COVID-19 IMPACT ON SERVICES - Please read 

Temporary Service Changes

Due to the latest Government guidance all staff will remain working from home for the foreseeable future and the office remains closed. This is being kept under constant review inline with the guidance that is being issued from the Scottish Government and we will update you through this website and SMS text messaging as soon as this is likely to change. In the meantime please continue to contact us on either the main office phone number 01786 841101 or the direct dial/mobile number of your Housing Officer. You can also send an email to our enquiries email address - enquiries@rsha.org.uk - or directly to your Housing Officer. For Housing Officer contact details please see page. We thank you for your continued cooperation. 

During the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, we are taking the necessary steps and precautions to minimise the risk to our tenants and staff. The wellbeing of our tenants and staff is of paramount importance to us, which is why we are following Government advice and have made some changes to the services we offer. Please take the time to read over how these changes may affect you.  We must all work together in order to try to prevent the spread of Coronavirus and protect our family, friends and the most vulnerable within our communities.

Please read our COVID-19 Safety Measures.

Self-isolation & Social Distancing

It goes without saying that you should all now be following the principles of social distancing within your communities. Please let us know if you have symptoms of Coronavirus or a member of your family has and you are currently in self-isolation.  The information you share with us will be treated with the utmost confidence and only shared with a third party if emergency works are required within your home. We are grateful to all of our tenants and staff for their patience, support and understanding at this uniquely challenging time.

1. Paying your rent during the COVID-19 crisis:

We have updated our guidance on paying your rent and financial difficulties during the outbreak. You can read more here.

Please also see our frequently asked questions.

You can get free income related financial advice and support from the following agencies:

• Shelter Scotland - 0808 800 4444
• Citizens Advice Scotland - 01397 705 311
• The Money Advice Service - 0800 138 7777
• Scotland's Financial Health Service - 01349 886 606
• Step Change - 0800 138 1111

2.  Allocations, Voids and Letting

We would encourage all new applicants to visit our website where you will find a copy of our application form available to download (here). This should then be e-mailed back to enquiries@rsha.org.uk to be processed more quickly.  We are starting to allocate and let properties again.  In order to do this and keep everyone safe, we need to follow certain procedures which will involve online communication.  If this will be difficult for you, please contact us and we will help you. 

3.  Home visits and face-to-face appointments cancelled

We appreciate many of our tenants prefer to meet face-to-face with our staff. However, in the interest of protecting staff, tenants and the wider public, we will not be carrying out home visits or face-to-face appointments until further notice. We know this is a very worrying time which is causing deep anxiety and concern.  We are here to help you where we can.

If you need to contact us urgently, please visit the Staff Team area of our website where you will find contact information for all members of staff. If you already had a home visit or appointment scheduled with a member of staff we will be in touch with you to discuss this and offer an alternative option. Where we are identifying that tenants' means of paying have been affected, we are offering a follow up call from our Income Maximisation Officer, Kevin McGhee, who is able to give specialist advice about benefits and other money advice.

4. Stock Condition Survey

Every 5 years we carry out a stock condition survey to gather data relating to your home.  The information collected is really important as it is used to identify and programme future replacement and improvement works and lets us know if our properties continue to meet the Scottish Housing Quality Standard (SHQS) and will meet the Energy Efficiency Standard for Social Housing (EESSH) when it is introduced at the end of 2020. 

 We have appointed a specialist firm of Building Surveyors, Brown + Wallace, to inspect approximately 123 homes as part of a Stock Condition Survey between 5 October 2020 and 6 November 2020.  They will be writing to these households shortly to make arrangements for their visits.  If your home is identified for a survey then we would appreciate your cooperation by giving the Brown + Wallace team access (they will have identity badges) and be wearing gloves and masks in line with Scottish Government guidelines.

The survey itself is a visual inspection of the inside and outside of your home; it takes around approximately 30 minutes.  Our surveyor may need access to all rooms, the loft and outside areas.  The surveyor will make notes, ask you for your views and take photographs.  Any shared communal areas will also be surveyed.

 The surveyor collects information on the condition of your home such as the age and condition of the major elements , he will specifically consider the:-

·        Outside – roofs, walls, windows and doors, fences, paths etc.

·        Inside – kitchens, bathrooms, heating system, electrical wiring, insulation etc.

·        The common and external parts of a block of flats such as corridors, lifts, fire alarms, communal lighting, door entry systems and pathways.

 The surveyor will not collect information regarding any outstanding repairs to your home.  But if there are any safety related repairs outstanding, they may pass details on to the Asset Management Team to action. 

 Once the Surveyor has completed their surveys, a survey report will be sent to us along with the data collected to inform our 30 year Life Cycle Costings.  The Surveyor doesn’t provide individual reports for each house so we are not able to share this with you.  Whilst the Surveyor will provide us with recommended re-inspection dates for elements of your home, based on recommended lifecycles, these dates are used to support financial planning only and are not a confirmed year of re-inspection or replacement dates. It helps us decide how much we need to spend on repairs and replacements to keep your home at the highest possible standard.

