coronavirus: your frequently asked questions

Yes, all of the latest guidance includes provision to allow qualified tradespeople into homes to carry out repairs. All of our staff are fully trained and have the necessary personal protective equipment (PPE) to carry out work in your home while minimising the risks from coronavirus.

We’re also doing all we can to minimise the need to visit homes. Our expert staff may be able to talk you through simple repairs by video call instead of making a physical visit.

If you’ve got specific concerns about coronavirus symptoms or risks, please call us on 0300 1311 999 so that we can talk about what we can do to help.

You shouldn’t notice any difference to the service you’re currently receiving from believe housing. The restrictions in the north east are unlikely to have a direct impact on the services that we can provide at this stage.

We are closely monitoring government guidance on the next stages of the coronavirus pandemic. We’re busier than ever but investing in digital to carry out any services that we cannot deliver in the normal way.

We have plans in place to ensure that we can continue to deliver our key services whilst maintaining the health of colleagues, customers and other stakeholders.

Please be assured, our focus on safety will not be compromised. For the latest thoughts from our Chief Executive on how we’re coping during the next stages, read his latest statement here.

Our repairs service is now operational. Please be aware that a small number of jobs may still be affected by material shortages.

The easiest way to report repairs is through our customer app. You can find out how to do this by using our handy step by step guide.

We’re following government guidelines and taking all precautions necessary to ensure we can carry out appointments safely. We will work with you to address any concerns you may have and ensure that you are comfortable with your appointment.

Our free customer app enables you to access a wide range of services at a time and place that is convenient for you. You can download the app on the App Store or Google Play.

To log in you will need your tenancy number, your date of birth, a valid email address and contact telephone number.

Your tenancy number can be found on rent statements and letters we’ve sent you.

We recognise that meeting face to face personalises the services we offer to our customers. However, taking government guidelines into consideration, we are looking to minimise non-essential face to face contact, to protect your health and well being and that of our people.

In light of this, we are not currently entering any of our customer’s homes, but instead are contacting customers via telephone, email or video calls. In exceptional circumstances where this isn’t possible, we will follow government guidelines and plan any home visits or entry into properties in advance.

Please know that we are still contactable by calling 0300 1311 999, email and through our online form.

Our people will continue to work in our communities and with our customers. This may be at a a reduced capacity due to potential absences from work. If you find that you have a particular concern, please contact us by calling 0300 1311 999, email or through our online form.

Our operatives will still attend to carry out compliance related gas servicing and electrical inspections work.

We’re following government guidelines and taking all precautions necessary to ensure we can carry out your appointment safely. We will work with you to address any concerns you may have and ensure that you are comfortable with your appointment.

We understand that if you’ve made a recent appointment, this may no longer be appropriate as your circumstances at home may have changed. Please make every effort to be at home for your appointment where possible, or contact us to rearrange if you are unable to do so. This appointment could be used for another customer and we can always come back to you at a time that is more convenient.

We are still operating as usual and handling complaints and anti-social behaviour enquiries. Should this situation change we will inform you as soon as possible.

Our officers will continue to be available for you, although this may not always be face to face. We are reviewing the situation daily in line with government guidance and we will continue to keep you up to date.

We’re pleased that you’re planning to move in to one of our new homes. All of our construction sites are now back up and running.

We will get in touch to talk about how we can ensure you are able to view and sign for your new home without any risk to your health and wellbeing and that of our people.

If you’ve placed a successful bid on one of our homes, we will contact you to arrange for you to view and sign for your home when it is safe to do so.

Video viewings are also available on a select number of properties. Please get in touch with us if you would like to find out more.

We are currently operating a full service. However, we have seen demand for homes rise substantially and we’re doing everything we can to meet that.

In some cases, it’s taking longer than normal to prepare homes for new tenants due to the need for social distancing during work and material shortages.

Yes, you are still able to terminate your tenancy if you want to. We are operating our normal service at the moment and if this changes we’ll get in touch.

Please contact us about how we can receive your termination notification as we may need to do it over the phone, email or in another way that minimises face to face contact.

All of our people have been provided with clear guidance on how to maintain their own personal hygiene to protect their own health and wellbeing and that of our customers. We are following strict government guidelines to migrate and minimise the spread of the virus where reasonably possible, so we may also minimise visits.

We are continuing to use digital technology, where possible, to avoid any unnecessary face to face contact.

