Welcome to your residents' newsletter. This is where we can share essential information with you about housing services and update you about the things you need to know.
In this edition of Open Door we’ve got information on:
- Changes to the opening times of Hazel Court and Towthorpe and Strensall HWRC
- Join your Home Improvement Day!
- Help with your finances
- Moving out? Step up!
- Elections
- Blue Badge holders’ second route into footstreets opens one month early
- Tell us first! Housing repairs
- How to pay your rent in a 53-week year
Changes to the opening times of Hazel Court and Towthorpe and Strensall HWRC
From 6 May 2024, Hazel Court HWRC will be closed on Wednesdays.
In addition, both Hazel Court HWRC and Towthorpe and Strensall HWRC sites will close at 6.00pm between April and September 2024.
Join your Home Improvement Day!
You’re invited to a special day to view a range of kitchen, bathroom and flooring suppliers’ products, which could be used to update your home!
Drop-in on Thursday 18 April to Foxwood Community Hall, from 1.00pm to 7.00pm.
You can get advice on:
- preventing damp and mould in your home
- energy efficiency
- maximising your income
Come and see 6 suppliers’ products for bathrooms, kitchens, floors, wet walls, showers, taps and flooring. Sample their quality, designs and colours, and tell us your thoughts. Your feedback will influence which might be offered as part of your Home Improvement Programme.
At the event, you can also get advice from a range of experts on how to help prevent damp and mould in your home, and how using your heating in an energy-efficient way can help.
You can also chat about maximising your income with benefits you might be eligible for. This could include free school meals or Pension Credit, lower broadband or mobile tariffs.
We’re looking forward to welcoming you!
Here to help with your finances
With cost of living support due to end later this year, now is the time to make sure that you're getting all the income and benefits you’re entitled to.
An independent, free benefits calculator can help you check what financial support you could be entitled to.
Pension Credit can help if you’re State Pension age and on a lower income. It can unlock other help with housing costs and, if you’re a carer, are disabled, or responsible for a child or young person you might get more.
Free school meals are for children in lower-income families, which can unlock extra help with school uniform and holiday activities. Telephone: 01904 551554 or email: education@york.gov.uk if you have any questions.
Find out more about reducing the cost of childcare. Alternatively, telephone: 01904 554444 or email: fis@york.gov.uk.
Find benefits advice or read more about help with the cost of living. If you have any questions, telephone: 01904 552044 or email: incomeservices@york.gov.uk.
Moving out? Step up!
We need to relet empty homes quickly to households waiting to move in. Help us do this by making sure the home you’re leaving is completely empty of your belongings and as clean as possible.
Our Moving Out Standard requires you to:
- clear it – out of the loft, cupboards, under the stairs, shed and garden, and recycle or dispose of it correctly
- clean it – especially the kitchen and bathroom
- repair it - telephone: 01904 551550 (option 4, option 1) to report a repair. You must repair or replace anything damaged by you
- remove it – this includes any DIY you didn’t get permission for. Ask us about any of your fixtures like flooring or sheds
If we have to do any of this work, we'll charge you for it and you may not be allowed to move until the property meets the standard.
Elections
On Thursday 2 May 2024 you can vote for York and North Yorkshire’s first mayor. The mayor will lead the new combined authority and work alongside local leaders in the region. Once elected, the mayor will serve a 4-year term.
To vote in this and other elections, please make sure you’re registered before Tuesday 16 April at midnight.
To vote by post or vote postal proxy, apply before Wednesday 17 April at 5.00pm.
If you can’t vote in person or by post, apply for a proxy vote so someone you choose can vote for you. Apply before 5.00pm on Wednesday 24 April.
To vote in person at the polling station, you'll need photographic ID - a passport or driving license, for example. If you need apply for a free Voter Authority Certificate, do so by 5.00pm, Wednesday 24 April.
Read more about elections in York. If you have any questions, telephone: 01904 551007 or email: electoral.services@york.gov.uk.
Blue Badge holders’ second route into footstreets opens one month early
One month ahead of time, Blue Badge holders’ access into the city centre has been fully restored.
Holders of valid Blue Badges and their drivers can now drive into the city centre. Access via Blake Street opened on Friday 1 March, one month earlier than forecast, and access via Goodramgate opened on Thursday 4 January 2024.
The moveable barriers at Blake Street will be closed and staffed daily between 10.30am and 5.00pm, as they are at Goodramgate. To get through, valid Blue Badges must be presented by the driver or passenger, and checked.
Once through the barriers, holders can drive into the city centre and can park or be dropped off. If they’re being picked up later, they must leave their name with the barrier staff so their driver can get back in.
