Welcome to Launchpad’s tenants’ page.
On this page you will find important information on how to manage repairs in your home, how to be more involved in your service, details of your tenancy, your rights as a customer and more.
When you move into a Launchpad property and/or begin receiving support from us, you will be asked to read and sign a Tenancy or Licence agreement. These set out what services and standards you can expect to receive from Launchpad as your landlord as well as our expectations of you as a tenant.
For more information, please see your tenancy/licence agreement and, if you receive support from us, your support agreement.
Keep you safe
We will…
- Respect your privacy
- Only enter your property when necessary, for example, for gas servicing works or room checks.
- Make you aware of the standards of behaviour that you can expect from us, and how you can raise any concerns
- Listen if you have any concerns or worries about your safety – we have dedicated staff who will fully investigate any concerns raised
- Undertake safety compliance works on gas, water, electrical, carbon monoxide, and fire safety
- Immediately report to statutory teams and police any suspected or actual abuse
- Complete robust checks, recruitment processes, induction and training for all new staff
- Establish clear expectations of the quality standards required in all our services
- Carry out quality audits on our services to ensure they are meeting our quality standards, and enable you to participate in this process as much as possible
- Protect the privacy of your information, and we comply with the principles set out in the UK General Data Protection Regulation Act 2021. We will ensure that any information you give to us is not misused and is in line with the guidance contained in the regulations
Keep you informed, listen to and engage with you
We will…
- Uphold your right to complain and provide feedback
- Provide you with opportunities to get involved and have your voice heard
- Engage the uniqueness, talents, beliefs, backgrounds, abilities and ways of working of all our colleagues and customers so that they fulfil their individual potential
- Actively seek your views through regular feedback surveys and targeted surveys, such as repairs and complaints satisfaction
- Creating environments and spaces that are conducive to providing and receiving support and achieving your goals
Provide safe and comfortable homes
We will…
- Provide homes that meet the government’s decent homes standards
- Provide you with a responsive repairs and maintenance service where we are responsible
- Ensure communal, estate and grounds are maintained to a good quality standard
- Not end your tenancy or licence agreement without notice
- Provide you with a quarterly rent statement
- Ensure that the needs of the customer are part of our planning for the management of health and safety within all of our work activities
- Keep you safe and ensure that all compliance activities are completed to the highest quality and standard
We expect you to:
- Pay your rent payment and service charges in full and on time. If you have any queries about your rent and/or service charges, or will have difficulty paying on time, please talk to your support worker or contact your Income & Accounts Officer
- Keep your home and communal spaces in good condition, and let us know about any disrepair or defects.
- Give us the opportunity to put things right by letting us know when there are problems
- Engage in your support
- Treat our staff, contractors and other tenants with respect
Paying your rent and service charge is an important part of living at one of our properties. It means that we can provide you with a place to live, and if you are a supported customer, that you are able to stay with us to receive the support you need.
Housing Benefit
Many Launchpad customers receive Housing Benefit, which will cover their rent. However, Housing Benefit will not pay for most service charges, for example, personal heating, light, or catered food. This means that our customers are responsible for paying their service charges themselves.
Customers who are not entitled to Housing Benefit may have to pay for their rent and all of their service charges themselves.
What happens if my full rent is not paid?
Paying your rent is not optional; it is a condition of your Tenancy or Licence agreement. If you do not pay your rent, you will be served with a notice to evict you, and you will lose your accommodation. If your full rent is not being paid either by you or Housing Benefit, then your account will go into arrears and you will owe money to Launchpad.
- You will receive a letter to remind you of your obligations to pay your rent under your Tenancy or Licence agreement, and you will be requested to clear the arrears
- You will be given a short time to sort out your Housing Benefit claim or pay off the money you owe.
- If your arrears continue to increase, then you will
receive a further 2 letters reminding you to pay us the money you owe. You may also be requested to attend an appointment to discuss your arrears - You will be given the opportunity to agree to a payment plan in order to reduce your arrears.