Additional advice has been posted in our communal facilities and we are acting in accordance with government guidelines to minimise the spread of the virus, by stopping all non-essential use of the public areas.

We are also eliminating the need for physical visits to monitor water quality, through a new remote measurement and alarm system in many of our housing+ properties.

The easiest way to pay your rent is through our customer app. You can still call us on 0300 1311 999. Our telephone service is still operating as normal and should anything change we will let you know.
The following payment methods are also available:

• The Direct Debit mandate form can be found here.
• You can pay online using your tenancy reference number.
• You can also pay on the Allpay website using your payment card reference and bank card.
• You can call our automated payment line on 0300 456 0476 using your tenancy reference number.
• You can use your own internet banking, our payment details are: Account name: believe housing rent. Sort Code: 30-80-12. Account Number: 15547760

If you have any queries please contact us.

Unfortunately, due to our office closures, we are unable to bank any cheques that have been sent to us and will be unable to do so until our office reopens.

If you have any concerns or would like to discuss alternative payment methods or set up a Direct Debit, please call us on 0300 1311 999.

We recognise that the way in which people work and carry out daily activities, social or others is changing overnight, which may have a direct impact on your personal finances.  If you find that you are struggling to pay your rent or any other charges, please contact us as soon as possible.

Our dedicated Money Matters Team are here to help and can support you to make a claim for appropriate benefits. For any outstanding arrears, we will work with you to agree a suitable repayment arrangement.

Yes, this is extremely important. We want to ensure that we are supporting all efforts to reduce the spread of the virus so please inform us where you, and/or anyone in your home are self-isolating or diagnosed with coronavirus. This will help us protect our people, their colleagues and other customers.

We would ask that you call us at the earliest opportunity to inform us, so we can assess the situation and provide you with the most appropriate advice.

We are briefing colleagues to ask if you or anyone in your home is displaying flu like symptoms, self-isolating or has tested positive for the coronavirus. This is in recognition of the fact that circumstances change quickly, and it may not always be possible for you to contact us prior to the visit.

Please do not be offended if we ask you what may feel like a personal set of questions regarding how you are feeling or any specific diagnosis you may have had, this will help us to assess the situation and enable us to respond appropriately and accordingly to your needs.

Working with our customers and doing the right thing remains our priority and we would ask you to carefully consider if the repair can be delayed until you or the other members of your household have completed the self-isolation period recommended by government guidelines.

If it cannot be postponed, we will assess the repair and decide if a member of our team can safely carry out the work. Measures would include wearing protective equipment; asking the affected person to move to another room in your home; cleaning the affected area before starting work; or a combination of all of these measures.

Ultimately, we must balance carrying out the repair and keeping you, our team and other customers as safe as possible. We will do all we can to help i.e. leaving temporary heaters if your boiler isn’t working. We will advise on each individual case and let you know the best course of action based on the circumstances.

Current government guidance states that if you have an underlying health condition or at risk due to other reasons you should undertake social distancing. In this case, we would ask that you determine if there is an urgent or emergency need for us to come into your home. This will protect you as far as reasonably possible.

Further advice and guidance are available from NHS.uk.

Yes, to avoid our signature touch pad devices, our operatives will ask you if you are happy with everything and then sign the checklist for you. However, tenancy agreements must be signed in person as they are legal documents. These are paper based and where necessary will be presented for you to sign and you can always use your own pen.

We are sorry to hear this and wish you a speedy recovery. Further information on self-isolation can be found at NHS.uk.

Please do let us know about this and provide information on when and where this was, and we can follow it up internally.

We appreciate that this scenario may be concerning and the government guidance does not prevent people from moving around outside of their property. We will consider all requests for a move, however, this may not be a reason which takes precedence over another at this present time.

We would like to offer you some advice and recommend that, if you’re concerned that you keep your distance from your neighbours and remember the advice that hand washing for 20 seconds, using soap and hot water, avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth, will also protect you.

Unfortunately, we are not in a position to help all customers, even though we’d like to. Can you call upon friends and family? Or arrange for an online supermarket delivery who can leave things on your doorstep? With the support of other agencies, we will look to assist our at risk customers where possible.

Our customer service teams will continue to operate as normal.  You can contact us on 0300 1311 999, via email at hello@believehousing.co.uk, via our customer app or by filling in our online contact form.