News for our tenants

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The Tenant Perception Survey is now open for 25-26!

Please take a couple of minutes to share your views in our Tenant Perception Survey – your feedback is valuable and will help us to shape and improve our future services.

The Tenant Satisfaction Measures have been introduced to drive up standards and improve the quality of social housing by ensuring housing providers are accountable for the services delivered to customers. 12 of the 22 measures come directly from our customer feedback obtained through tenant perception surveys.

We're top 10 for energy efficient social housing!

We're pleased to share that Oadby & Wigston Borough Council is one of the top ten local authorities in England and Wales ranked by Energy Efficiency Score for social housing according to Uswitch !

Wigston resident Jim Welby at his bungalow with the solar panels installed

The new research ranks the UK’s top local authorities for energy-efficient social housing, highlighting the areas leading the way in sustainability and affordability for tenants.

One way which we have achieved this is through utilising £580,000 of government funding from the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF).

Using the fund we have teamed up with Broad Oak Properties to deliver improvements to council-owned sheltered bungalows, including the installation of solar panels and loft and cavity wall insulation, helping to keep tenants warm while reducing their energy bills and consumption.

Complaints and Housing Ombudsman

You may have cause to complain to the council about the landlord services you have received from us. Every complaint is valuable to us as an organisation as it allows us to reflect on the delivery of our service and, where needed, to make relevant improvements.

You can make a compliment, comment, or complaint by contacting our Customer Services Team by:

• Phone: 0116 288 8961
• Email: csc@oadby-wigston.gov.uk
• In Person: You can view our reception opening hours here: 
• Letter: Oadby and Wigston Borough Council, Brocks Hill Council Offices, Washbrook Lane, Oadby, Leicester, LE2 5JJ

However, having gone through the complaint process you may still be dissatisfied with this response that you have received. You may want to contact the Housing Ombudsman Service. This is a free and impartial dispute resolution service that investigates complaints from residents and leaseholders of member landlords (housing associations and local authorities), as well as for voluntary members (private landlords and letting agents).

You can contact the Housing Ombudsman Service at:

Housing Ombudsman Service, PO Box 152, Liverpool, L33 7WQ

By phone: 0300 111 3000

By email: info@housing-ombudsman.org.uk

On their website

Complaints and Lessons Learnt

We recognise that for us to improve the services we provide, we must listen to our tenants and learn from the complaints we receive. The Housing Management team met earlier this year to review the complaints we have resolved so far this year.

Here are some of the actions we are taking as a direct result of complaints we have received:

• Ensure we provide a clear apology in our complaint response
• Ensure we maintain accurate records on our systems
• Ensure we maintain regular communication, and that this is clear and proportionate to the issues raised
• Ensure we regularly review our policies and procedures
• Ensure our staff undertake regular and/or refresher training.

Chartwell House Gardening Club

Spring is in the air, so out comes the Chartwell House Gardening Club!

This is the second year the club has got together and planted vegetables to share throughout the block - they hope to achieve the same bumper crop of tomatoes and coriander again.

The group is led by Vanessa, Angela (Pictured on a tea break) and Linda, and the caretaker helps where he can with digging etc. Well done team - and good luck with this year’s crops!

Mobile CCTV cameras and fly tipping

GAP Property Services - Repairs update

Damp and mould

The Housing Team is dedicated to helping and supporting tenants with damp, mould and condensation related queries and issues, and we commission very experienced and qualified contractors and surveyors to use in more complex cases where we’re struggling to identify the cause of damp or mould – making sure that no case is left unresolved.

How to report damp and mould

If you see signs of damp and mould in your home, get in touch by:

• Calling Customer Services on 0116 288 8691
• Making a report online
• Emailing repairsadmin@oadby-wigston.gov.uk

We are committed to helping you reduce and remove issues of damp and mould in your home.

Stock condition surveys are now complete

Over the last ten months the Housing Team in partnership with Impart Links have been carrying out a survey of the housing stock.

A stock condition survey is a visual inspection of the fixtures and fittings in your home, such as kitchens, bathrooms, windows, doors, heating systems and electrics, and the information we have gained will help us plan any future maintenance.

The stock condition survey is also important for identifying hazards or risks associated with your home and building, ensuring your safety.

We are now reviewing this information and preparing a business plan that will show how, where and when we will carry out improvements works to your home. We will be sharing this information with the Tenant and Leaseholder Group in May 2025 and then making this available on our website shortly afterwards.

Complete surveys included:

• Component renewal information
• Tenant safeguarding
• Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS)
• Any obvious repair issues
• Trees within striking distance of properties

New window cleaning contractor

Migration to Universal Credit

The Department of Work and Pension (DWP) plan to move all the remaining legacy benefit claimants to Universal Credit by the end of March 2026, with the DWP contacting all the remaining claimants by December 2025.

If you currently claim one of the following legacy benefits, you will be asked to move to Universal Credit:

• Income Support
• Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• Child Tax Credit
• Working Tax Credit
• Housing Benefit

If you have not already moved to Universal Credit, you will receive a Migration Notice Letter, which will advise Universal Credit is replacing your existing benefits. It will confirm when you need to claim by, for example, 1 May 2025. Failure to comply will result in your benefits stopping. Other Benefits will continue to exist, such as:

• Carer’s Allowance
• Disability Living Allowance
• Child Benefit
• Council Tax Reductions

There are three ways in which you can move onto Universal Credit:

1. Your circumstances change
2. The DWP ask you to move
3. You volunteer to claim because you think you will be better off.

New Air Quality Monitoring Station for Wigston

Lettings and Homelessness update

The number of households who live in the borough and who have become homeless in the last 12 months has risen to its highest number recorded. The Housing Options team are working hard to support families to secure temporary and permanent accommodation. Our biggest priority is to ensure that families are not placed into B&B accommodation for any longer than is necessary.

Between 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025, 36 properties became available for re-letting. Below is a breakdown of the bedroom size of these 36 properties:

• 16 x 1 bed sheltered accommodation
• 3 x 2 bed sheltered accommodation
• 6 x 1 bed general needs accommodation
• 5 x 2 bed general needs accommodation
• 6 x 3 bed general needs accommodation

Key policy updates and implementation

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