FAQs

Everyday activities are not classed as anti-social behaviour or prohibited conduct. Examples include:

• Flushing toilets
• Cooking smells
• People smoking in their own home
• People talking at normal volume in their home
• Washing machines or other household appliances
• Babies crying or playing or children playing or arguing
• Riding skateboards or bikes
• Playing football in the street
• People being inconsiderate or thoughtless
• People looking or staring
• Cats straying into other gardens

Your responsibilities are set out in your Contract written statement of terms. It sets out what is Anti-social behaviour and Prohibited Conduct. It also sets out the steps that MHA can take if you breach the contract. This may include legal action, depending on the nature of the conduct.

Our Neighbourhood Team and Community Safety Team work towards preventing ASB and domestic abuse by informing tenants and residents of what they can do to avoid causing ASB and what to do if they encounter ASB or domestic abuse. We also support victims of domestic abuse and ASB and work with perpetrators to help them change their behaviour.

When you tell us about anti-social behaviour we will ask you what happened and will help you as quickly as we can.

We will:

• Talk to you about the problem and who was there
• Talk about what we can do next
• Talk about what you can do next If the person responsible for anti-social behaviour lives in one of our homes
• Do what we can to find out what happened
• Talk to you and anybody else who saw what happened
• If the problem carries on, we will ask you to keep a diary about when the anti-social behaviour happens

If we check your complaint and find there was anti-social behaviour we can:

• Talk to you and the other person
• Work with them to change their behaviour
• Go to court to get an order to make them stop
• If the person doing anti-social behaviour does not live in one of our homes we will take direct action ourselves if we can

We categorise anti-social behaviour as either ‘Urgent’ or ‘Nuisance’.

In line with our service standards, if you make a complaint that we categorise as ‘Urgent’ anti-social behaviour such as: physical assaults, serious criminal behaviour, and domestic violence or hate crimes. We will contact you within ONE working day.

If you make a complaint that we categorise as ‘Nuisance’ anti-social behaviour such as: non-physical abuse, noise nuisance, youth nuisance, selling or using  drugs illegally, loud music, offensive drunkenness, dog barking and fouling, bonfires, burning of rubbish, fly tipping or littering we will contact you within FIVE working days.

MHA takes the confidentiality of anyone reporting anti-social behaviour very seriously. This means that any information, written or verbal, will be held in confidence and treated with the utmost care. We will investigate anonymous complaints where possible. However, we will not be able to provide feedback to the complainant nor will we be able to gain further information and this is likely to limit what action we can take.

Whilst we will do everything possible to protect your identity you need to consider that if you are making a complaint about a neighbour regarding an incident that only you could have witnessed, then they may know that it is you who has made the complaint.

You should also be aware that if you go to court and you have provided a witness statement, a copy of this will be provided to the alleged perpetrator.

To resolve anti-social behaviour we will not move either the complainant or the perpetrator unless there are exceptional circumstances. We will work with all parties to resolve the nuisance behaviour. Tenants can still apply for a move in the usual way by registering with the Monmouthshire Homesearch team.

Our aim is to act to put a stop to anti-social behaviour. All MHA contracts have terms on Anti-social behaviour and Prohibited conduct. If the contract-holder breaches these terms, MHA can apply to the court for possession of the property, followed by eviction proceedings. A judge will make the decision whether to award a Possession Order based on the evidence given at court. Taking someone’s home from them by eviction is the strongest possible action that we could take and is used only as a very last resort. We will only do this once all others means of stopping ASB have been unsuccessful.

We will advise, support and assist anyone who is associated with one of our Homes and who is in fear of, or actually suffering from domestic abuse. We work with partner agencies to offer help and support for anyone, regardless of gender, suffering from domestic abuse. All complainants and witnesses will be offered support throughout the investigation and will be dealt with in a confidential and sensitive manner. Read our Domestic Abuse Policy for more information.

If we have contacted you to discuss anti-social behaviour following a complaint that has been made about you, please do not ignore it. Contact us as soon as possible to discuss the matter; it is important that we understand both sides of the story. If you are causing anti-social behaviour and you do not engage with us to deal with this, MHA may have to consider taking enforcement action against you.

You must make good and reinstate your home and garden to its original condition. For more information about moving out and what’s expected please see our Ending Your Tenancy Booklet

Failure to leave your home in an acceptable condition will result in you being charged.

Lithium-ion batteries or li-ion batteries (sometimes called LIBs) are the lightweight, rechargeable batteries that power our phones, laptops and cameras. They’re found in many electrical devices from mobility scooters to e-cigarettes, and are used safely by millions of people every day. However, there are some things you need to know when it comes to fire safety, chargers and batteries.

Source: London Fire Brigade

-Always either use the charger that came with your phone, tablet, e-cigarette or mobile device. Or, purchase a charger from a reputable shop.
-Don’t leave items continuously on charge after the charge cycle is complete – it’s best not to leave your phone plugged in overnight for example.
-Do not cover chargers or charging devices – that includes using your laptop power lead in bed.
-When you travel, avoid keeping all your items containing lithium iron batteries together, especially on a plane. Check with your flight carrier for additional information or advice.

