to keep to above regulations as well as my tenancy in regards to keeping a pet or pets in my home.
*

Passing On A Tenancy

It might be possible to pass a tenancy on to another family member who is living in the property, if a tenant passes away or a relationship breaks down. This will depend on the type of tenancy you have. 

We understand this may be a difficult time and we are here to help. To change the tenancy holder, please contact us as soon as you can. We’ll explain the options. We consider individual circumstances which will include the vulnerability of members of the household when making any decision.

Right to Acquire

If you'd like to find out if your home qualifies for the right to acquire, or you'd like to know how it all works, please contact our sales team

Lettings Policy

This policy describes how we let our general needs rented homes. It aims to provide information and advice for customers and staff on how we select applicants and allocate our general needs rented homes.

if you need some information that's more in depth, you can read the full Lettings Policy.