Home Visit Programme

Home Visit Programme

We try to visit our customers once every four years. This visit helps us to check if customers need any additional support. Also, that we are managing our homes effectively. If you have any further questions, please contact us.

What Happens During a Home Visit?

We will complete a short questionnaire with you to ensure the details we hold on our system are accurate.  You will be asked to sign the form confirming the details collected are correct.
We will ask to look around your home and ensure that it is being looked after in accordance with your Tenancy Agreement.
The home visit will: -
•    Check household member details
•    Identify support needs 
•    Signpost to other services if required
•    Check the condition of your home 

Who Will Come to My Home and When?

Any member of our Estuary Team may do this visit.  Generally, this will be a Housing or Income Officer.  
We normally give notice of the home visit, by letter or email.  Occasionally we may attend if we are in the local area, and you are due a visit.  

What Do I Need to Do?

  • Be available for the home visit.  
  • We ask if you are available as these are planned around other visits in the area. However, if the appointment is not convenient, we can rearrange it. We appreciate your cooperation in completing these visits in line with your Tenancy Agreement.
  • Have ID ready
    We will ask for proof of identity for the tenancy holders, to check who is occupying the property. 
    We will ask for two forms of ID for the tenancy holders. One ideally will be photographic, the other confirmation of the address.  
    We will also ask you for the names and dates of birth of anyone else living with you. If we do not already have their details, we may need ID for them too.
Accepted Forms of ID and Proof of Address
Photographic ID
Passport
Driving Licence
Biometric Residence Permit
HM Armed Forces identity card
ID cards carrying the PASS accreditation logo
Acceptable non-photographic ID
Birth certificate
Adoption Certificate
UK full old-style paper driving licence
Marriage or civil partnership certificate
Acceptable proof of address
Utility bill (gas, water, electricity or land-line telephone)
Financial statement (bank, building society, or credit card)
Council Tax statement
Benefit statement or original notification letter from Department of Work and Pensions (DPW) confirming the rights to benefit – for example, child allowance, pension (UK) **
HM Revenue & Customs tax notification (i.e. tax assessment, statement of account, notice of coding but not a P45 or P60) **
Mortgage statement  **
** dated within the last 12 months

 

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.

Moving Home

If you’re moving out, you need to give us at least four weeks' notice in writing by email or post.

Your Housing Officer will arrange a visit and talk through the moving-out process.

The property must be left clean and tidy.

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.