However if your home has been identified as requiring planned replacements such as kitchens, bathrooms, boilers or windows, we will agree a provisional year when this will be done and contact you nearer the time. 

5. Investment works and Reactive repairs

In her latest briefing the First Minister made specific reference to the continued practice of allowing access to Tradespeople to undertake works within homes.  With this in mind, our planned maintenance works such as new kitchens, Fire Safety and Electrical Upgrades will all still continue as scheduled, as will our reactive repairs service.  Please let us know asap if you are in quarantine, isolating etc so that any planned visits can be rearranged.    

In keeping with Government Guidelines external services such as Landscaping, window cleaning, external painting, render cleaning, pressure washing etc are all designated as key works and can be progressed, if carried out by a sole operator who implements social distancing and has availability of PPE etc. This obviously is dependent on our contractors having the staff to undertake the works and we will assess whether works can be undertaken on a scheme by scheme basis. 

6.  Emergency repairs 

Please contact us on 01786 841 101 during normal working hours to report an emergency repair. Our out of hours emergency contact numbers remain the same:

• Gas repairs call Saltire on 0845 606 1555

• All other emergency repairs please call the  McDougall Group on 0800 975 1234.

When you report an emergency repair, we will need to ask you some screening questions to protect both you and our contractors before visits can be confirmed. Our Contractors will also ask you a series of questions before they enter your home.

We will advise tenants as soon as possible if there are any further changes to the repairs service. In the meantime, please consider whether your repair is an emergency before requesting a visit.

Right to Repair

Due to current government restrictions for coronavirus we have suspended the Right to Repair element of our reactive repairs service.  This is in line with guidance from the Scottish Government.  We will review the service on an ongoing basis and keep you informed of any changes as and when it is appropriate to do so.

WE WILL GET THROUGH THIS TOGETHER

GENERAL ADVICE

If you have the symptoms of COVID-19

If you have developed a new or continuous cough and/or a fever/high temperature in the last 7 days, stay at home for 7 days from the start of your symptoms even if you think your symptoms are mild. Do not got to your GP, pharmacy or hospital. You should phone 111 if:

• your symptoms worsen during home isolation, especialy if you're in a high or extremely high risk group

• breathlessness develops or worsens, particularly if you're in a high or extremely high risk group

• your symptoms haven't improved in 7 days

If you have a medical emergency, phone 999 and tell them you have COVID-19 symptoms.

Do the people I live with need to take any action?

If you live with other people and have symptoms, they'll need to stay at home for 14 days from the start of your symptoms even if they don't have symptoms themselves. If they develop symptoms within the 14 days, they need to stay at home for 7 days from the day their symptoms began. They should do this even if it takes them over the 14-day isolation period

There are things you can do to help reduce the risk of you and anyone you live with getting ill with Coronavirus.

Do:

• wash your hands with soap and water often - do this for at least 20 seconds
• use hand sanitiser gell if soap and water are not available
• wash your hands as soon as you get home
• cover your month and nose with a tissue or your sleeve (not your hands) when you cough or sneeze
• put used tissues in the bin immediately and wash your hands afterwards

Don't:

• touch your eyes, nose or mouth if your hands are not clean

Further guidance is available by following the links below:

NHS INFORM - FURTHER GUIDANCE

Here is a ink to information regarding who can currently be tested for coronavirus. 

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-getting-tested 

Those who are eligible to have a test done  can apply you will be given a choice of test sites available to you on the day or the following day.  You must book your appointment in advance so you are pre-registered.  If you arrive without an appointment you will not be tested .If you are a Health and Social Care employee separate arrangements are in place via the NHS.

Time and Space - Action in Mind service

2020-05-20 How to access support in Scotland Covid-19 Guidance

Stirling CAB Energy Advice Service

If you are looking for activities to entertain the children (or adults) then Marsh have sent us another Fun Activity Pack which you can download here.

BIN COLLECTIONS

For the calendar please click on the link given below:

https://www.stirling.gov.uk/media/20988/waste-calendar-for-2020.pdf 

CORGI independent quality inspections

Stirling Council Coronavirus Community Support Line

The latest Edition of the Community Response Bulletin from Stirling Council is available here.

If you are vulnerable, or you know somebody who is vulnerable, self-isolating and who has no immediate support available, please contact the community support line. Contact details and more information can be found here.

Stirling Council and Stirlingshire Voluntary Enterprise (SVE) are now asking volunteers and local community groups to register and be part of a co-ordinated response to the Covid-19 emergency. By volunteering you can make a big difference in your area and on a national level. More info can be found here.

My World of Work Website

The My World of Work website has a selection of free online training courses, learning opportunities and funding available to support training, jobs available as well as help and advice if you are looking for work.