Our Charter

If you rent a home from us, be assured that our focus is to provide quality accommodation and services for all our tenants. Our homes are in excellent condition, and we strive to make the move in process as hassle-free as possible. Once you’ve settled in, if you encounter any maintenance issues with your home or have questions about your tenancy, contact us by signing in to the My eastbrooke Tenant Portal and we will ensure one of our team members addresses the problem. We are dedicated to delivering excellent services to all our tenants and constantly seek improvement.

Our customer charter outlines how we deliver services and prioritise you in everything we do. If you feel our services are not meeting these standards or if there are areas for improvement, please contact us. We welcome all feedback.

We promise:

• To be open and honest in all our communication and contact with you.
• To provide trained and knowledgeable staff to assist you. Our training includes what the responsibilities of our staff are to you, and the implications of our Customer Charter for our organisation and its directors.
• To provide trained and knowledgeable staff to assist you. Our training includes what the responsibilities of our staff are to you, and the implications of our Customer Charter for our organisation and its directors.

You can trust us to:

• Understand your needs and discover what matters to you and your community.
• Clearly communicate what we can and cannot do for you.
• Be helpful and polite, treating you fairly and with respect.
• Protect and use your data in accordance with our privacy policy and handle inquiries sensitively and confidentially.
• Recognise and respect the diversity of people who use our services and adopt an inclusive approach.

To get it right, we will:

• To be open and honest in all our communication and contact with you.
• To provide trained and knowledgeable staff to assist you. Our training includes what the responsibilities of our staff are to you, and the implications of our Customer Charter for our organisation and its directors.

To make it easy, we will:

• To be open and honest in all our communication and contact with you.
• To provide trained and knowledgeable staff to assist you. Our training includes what the responsibilities of our staff are to you, and the implications of our Customer Charter for our organisation and its directors.

Involving you, we will:

• Actively seek your feedback on our services.
• Listen to your opinions and use your feedback to help us improve.

Safety and Quality Standard

We are committed to ensuring our homes comply with the Decent Homes Standard. To achieve this, we will:

• Complete all required safety checks, servicing, and inspections regularly and within the appropriate timeframes.
• Provide a copy of your annual gas certificate within 28 days of the servicing visit.
• Conduct annual checks on all carbon monoxide and smoke detectors and perform an electrical safety inspection every five years.
• Inspect external and internal communal areas every five years, doing necessary repairs and decoration.
• Maintain records of any asbestos present in your home or communal areas.
• Offer you information on how to keep your home and any communal areas safe.

A Safe and Welcoming Site

Your home may be part of a new housing development, and your safety is our priority, both on-site and in your new home. We will provide clear health and safety precautions to follow when visiting a construction site or living in an area where building work is ongoing, along with practical safety guidance as you settle into your new home.

How We Maintain Your Home and Communal Areas

When you rent a home from us, you can trust us to keep your homes and communal areas in good condition. We will:

• Make it easy for you to report any repairs or maintenance issues.
• Inform you which repairs we are responsible for, and which are your responsibility.
• Communicate the priority level of your repair and how quickly you can expect it to be resolved.
• Arrange an appointment with you and inform you if we need to reschedule.
• Update you if repairs are complex and may require multiple visits, special equipment, or could be more disruptive.
• Implement a program of planned maintenance.
• Ensure your home is clean and tidy and remove all rubbish.
• Provide an out-of-hours emergency service from 5pm to 8:30am Monday to Friday, as well as on weekends and bank holidays.
• Offer housing adaptations after an assessment by an Occupational Therapist for our Social and Affordable units only.
• Ensure our staff and contractors are fully trained to work safely.

Tenancy management services

We are committed to providing quality homes, to support our tenants during challenging times, and to deliver effective tenancy management services.

