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Dear Tenants,
We’re delighted to bring you the Tenant newsletter, created just for Sandwell Council tenants. You’ll find updates on housing services and how to get involved in shaping the future of your neighbourhood.
Our ambition is to make sure all our tenants live in good quality and safe homes. We know we have not always lived up to the standards we want to meet and will keep you informed as we work to make improvements as quickly as possible.
Thank you for being an important part of the Sandwell community — we’re proud to work alongside you to make our borough a great place to live.
With thanks,
Cllr Vicki Smith, Cabinet Member for Housing
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Repairs
We are committed to responding to all repairs within the agreed service standards. Whilst we prioritise those jobs that are a risk to health and safety, we previously identified a backlog of routine repairs in November 2024 and are committed to putting this right. We recognise the impact that delays to more routine repairs can have on you, our tenants.
To help us to complete this backlog of repairs in your homes we have secured a new contractor, Seddon Construction Ltd, to help us to work through this backlog at pace.
We continue to look at ways to improve the service to successfully deliver all new repairs within timescales and to the required quality.
If you have been advised your repairs are part of the backlog, Seddon Construction Ltd will be contacting you directly within the coming weeks to book the repairs.
You can find out how to report a repair in our online Tenants' Handbook.
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Keeping your home safe
To help us plan for ongoing investment into your homes, we are continuing to carry out stock condition surveys to ensure the condition of your home is known. We are on track to complete these assessments on all council homes by December 2026.
We have also secured support to help us carry out our cyclical compliance checks on asbestos and electrical safety to ensure the continued safety of you in your homes.
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Can we help you?
Miss K is a mum with three children who recently moved into her new home.
The Welfare Rights team supported Miss K by completing a check to ensure that the property was affordable. They identified that Miss K was only claiming the lower rate disabled child element in her Universal Credit and she was entitled to more. Miss K is now receiving an additional £340 per month and has received more than £8000 in backdated payments.
Get in touch with the Welfare Rights team today to check you are getting the right benefits for you.
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Debt and Benefits Advice in Sandwell
Help us improve the service we provide by filling out our quick survey. Your feedback will help us make sure the service we provide is of good quality, easy to access, and works for you.
The survey is open until Friday 20 June.
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Get involved
To help us further improve our housing services for you, you can help us by:
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Reporting issues straight away: If you have outstanding repairs or notice new issues, please report them as soon as possible so we can address them promptly.
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Staying informed: Keep up-to-date with our progress and any changes that may affect you by regularly checking our communications. You can also request our communications in different formats through the Sandwell Council website.
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Tenant and Leaseholder Scrutiny Group
Sandwell Council are recruiting tenants and leaseholders to sit on the scrutiny group to be part of Sandwell housing services improvement journey.
If you are passionate about your neighbourhood and can represent the interests of fellow tenants and leaseholders, get in touch.
If you are interested in applying or want further information, email: Comm_Partnerships@sandwell.gov.uk or call 0121 569 2537.
Induction and training will be provided if you are successful.
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Our promise to you
We are committed to making the improvements needed to ensure that all Sandwell Council’s tenants live in good quality and safe homes. We understand the importance of your home to your well-being and the work we need to do to build your trust in our housing services.
Thank you for your patience and feedback as we undertake these improvements.
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