- If your arrears continue to increase through
non-payment or a failure to take actions to put your benefits in place, then you will be served with a Notice to evict you. The type of notice will depend on your agreement. - When the notice expires, you must hand back your keys and leave. If you do not leave on the date your notice expires, then Launchpad will either change the locks if you have a Licence agreement or will apply to court in order to obtain a court order and a bailiff warrant. If you are in rent arrears, you should have received letters from Launchpad – please do contact us so that we can talk to you about the arrears
How to pay your rent
Cash payments
You can visit the Launchpad office at Ajilon House where a member of the Housing Team can take your cash payment and provide you with a receipt.
Standing Order
You can complete a standing order form and hand it to your bank. This can be set up on any day or frequency so that it aligns with payments that you receive. Payments will then be sent from your account and credited to your rent account.
Bacs payment
This is another name for bank transfer. You can transfer money from your bank account straight to Launchpad’s bank account.
Help with arrears and benefits
If you are struggling to pay your rent or service charges, please contact your Income Officer on 0118 950 7656, option 3.
Anti-social behaviour is acting in a way that causes or is likely to cause alarm or distress to one or more people not in the same household.
Anti-social behaviour and harassment can have a significant effect on communities and individuals. It is very important that we work with everyone living in the communities where we operate to ensure that all our residents feel safe.
The prevention and appropriate handling of anti-social behaviour is a key factor in Launchpad meeting your expectation that we provide you with a safe and comfortable home environment.
How you can report ASB
If you would like to report ASB, you can:
- Email housing@launchpadreading.org.uk
- Reporting it to your support worker or any other member of staff at your service, either verbally, by telephone call, or email. You can also raise concerns during resident/house meetings
- Via an authorised advocate or external support person
- Report it to any member of the Housing management team on 0118 950 7656, option 3.
- Pop in or write to us at Launchpad, Ajilon House, 1st floor, 28 Friar Street, RG1 1DP (next to Nando’s on Friar Street)
Anyone who feels they are in immediate danger should call 999 immediately.
Categories of Anti-social Behaviour
Category B: No immediate threat
Anti-social behaviour where there is no immediate threat to the complainant or others. Examples might include, but are not limited to:
- Noise Nuisance
- Verbal Abuse
- Alcohol related
- Drugs / substance misuse
- Garden Nuisance
- Litter / Rubbish / Fly-tipping
- Misuse of communal areas
- Nuisance from vehicles
- Pets and animal nuisance
- Vandalism and damage to property
For anti-social behaviour where there is no immediate threat, we aim to arrange and carry out an interview with the complainant within five working days of receipt of the complaint. Interviews can take place in person, by phone or virtually.
Category A: Very serious
Most serious or urgent types of anti-social behaviour. Examples might include, but are not limited to:
- Harassment, Intimidation or threats
- Other hate crime
- Criminal behaviour
- Drug dealing
- Domestic violence
- Arson or attempted arson
- Physical Violence
- Sex working or sexual acts
For very serious anti-social behaviour, we aim to arrange and carry out an interview with the complainant within one working day of receipt of the report of anti-social behaviour, which will either be by phone or in person
We reserve the right to gather information in any way suitable.
Feedback
A key part of our commitment to improving service quality is taking feedback on board. We really want to hear from you about:
- when we have done something well
- a compliment about our services or colleagues
- a suggestion about how we could improve a service, procedure or process
- constructive criticism that you may not wish to formalise as a complaint
We also love to hear when you have received excellent service. This helps us to recognise where we are doing particularly well so we can share this with our other services. If you feel that a particular staff member or team has gone above and beyond, let us know so we can celebrate that with them.
Complaints
At Launchpad, we always aim to provide the best possible service for our tenants and customers but we recognise that sometimes things can go wrong. When this happens we will try to put them right as soon as possible. If you would like to make a complaint, please email us at – complaints@launchpadreading.org.uk
What is a complaint?
A complaint is defined as any expression of dissatisfaction, however made, about the standard of service, actions or lack of action by the organisation, its own staff or those acting on its behalf, affecting an individual customer or group of customers.
Anyone can submit a complaint. All complaints, including complaints submitted by a third party or representative, will be managed in line within our policy.