• We will advertise all our social lettings through the Hampshire Home Choice scheme.
• All new tenants will receive introductory tenancies, while those who have held an introductory tenancy for 12 months, or existing secure or assured tenants, will be granted secure tenancies.
• We will meet all new tenants at a sign-up appointment and check in with you again within the first six weeks of moving in to see how you are settling in.
• We will provide a tenant handbook and other informative materials about your home, tenancy, rights, and our responsibilities as your landlord.
• You can access your rent statements online or request a statement to be sent to you.
• We will give you at least 28 days’ notice before any changes to your rent and service charges, and 10 days’ notice before any changes to your Direct Debit.
• Payments will be reflected in your rent account within 48 hours.
• Clear information will be provided regarding what your service charges cover and how we have calculated them.
• We offer a variety of support services, including:
  • Assistance with benefits and managing debts.
  • Advice on money management.
  • Help with accessing the internet and improving digital skills.
  • Support in accessing health and wellbeing services.
• Additionally, we provide access to HomeSwapper, a mutual exchange service that facilitates easy property matching.

We are committed to maintaining neighbourhoods and shared spaces to ensure your borough is safe, clean, and pleasant.

Our goals include:

• Keeping your neighbourhood clean and tidy.
• Collaborating with our tenants, residents, council teams, other landlords, and relevant organisations to ensure that neighbourhoods are safe and enjoyable.
• Conduct regular health and safety inspections of our communal areas and address any issues promptly.
• Cleaning our internal communal areas and maintaining the grounds of external communal areas.
• Removing offensive graffiti.
• Responding to any concerns about your neighbourhood and informing you about how we can assist you.
• We will treat all reports of nuisance, antisocial behaviour, harassment, and domestic abuse seriously and confidentially. We will take swift legal action when necessary and provide information on how we can support you or connect you with relevant organisations.

If your home or property is part of a wider Eastleigh Borough Council development, we will keep you informed about the progress of the broader development, including updates on roads, landscaping, and open spaces.

Listening to Your Feedback

We strive to provide the best possible service and welcome any feedback you have. Our services are continually reviewed, and your comments and suggestions are greatly appreciated. If something goes wrong, please let us know, and we will work to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. In most cases, the first person you speak to will resolve things for you.

If you have a complaint, please refer to our complaint’s procedure for information on how to get in touch and the process to follow.

You may also be invited to participate in independent satisfaction surveys, where your feedback directly influences our services.

How we provide opportunities for involvement

We will:

• Provide a range of ways for you to give us your views, scrutinise and influence our strategies, polices and services that are important to you.
• Work with customers to improve and tailor our services so that they meet their needs and priorities.
• Let you know about changes to services and policies that customers have influenced.

Working Together to Provide the Best Service

At Eastleigh Borough Council, we are committed to delivering high-quality services and support. To help us meet your needs effectively, we kindly ask that you:

• Allow us adequate time to process and fulfil your request thoroughly and accurately.
• Provide accurate and timely information to help us understand your needs and respond appropriately.
• Keep us informed of any changes to your circumstances or requirements as they happen.
• Let us know if something goes wrong so we can address the issue promptly and improve your experience.

Your cooperation helps us serve you better. Thank you for working with us.

Respecting Our Staff and Ensuring a Safe Working Environment

We are committed to ensuring that all our staff and contractors have the right to work in a safe, respectful, and supportive environment — whether they are based in our offices, our properties and venues, or working on-site with you. To help us maintain this standard, we kindly ask that you:

• Always treat our staff and contractors with respect. This includes refraining from any aggressive, abusive, threatening, or sexually inappropriate language or behaviour.
• Be mindful of your conduct if you have consumed alcohol or drugs. We ask that essential conversations are avoided during such times to ensure clear and respectful communication.
• Understand that any form of bullying, discrimination, harassment (verbal, physical, or sexual), or intimidation is unacceptable. If our staff and contractors are subjected to such behaviour, we will take appropriate action to safeguard their wellbeing.
• Respect our staff’s and contractors’ privacy during interactions. Recording or videoing telephone calls or meetings is generally not permitted. If you wish to do so, please inform us in advance and explain the purpose.

We appreciate your cooperation in helping us create a safe and respectful environment for everyone.

If you need to contact us, you can do so by one of the below:

For queries about your home and tenancy:

• Via your My eastbrooke customer portal
• Call 023 8068 8181

For queries related to Council Services, such as waste collection, council tax, planning etc.:

• Via your My Eastleigh customer portal
• By phone on 023 8068 8000

For out of hours repairs emergencies only

• Call 023 8001 7239