Our responsibilities

We will deal with nuisance caused by abandoned and illegal vehicles for the benefit of all tenants and the wider community. These vehicles are often in an unsafe condition and may pose a health and safety risk. They can also be a target for vandalism.

Vehicle manufacturers are responsible for providing the last owners of a vehicle with a free 'take-back' service.

The UK’s two main authorised treatment facilities (ATF) providers are:

• Cartakeback
• Silverlake 

These organisations have been set up to make sure that a vehicle is disposed of in a responsible and lawful way, and that all necessary paperwork is completed. To qualify for this service the vehicle must have its engine, coachwork, transmission, catalytic converter (if fitted) and wheels, and must not contain any rubbish.

If you have any large items of furniture, such as beds, fridges or wardrobes that you want to get rid of you should contact your local council to arrange for them to collect it. Most local authorities offer either a free or low-cost bulk-refuse removal service.

Do not use shared areas of your property for storing personal items. If we find personal belongings stored in shared areas we will write to you to give notice that we will remove these items as they may be a hazard if there is a fire.

We will:

• Remove all abandoned bulk refuse and give priority to refuse that may be a fire hazard
• Add the costs of removing the refuse to the overall cost of your service charge unless we are able to find out who is responsible for dumping the refuse (if we are able to identify the person responsible, we will charge them the full cost of removing the refuse, and an administration fee)
• Normally take photographic evidence when arranging to clear abandoned bulk refuse.

Hastoe staff will visit regularly to check the quality of the cleaning work of our contractors. We will often take photographs as part of this inspection, particularly if we want to draw our estate staff or contractors’ attention to areas that need further attention.

We will:

• Make sure that we have an appropriate arrangement in place for a contractor to carry out this work
• Treat you and your home (including any shared areas and gardens) with respect at all times
• Visit regularly to clean shared areas 
• Leave a notice in the shared areas detailing exactly what work the cleaners should be carrying out and how often, with space for the cleaner to sign and date when they have carried out the work.

We will carry out estate inspections to:

• Identify repairs that need to be done in shared areas
• Make sure that there are no health and safety issues
• Generally make sure that the area is being looked after and cleaned to a satisfactory standard.

These inspections will be carried out at least annually.

We will work with the local authority and other agencies to sort out any issues beyond our control.

We always aim to provide you with instructions to all fitted appliances in your home, particularly your heating. If your home is not new the previous tenant may have left these behind. You may find it useful to keep these with the manual for future reference.

We have a number of garages that are available to let to our tenants and non-residents. There is usually a waiting list and priority will be given to our tenants. Your garage should only be used to store a vehicle unless we give you written permission to store other things in it.

Where we have responsibility for maintaining communal gardens we will:

• Mow any lawn areas regularly and keep them at an appropriate height during the growing season
• Make sure that any flowerbeds are planted with shrubs that are appropriate to the local environment and that will not normally need extra watering to grow well
• Remove or treat weeds on paths and other paved areas with an approved weedkiller
• Clear leaves from paths and paved areas during the autumn months to reduce the risk of slips and falls
• Prune hedges to keep them at an appropriate height and to stop branches from blocking footpaths
• Check for and remove litter on each visit.

We will remove offensive or obscene graffiti within 24 hours of being told about it and seven days for all other graffiti.

We are responsible for carrying out a number of repairs both inside and outside of your home, as required. These include those to the structure of your home, facilities in shared areas, the water and gas pipes, the heating and hot water system, and the power.

There are some repairs and small jobs to your home that, under the terms of your tenancy agreement, you are responsible for.

Before you contact us about a repair, please check whether you are responsible for the repair and ensure you have familiarised yourself with our repairs process.

Our repairs responsibilities