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Welcome to your August news from Paradigm
Listening and acting on your views
Knock knock
Stage one of our Big Door Knock is now over and we've really enjoyed getting out and about and talking to you about your neighbourhoods - but stage two is just as important.
We'll be taking your feedback and coming up with local action plans and improvements to the service we offer. We're aiming to share our commitments by October, so look out for more information coming soon!
If we didn't visit your area, look out for September's edition of our customer newsletter for the chance to have your say.
A visit to Edith Bell House
Customers at Edith Bell House in Chalfont enjoyed coffee and cake when they had a visit from our office-based Gas, Planned Works and Electrical teams.
We joined customers in their communal area for a coffee morning, where we quickly delved into the important stuff – chocolate cake! Between the coffee, cake, and games of pool, we had some important conversations about the services we offer, what matters to them and how they find life at Edith Bell.
Help with school costs
New pencil case ✅ new blazer ✅ new schoolbag ✅
September is right around the corner, and we wanted to let you know about the support that's on offer during the back-to-school season.
If you're on a low income, you might be able to get help with some of the costs of sending your child to school. This includes things like:
🍽️ free school meals
🚗 transport to school
👔 school uniform.
Find out more about help with costs on the Citizens Advice website here.
If you're struggling to pay your rent, or are worried about money, please call us on 0300 303 1010. The earlier you talk to us, the better. We're here to help.
Get involved!
We're hiring Resident Services Panel members
🌍 Working from home/Wooburn Green, Buckinghamshire 💷 £500.00 per annum
About you:
You must be a Paradigm customer over the age of 18. You don't need any experience of being on a committee, but you should have a genuine interest in working together to bring about improvements to the services we offer.
We're looking for customers with the following qualities:
· the ability to work as part of a group to solve problems
· the ability to build strong working relationships
· able to share ideas and give constructive feedback which benefits all, rather than focus on personal opinions.
This is a great opportunity to join us at a time when you can have a real and personal impact on the future success of our business.
Our year in numbers!
Did you know we carried out more than 37,000 repairs, replaced 333 boilers and built 446 new homes in the last financial year? You can read about this and more in our Financial Statements 2022-23.
Nicola Ewen, Chief Financial Officer, said: “With a surplus of £17.8m, which is all ploughed back into building new homes and providing services, we are in a strong position to continue to deliver on our corporate plan, despite the challenges in the wider economy.”
Good to know:
Did you know you need a leasehold pack to sell your home?
What is a leasehold pack?
A leasehold information pack contains all the relevant documents and information related to a property that is being purchased on a leasehold basis.
What is included in a leasehold pack?
This includes details regarding the length of the lease, any restrictions or covenants attached to it, service charges and other cost implications, building insurance requirements, and any rights held by the landlord over the property. It may also contain information about ground rents and management companies involved with managing communal areas.
What is the fee for a leasehold pack?
£220 Inc VAT
Who is responsible for the cost of a leasehold pack?
The seller will be responsible for the cost of a leasehold pack, this can either be paid directly to Paradigm or will be part of the fees you have agreed with your solicitor. We would advise discussing this with your solicitor before payment is made.
Who should request a leasehold pack and how?
The seller’s solicitor should request the leasehold pack by emailing the Homeownership Team at Homeownershipteam@paradigmhousing.co.uk
Once payment is made, we will send the solicitor the leasehold pack within 10 working days.
How long is a leasehold pack valid for?
Usually 6 months. After this time a solicitor may be required to request a new pack.
For any further enquiries related to leasehold packs, please contact the Homeownership Team on 03003031010 or email us at Homeownershipteam@paradigmhousing.co.uk
🌸 The results are in! 🌸
Thank you to everyone who entered photos into our gardening competition. We were overwhelmed with entries and wanted to say a big congratulations to our top four gardens!
Well done to our first-place winner, Jack, who will be receiving a £50 gardening voucher, and Trudi, Leslie and Edward who will be getting £25 vouchers.
Have your say on the Standards we have to meet
The Regulator of Social Housing checks landlords are giving people good housing and good services. They have written Standards for social housing that are rules landlords should follow – and landlords must show they meet these Standards.
These Standards were written in 2012, and now the laws around social housing have changed, so they need to update the Standards.
The Regulator has spoken to lots of people to come up with ideas for new Standards, but they are also interested in what you think. They want to know whether the proposed Standards:
- Cover the right areas
- Set the right expectations of landlords, and
- Are easy to understand for landlords and tenants.
You can find out more about these Standards in an easy-read format, or in a larger document. You can fill out the survey by clicking the link at the bottom of that page.
Join our team
We're more than a housing association. We’re a growing business committed to delivering excellent services to customers and building a great place to work, where everyone can belong.
We currently have vacancies for:
Our partners at John O'Conner Grounds Maintenance are also hiring for both part-time and full-time maintenance roles.