- Failure to provide a good service relating to support, accommodation (owned or managed by us) or housing services or safety
- The behaviour or conduct of staff, volunteers or contractors working on behalf of Launchpad, including neglect or abuse
- Concerns or legal claims raised regarding disrepair, including damp and mould
- Delays in responding to enquiries and requests
- Poor treatment by a staff member or a contractor
- Failure to follow policy and procedures
- Poor quality of repairs, maintenance, gardening, cleaning or ground works; or delays
- A disagreement with decisions made by us in the course of our work, which the complainant feels are unfair or unclear to them
We aim to resolve all complaints promptly wherever possible. This could mean an on-the-spot apology and explanation if something has clearly gone wrong, and immediate action to resolve the problem. Where we can’t resolve a complaint immediately, we will investigate under our complaints procedure.
What isn’t a complaint?
The following matters will not be considered as a complaint:
- The issue occurred more than 12 months before a complaint was made unless there is a pattern of concern
- A request for a service
- A report of anti-social behaviour – which will be managed in line with our Anti-Social Behaviour Policy
- Raising a safeguarding concern – which will be managed in line with our Safeguarding Policy and/or Incident Reporting Policy
- Complaints made by employees – which will be managed in line with our Grievance Policy
- Complaints relating to another organisation (unless this relates to our contractors or others working on our behalf)
- Appeals against warnings, notices to quit or evictions
- Legal proceedings that have started, such as the Claim Form and Particulars of Claim, have been filed at court
Who can make a complaint?
- Our customers – people who are supported by Launchpad staff or who live in a home where we are the landlord
- Family members, carers, or advocates supporting a customer
- People who are affected by a service we provide (e.g. neighbours)
- Local Councillors and MPs on behalf of our customers, tenants and members of the public
What happens when you make a complaint?
When dealing with your complaint, we will always listen to you, treat you with respect and ask you what outcome you would like. Complaints are dealt with by our team in two possible stages.
- All complaints will be acknowledged within five working days of receipt. Stage one complaints will be investigated and a written outcome provided within ten working days of the complaint being acknowledged
- Stage two complaints will be investigated and a written outcome provided within twenty working days of the complaint being acknowledged
If you require a repair or maintenance at your home, you should report this to the housing team on the contact details below or via your supported housing officer. When the repair is raised you will be provided with a timescale for completion of the works. On occasion, where our dedicated caretakers are unable to fulfil the repair, we will arrange for an external contractor to do so.
We will put the safety of our customers and staff before anything else and where there is a need for an emergency repair, we will attend within 24 hours.
What is an emergency repair?
An emergency repair is something that could cause danger to your health and safety, or serious damage to property. Examples include:
- severe roof leaks
- loss of electrical power
- loss of heating where no other form of heating is available
- loss of hot water
- burst pipes
- blocked drains
For emergency repairs outside of office hours, phone the out-of-hours service on 07493 783 918
Emergency call-out contractors will normally make the fault safe. We will then make a full repair during normal working hours, or when the necessary parts are available.
Urgent repairs will be investigated and completed within 5 working days. These are repairs which
are not classed as emergency but would result in a loss of a basic facility or where further damage will be caused if the problem is not dealt with.
For all other routine repairs that are not classed as urgent, these will be investigated and completed within 20 working days. Some repairs may take longer due to their complexity and cost. Where this is the case, we will explain what we are doing to resolve the issue and agree an appropriate time scale. We may have to make temporary repairs whilst we plan for longer term improvements.
You are responsible for some repairs and maintenance of your home and may be recharged costs to repair or replace items. This list is not exhaustive but can include:
- Replacing light bulbs
- Maintaining any external area you are responsible for
- Any repairs caused by neglect, deliberate damage and forced entry if you get locked out.
- Changing locks if your keys are lost
- Regaining access to your property should you forget your keys when leaving home
- Repairing or removing any damage due to vandalism
- Keeping the sink and drains free from blockages
- Any fitting, appliance or alteration you have installed or made without appropriate consent
- Keeping your home free from vermin
- Any items which have been damaged deliberately or carelessly, such as blinds, curtain rails or any appliance or item of furniture that Launchpad has provided you
Contact us
Or you can visit us at our office, we're at Ajilon House, 1st floor, 28 Friar Street, RG1 1DP (near Nando’s). We are open on Monday to Thursday 9am – 5pm and Friday 9am – 4.30pm.
Alternatively, you can email the team on housing@launchpadreading.org.uk