From the barrier at Blake Street, they can drive one-way along Blake Street, turn right through St Helen’s Square, and turn right again to exit via Lendal and the CCTV-controlled bollards.
From the barrier at Goodramgate, they can drive to King’s Square and exit through Colliergate. They can also drive down and back Church Street.
Blue Badge holders can park on the double yellow lines on these routes for up to 3 hours.
Outside those hours, when the city centre is quieter, the barriers are open to all.
Read more about city centre access for Blue Badge holders.
Tell us first! Housing repairs
We want to help keep your home in good order. It’s our duty and the right thing to do. We work hard to repair your homes quickly, and want to get it right first time. If you feel we need to do better, tell us: we’re here to help you.
Some tenants are choosing to make claims against us for not carrying out a repair or not doing it properly, and the number of claims is increasing. This means there is less and less money for much-needed repairs and improvements to homes like yours.
We want to use this money to help you, our residents, and not legal companies.
If you’ve been approached and are thinking of making a claim against us, contact us first so we can fix any outstanding repairs issues.
Even if you make a claim successfully, you're likely to be left with a very small percent of money paid in damages. There are significant risks involved - including the stress of going to court and court costs. One case brought against the council left the tenant having to pay over £10,000 in court costs.
To report a repair, call our Housing Repairs phone line, which is open 8.30am to 5.00pm Monday to Friday, on 01904 551550 (option 4, option 1).
To report an emergency repair outside normal office hours, call Housing Repairs Out of Hours on: 01904 630405 or 01904 427699.
Read more about how to report a repair to your council home.
If you’re unhappy about how we have responded to a request for a repair, or how we have carried out a repair, tell us first. Your concern will be assessed and treated impartially. Read more about raising a comment, compliment, complaint or concern and if you have any questions, email: haveyoursay@york.gov.uk.
How to pay your rent in a 53-week year
Your rent is charged by us every week. Usually, you pay 52 weeks rent per year. However, every few years an extra week has to be added to the rent year. This is to align with the calendar year and its odd number of days. Because of this, the coming financial year will have 53 rent weeks. This means that you will need to pay one extra week of rent between 6 April 2025 and 31 March 2025. You'll have received a letter in the last month, letting you know about this year’s rent increase which has increased 7.7% from 2023 to 2024.
If you would like support with budgeting or other money advice, contact your Housing Management Officer on telephone: 01904 551550. In addition, find benefits advice online. We understand that this isn’t a usual situation: we’re here to help you. If you have any questions or concerns, telephone: 01904 551550.
If you receive Universal Credit
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) calculates your housing rent payment based on a 52-week year. It does this even in a 53-week year. The DWP has confirmed it won’t give out any extra Universal Credit to cover this week in 2024 to 2025. You’ll need to pay the extra week’s rent to avoid getting into arrears. Your housing costs may be paid directly to us from your Universal Credit. If so, you’ll need to pay an extra week’s rent yourself to cover the 53rd week. You pay us the extra week’s rent in one go. You can make a payment online, by phone or by a bank transfer. Or, you can spread the cost of this extra week’s rent in a manageable way over the financial year. Call your Housing Management Officer to discuss this on telephone: 01904 551550.
If you pay by Direct Debit
You don't need to do anything. We'll work out and adjust your payments automatically to spread the cost of the 53rd week over the financial year. To pay your rent by Direct Debit, speak to your Housing Management Officer on telephone: 01904 551550.
If you pay by standing order
You’ll need to adjust your monthly payments from 1 April 2024 until 31 March 2025. To work out your new monthly payment, multiply your weekly rent by 53, then divide it by 12 to get the new monthly figure. For example, if your new rent for 2024 to 2025 is £100 per week, the calculation would be: £100 x 53 = £5,300 ÷ 12 = £441.67 (the new monthly payment). If you have arrears or a Court Order (for example £10 per week), add the agreed amount to the weekly rent before multiplying it. The calculation would be: £100 + £10 = £110 x 53 = £5,830 ÷ 12 = £485.83. Once you’ve calculated your new monthly payment, please update your standing order with your bank. To pay rent by standing order, contact your bank. They will need our bank details and your rent account number starting in 60 or 1900.
If you pay by card
You’ll need to adjust your monthly payments. Use the same calculation as those who pay by standing order (weekly rent x 53 ÷ 12). If you have arrears or a court order, remember to factor these into your monthly payments.
If you pay weekly
Carry on paying your new weekly rent from 1 April in advance, every Monday.
If you receive Housing Benefit
You don’t need to do anything. This will be covered automatically for you.
Open Door
- Email: housing.serviceimprovments@york.gov.uk
- Telephone: 01904 555556