On 18th May the government published a letter to all social housing residents, giving an update on the various guidance it has published in recent weeks and setting out the changes it sees landlords like CHS making as lock-down measures slowly begin to be eased. The letter is general to all social housing providers, and CHS is handling a few things slightly differently, for example:

  • CHS and its contractors are continuing to follow Government guidelines in delivering repairs and maintenance services in your home as set out in the attached letter. CHS recognises that this is a very difficult time for all customers, and in particular those who are self-isolating or shielded. We have therefore decided on a slightly different approach to gas safety checks where customers are shielded. Close to the expiry date, we will discuss the situation with you, explaining the risks of not carrying out the check and the safety measures that will be taken by our contractors if they are allowed access. If you are shielding and still not comfortable with allowing our contractors into your home, we will ask you to confirm that you understand the risk of the gas safety check being delayed, and arrange an appointment for this check to be carried out as soon as the shielding period has ended.
  • As the lockdown is starting to ease, you should report any repairs that are outstanding to Foster or Gasway, so that appointments can be booked with you. If your situation changes nearer to the appointment time – you or a member of your household is self-isolating or have been advised to be shielded – please let our contractors know so that the appointment can be re-arranged. You can call these contractors directly on 0300 111 3555 (option 1 for Gasway; 2 for Foster), or by Live Chat or via the customer portal (MyCHS);
  • If any major works are due in your home, such as a kitchen replacement, we will be contacting you in the next four to six weeks as it becomes clearer how such works can be delivered. It is likely that these types of works will take longer than usual due to the required social distancing measures, and it is important that customers are comfortable with this potential disruption in these very difficult times.
  • For the moment we are still not completing mutual exchanges, we will review our approach to this in the coming weeks.  

Government letter to social housing residents