Neighbourhood Block Caretaking Standards

Bolton at home provides a Caretaking Service for blocks of flat estates, and sheltered accommodation with shared communal areas. This leaflet is to advise you of the new Caretaking standards being introduced to blocks of flats.

As part of continued efforts to improve services, we have introduced caretaking standards for the communal areas of blocks. These communal areas include:

• Entrance areas
• Stairs
• Lifts
• Gardens / grassed areas
• Drying Areas
• Paths within the boundary of the flats
• Communal windows

Neighbourhood Caretaking Services – services that matter

The service provided in flats is essential in helping to create and maintain clean, attractive and safe places for you to live.

Communal areas will be kept:

• Clean and tidy
• Safe and secure
• Well kept
• Easily accessible
• Fit for people to enjoy

In blocks of flats Bolton at Home will:

1. Ensure communal areas, where a Caretaking Service is in place, are regularly cleaned and maintained to Bolton at Home’s defined standards.
2. Review all caretaking processes and rotas annually with Neighbourhood Panels, to ensure standards are maintained.
3. Make certain the service is properly monitored by Bolton at Home officers, regular reality checks are undertaken by Customer Inspectors and recorded complaints are monitored and improvements put in place. All information will be shared with you, via the notice boards in your blocks, and be reported to the relevant Directorate of Bolton at Home.
4. Ensure that all offensive graffiti is removed within 24 hours of notification and other graffiti removed within 1 week of notification.
5. Carry out walkabouts with residents, Housing Officers and Caretaking Staff on a quarterly basis to check standards and feedback results to customers and service users
6. Ensure that all communal repairs are carried out within the published timescales and monitored by the local Neighbourhood Office

How Bolton at Home will keep to the standards:

We will monitor our performance against these standards by:

• Asking you, and other tenants, what you think about the service
• Regularly inspecting estates with local tenants’ representatives

Participation

You can work with Bolton at Home Officers, tenants, Customer Inspectors and other service providers in your area by getting involved with the review or by getting involved with the neighbourhood reality checks.

Where to find information

• Publish the results in Bolton at Home’s Opening Doors
• Display this information in Neighbourhood Offices

Contact us

Caretakers’ contact numbers and hours of duty are posted up on notice boards in your block. Alternatively, contact your local Neighbourhood Office

Comments, Compliments and Complaints

If you would like more information, or have any suggestion about how we can improve the Caretaking Service, please contact 01204 335765.

You can write to:

Best Practice and Performance Team
Bolton at Home,
FREEPOST BL5 206F

Or email:
housing.complaints@boltonathome.org.uk

Useful links

Feedback form
Neighbourhood Offices