Our response to latest restrictions – updated January 2022

With the impact of the current Covid variant being felt around the country certain services are being impacted. 

Below you can find the latest information:

Repairs service

Our routine repairs are unfortunately taking longer than usual due to the impact of Covid-19 and pressures on material supply chains with a wait time of up to 3 months for some non-emergency repairs. We’re continuing to put additional resources in place, including specialist contractors to help manage this.

As always, we are prioritising emergency repairs and essential services.

Lifts

Due to difficulties in the supply chain, lift parts, which are often sourced from Europe, are now taking up to 4 months to arrive. This has an inevitable impact on our ability to carry out lift repairs. Where a lift repair is impacted the Group will speak to the residents affected about what we can and will do in the interim.

Home Visits - access

You're continued safety is our number on priority.  All of our colleagues and contractors will continue to wear a face coverings and social distance when undertaking visits.

We are seeing an increased number of households refuse access to our contractors. We understand the reasons but ask that our customers work with us to allow access for important compliance work such as electrical testing and emergency repairs.

Find out what to expect on Home visits - guidance for customers 

Customer Service Centre

Our current hours of service are now Customer Service Centre Hours will be 9am - 5pm Monday to Friday 

Waiting times may be slightly longer than usual due to staff illness caused by the virus so please be patient - our operators will get to you. Please email wherever possible to service.centre@shgroup.org.uk

Accounts and rent payments

Normal service. If you're concerned about being able to pay your rent please get in touch with us early so we can help.

Please be aware of the reduction of Universal Credit payments from October 2021 and the end of furlough.

Click for more information on ways in which we can help

Letting our homes

The safety of our customers and colleagues still remains imperative to us. Our staff will be conducting viewings where it is safe to do so and will be wearing appropriate face covering.

Our priorities for getting back to business are:

Safety first – We’ll prioritise the safety of our customers, colleagues and contractors. We’ll take our time to get it right, but make sure we cover the basics fast. We will support colleagues and teams as they work in new and different ways.

Understanding – we’ll take time understand and follow the government guidelines. We’ll be adjusting the way we provide services to ensure we are complying with the safety guidelines – taking a step-by-step approach.

Listening and communicating – we will consult with residents and colleagues about the longer-term shape of our services. We recognise that we must completely understand what our residents expect, need and want in the covid world. We are working with our colleagues to make sure they have everything they need to be safe.

Flexible – We will be flexible and agile about the way we work as we’ll need to respond to a fast-changing environment. We’ll organise our strategies around the government’s covid-19 alert levels to ensure we have a clear idea of what our service will look like at each of those levels.

We will be posting any updates about our services to our Website, Twitter and Facebook accounts first so please follow or subscribe to make sure you’re up to date.