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Welcome To Taff Housing Association

This section tells you:

• About this handbook.

• How to contact us.

• About Taff Housing Association.

• About our Board of Management.

• About our staff.

• About Equal Opportunities.

• About confidentiality, disclosure and access to information.

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Welcome

We welcome you to Taff Housing Association, and hope that you will enjoy living in your new home.

Taff Housing Association

Alexandra House

307 – 315 Cowbridge Road East

Canton

Cardiff

CF5 1JD

Tel: 029 2025 9100

Fax: 029 2025 9199

E-Mail: enquiries@taffhousing.co.uk

Website: www.taffhousing.co.uk

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Problems Reading This guide?

If you have any difficulties in reading this guide, ‘Your Home’ is available in large print, Braille, cassette tape or CD. Please let us know which you would prefer.

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‘Your Home’ In Other Languages

We can provide ‘Your Home’ in several other languages. Please let us know if you are interested.

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About This HandbookWe want to make sure that you enjoy being a tenant of the Association and that you know about the services you can expect from us and what your responsibilities are.

This handbook is designed to give you this information and is divided into easy to read sections. It will be updated if any information changes.

Each section of this handbook contains a summary of our full policies and procedures. If you would like more information, or a copy of any particular policy or procedure, please contact us.

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How To Contact UsOur office is open from Monday to Friday during the following hours:

Monday to Thursday 9am – 5pm

Friday 9am – 4pm

You can contact us in the following ways:Call into our office during the hours stated above at

Alexandra House, 307 - 315 Cowbridge Road East, Canton, Cardiff, CF5 1JD

Phone us: 029 2025 9100

E-mail us: info@taffhousing.co.uk

Visit our website: www.taffhousing.co.uk

Write to us at the address below:

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About Taff Housing AssociationEstablished in 1975, we are a registered charitable housing association, providing good quality, affordable homes in Cardiff. We are a non profit-making organisation, and our activities are supervised by the Welsh Government.

We provide homes for people who are in housing need from all sectors of the community and we work closely with Cardiff County Council and other housing providers in order to do this. We currently own and manage over 1,200 properties in the Riverside, Canton, Grangetown, Butetown and Fairwater areas of Cardiff.

Our properties cater for a range of people, including families, older people, single people, and those with additional support needs. Our properties range from older houses that have been converted and modernised, to modern, purpose-built family homes.

We also provide tenancy support to help people manage their tenancies and enable them to remain in their homes. We do this for our own tenants, but also for the tenants of a variety of local authorities. In addition, we provide short-term accommodation and support for homeless people in our supported housing schemes.

Our aim is:

• To be preferred provider of community based housing and support.

• To deliver high quality services which give value for money.

• To be flexible, innovative, and responsive in customer service.

These aims are underpinned by our values, which are:

• Accountability.

• Equality.

• Flexibility.

• Openness.

• Professionalism.

• Quality.

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About Our Board Of ManagementTaff Housing Association is controlled by a Board of Management which operates on an entirely voluntary basis. The Board of Management decides upon and agrees the policies of the Association, and employs the staff who run the day-to-day affairs of the Association. They also ensure that the Association meets its statutory and legal obligations. In order to ensure that our tenants’ views are well represented, there are places available on the Board for Tenant Board Members. If you would like to apply to become a Tenant Board Member, please contact your Housing Officer on 029 2025 9100.

You will be sent a copy of our Annual Report each year. This gives more details about the Board Members and staff of the Association.

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About Our StaffA Chief Executive heads our organisation. She is responsible to the Board of Management for the running of the Association, and has a number of specialist staff who deal with all aspects of the Association’s work.

The Tenant Services Department is responsible for dealing with all issues relating to your tenancy, for example collecting your rent, and resolving problems with your neighbours. This department can also give you help and advice on a range of housing and benefit issues, as well as assist you if you would like to start or join a Tenants’ Association or get involved in any other activities that the Association is involved in. Your main point of contact in the Tenant Services Department is your Housing Officer.

The Property Services Department is responsible for carrying out all your day-to-day repairs, as well as planning for longer-term improvements such as replacement kitchens and bathrooms. Your main point of contact in the Property Services Department is your Building Surveyor.

All members of staff and contractors who work for the Association have been issued with identity badges. Do not allow anyone into your home if they cannot show you an authorised identity badge.

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About DiversityTaff Housing Association is committed to providing its housing and other services fairly, and ensuring that we provide services that meet the needs of all our customers, and that do not disadvantage any groups in our society.

We expect staff, tenants, neighbours and others to respect this commitment. We will not tolerate discrimination on the grounds of race, ethnicity, religion, colour, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender, disability, age, or for any other reason.

We treat reports of discrimination very seriously and investigate every allegation. If you feel that you have been discriminated against, you can talk in confidence to any member of staff.

If you would like to discuss any of our services in more detail, please contact your Housing Officer, or for further information about Diversity, please ask for a copy of our Equal Opportunity Policy.

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About Confidentiality, Disclosure And Access To Personal Information When you applied to become a tenant of the Association you will have been asked to give us a lot of personal information. From time to time we will ask you for further information in order to update our records and help us manage your tenancy. We have to comply with the Data Protection Act 1998 in the way in which we obtain, store and use your personal information.

We will only ask for information that is necessary and for what we will use to assist you in maintaining your tenancy. We will only disclose information where it is necessary for a third party to carry out a legitimate service (for example, we may pass on your telephone number and address in order for a contractor to carry out repairs to your home), or where you have given us express permission to do so (either in your tenancy agreement or in a written authorisation). In some instances we are required by law to disclose certain information, for example, to the police or to the Child Protection authorities.

You have the right to see any personal information that we hold about you. If you would like more information about this right, please speak to your Housing Officer, or ask for a copy of our Confidentiality Policy. Please note that we have the right to charge a small fee for this service.

You also have the right to view any of our policies or procedures. Some of these are displayed on our website or in our office. If you would like to see any other policies or procedures, please ask a member of staff.

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