Our Promise to you

• We will treat everyone fairly and with respect.
• We will give you all the information you need in a way that is easy to understand. If you need this or any other information in a different format, just let us know.
• We will consider any needs you have when providing our services.
• We offer different ways for you to give feedback on our services.

Contacting Us

We want you to know what to expect from us. We always try our best to help you quickly and kindly, whether you call us on 0300 303 1717, email us at talktous@taicalon.org or message us via WhatsApp or Social Media.

• Calling us on 0300 303 1717: If you call, we’ll try to pick up the phone in 2 minutes. Our main goal is to help you with your question right away. We’ll keep track of how many questions we can answer on the first call.
• Calling you back: If we need to call you, we’ll try 3 times. If we can’t reach you after 3 tries, we’ll send a text if we have your mobile number. If not, we’ll leave a voicemail.
• Emailing us at talktous@taicalon.org: If you email us, you’ll get an automatic reply right away, and we will respond within 24 hours. If someone else needs to help, we’ll let you know and tell you when you can expect a reply.
• Message us on Facebook or WhatsApp: If you message us, you’ll get an automatic reply right away, and we will respond within 2 hours during office hours.
• Write to us: If you write to us, we will reply within 5 working days. If we can’t reply in that time, we’ll let you know and tell you when you can expect a reply.
• Visit us: Our office is open from Monday to Friday, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. When you visit us, you’ll find our reception area will be clean and tidy, with easy access and a hearing loop available. If you have an appointment, we will do our best to see you on time.

Learn more here.

If we visit you

• Our staff will have photo ID.
• We will make an appointment first if needed.
• If we can’t make it, we’ll let you know as soon as possible.
• Please do not smoke while our staff are with you.

Repairs

We want to give you the best and fastest repair service. For more details, check out our Repair Policies. Here are our timescales for fixing things:

• Emergency – We’ll fix it within 4 hours.
• Responsive Repair – We’ll fix it the same or next working day, or at a time that works for you, but no later than 30 days.
• Maintenance – We’ll fix it within 6 months.

Learn more here.

Damp and Mould

We want to make sure your home is safe, warm, and nice to live in. Here’s how we handle damp and mould:

• We will look into reports of damp and mould within 7 working days.
• We will find out what’s causing it and how bad it is.
• We will tell you what we find and what we will do to fix it.
• We will give you tips on how to stop damp and mould.
• We will do the needed repairs.
• We will check back to make sure the problem is fixed.

Learn more here.

Anti-Social Behaviour

We will listen to all reports of bad behaviour and handle them firmly but fairly, making sure the action we take is just right.  For more details, check out our Anti-Social Behaviour Policy.  When dealing with anti-social behaviour:

• For urgent cases like hate crimes, we will contact you within 1 working day.
• For less serious cases, we will contact you within 5 working days to get more information and understand your issue.

If you feel scared, threatened, see a crime, or are a victim of a hate crime, please call the Police. Dial 999 for emergencies or 101 for non-emergencies.

Learn more here.

Managing your Rent

Our Rent & Income Team is here to help you with your rent.

• You need to pay your rent every Monday.
• We will answer your questions about rent within 5 working days.
• You can pay your rent in different ways, like Direct Debit, calling us, at a post office, or at a shop with PayPoint.
• If you fall behind on your rent (this is called getting into arrears), we will handle it quickly, privately, and kindly. We will stay in touch with you, give advice on benefits and managing your money, and refer you to other agencies that might help.

Learn more here.

Tenancy related queries

Our Housing Team will help you with your tenancy questions based on the rules of the Rented Homes (Wales) Act. For example:

• If you ask us to make changes to your home, we will reply within 28 days.
• If you ask us to add or remove someone from your contract, we will reply within 28 days.
• We will always tell you upfront how long it will take for us to respond to each query or question you have. 

Learn more here.

How to register for a home

Registering for a home

Our homes are given out through a list managed by Blaenau Gwent Council. The council and four big housing groups (Tai Calon, Linc Cymru, Melin Homes, and United Welsh) made one list so you can apply for a home with just one form. For more details and to apply for a home, please visit www.blaenaugwenthomes.org.uk and check our Allocations Policy.

When offering you a home

• We will contact you following the Council’s rules and our own rules for giving out homes.
• We will set up a time to meet you, show you the home, answer any questions, and talk about the offer.
• We will tell you how much the rent will be and when you can move in.

Signing the Contract

• We’ll explain the terms and conditions of the contract before you sign it.

After you moved in

• Our Community Housing Officer will visit after 2 weeks to see how you’re settling in.
• Our handyman will come by within the first six weeks to fix things.

Standards for letting homes

Our homes will be:

• Safe and secure.
• In good condition and well-repaired.
• Have modern kitchens and bathrooms.
• Clean everywhere.
• Free of any rubbish in the home, loft, outbuildings, and garden.
• Have safe gas and electricity.

Learn more here.

Claims & Compensation

Compensation

You might get some money if we don’t do what we promised. For example:

• If we miss an appointment, we might give you some money.
• If your heating and hot water stop working in the winter and we can’t fix it in 2 days, we might give you some money to help with your energy bill.

For further details, check out our Compensation Policy.

How to claim compensation

• You can write, email, call, or visit us to make a claim.
• We will need things like receipts or proof of purchase for any money you are claiming, proof of lost earnings from your employer, and photos of the damage.

Home Contents Insurance

You need to make sure your things at home are insured.  If something happens and your stuff gets damaged, like your carpets, TV’s, furniture, you should use your own home insurance to get money back.

Learn more here.

Complaints

We see complaints as a chance to learn and improve our services. For more details, check out our Concerns and Complaints Policy. We will handle complaints as follows:

• Informal: Acknowledge within 2 working days and resolve within 5 working days.
• Formal: Acknowledge within 2 working days and respond within 20 working days.

Don’t worry! If you make a complaint, it won’t cause any problems for you now or later. We really want to hear what you think and make things better. Your complaints help us improve, and we promise it won’t change how we treat you.

Learn more here.