Source: London Fire Brigade 

Do your research

If you need to purchase a replacement, always choose a branded, reputable product from a supplier you can trust. There are many counterfeits on the market, it can be difficult to spot the difference. Scrutinize the packaging, does it look fake? Is it from a reputable shop/supplier.

Too good to be true?

The cost – if it looks cheap and too good to be true, then it probably is. Look for the product’s manufacturing information.

Stay informed

Check the end of the connector cable, does it resemble the original cable?

Know what to do

When in doubt, don’t test it!

Don’t be tempted to try a DIY fix such as electrical tape – always replace worn or old electrical items such as faulty leads and extensions. If an electrical item is worn or old, it can present a fire risk. Your safety is a priority!

Garage

MHA Tenant – £6.15 = 2 weeks upfront and monthly direct debit
Private Residents- £7.68 = 3 months upfront and quarterly direct Debit

Carport

MHA – £2.05 = 2 weeks upfront and monthly direct debit
Private home owners – £2.46 = 3 months upfront and quarterly direct debit

You can either complete an application form on-line here

Or we can send you an application form in the post and return in the pre-paid envelope provided.
Please contact Alisa Price on 01495 761010 or email neighbourhoods@monmouthshirehousing.co.uk

We will contact you within 3 working days of receiving your application.

Tenants have first priority for MHA garages and they are let on first come first served basis.  If there are no tenants waiting for a garage in your area you will then be offered one depending on your position on the waiting list.

You do not need to contact us once you are registered as we will monitor the availability of garages in your area.

If you miss our call, we will try and phone you on two further occasions, if there is no response we will allocate the garage to the next person on the waiting list.  It’s important that you give us an up to date number when you register.

Yes, you can rent more than one garage at a time, depending on the availability and demand of garages within your area

If you would like to end your tenancy please write to us with your reasons why. You will be required to give 1 weeks’ notice in writing and to clear contents of the garage before the notice expires, you will also be requires to pay any outstanding charges before the tenancy ends.

Existing tenants qualify if you are:

• Up to date with their rent and are not in breach of their tenancy.
• Have received no housing benefit or universal credit housing element in the last 12 months
• Living in a property that was built after 21 January 2008

General applicants qualify if you are:

• 18 and over and are a British or EU citizen or have indefinite leave to remain in the UK.
• Not in serious debt (including gambling debt).
• Unable to buy a home in Monmouthshire on the open market
• Able to get a mortgage and cover the costs of buying your home (including solicitors fees, land registry fees and mortgage arrangement fees – see a full list of what you might be expected to pay below)
• Don’t already own or part own a property
• Not going to live anywhere else – the property must be your sole place of residence

Going to buy with no more than three other people

Shared ownership means that you will own a percentage of the property while a landlord will own the remaining part. This means that you will rent the part owned by the landlord.

Shared equity or equity share means that we will provide you with a loan for a percentage of the property. You will own 100% of your home and you will only need to repay the loan when you sell the property.

As long as your debts are not more than 15% of your income after deductions we can accept you. We will also consider your debt circumstances on an individual basis if you can demonstrate that you can budget to manage your repayments. Remember that certain properties may also carry a maintenance charge to cover communal garden maintenance or cleaning and you will need to include these costs in your budgets.

You may be able to buy your home if it was built after January 2008. Contact us to enquire if your home is eligible for Homebuy.

We take your household earnings into account, including the proceeds of any previous property sale if appropriate. This figure is multiplied by 3.8 for single applicants and 3.5 for joint applicants. The amount should be above the purchase price – with the equity amount included – and below the full market price for the property.

This is determined by the type of property and the need within the area. This is set by Monmouthshire County Council and we will advertise what equity share is available on each property listing.

• Mortgage arrangement fees (dependent upon your lender)
• Solicitors’ fees (these may be a percentage of the value of the property)
• Land Registration fees
• Land Transaction Tax (Stamp Duty): (currently exempt on properties under £180,000; 3.5% of the property value for properties between £180,000 – £250,000 and 5% for properties from £250,000 to £400,000) Check how much you’d pay here: https://gov.wales/land-transaction-tax-calculator
• Removal costs
• Valuation fees (this may not apply to new build properties or if you are a tenant buying their existing home)
• Reservation fee: will be deducted from the price paid for the property

Yes, if you are in the process of selling your existing home. Remember you will need to include the proceeds of the sale in your income.

Yes. The Welsh Government can also offer a low cost loan on new build properties. Help To Buy gives people the chance to buy a new home with only 5% deposit. This scheme applies to most new build properties and most developers will offer it on their home, including Capsel.

Remember that the scheme offers a repayment loan. This loan will attract interest and after five years you will be expected to repay the interest. If your circumstances change and you’re able to pay more, you can pay extra off the entire loan and own more of your property (known as staircasing). You can find out how the scheme works and check your eligibility here: https://gov.wales/help-buy-wales

You will need to request permission to replace the windows in your flat, this is normally granted providing that the replacement windows are in keeping with the other windows in the block and that they are FENSA certified.

You can extend your lease, a full guide to this process is currently being written and will be available on the website soon.

Communal cleaning is currently carried out fortnightly, to find out when you next clean is due, please follow the link to the cleaning schedule on the website. https://www.monmouthshirehousing.co.uk/communal-cleaning-schedule/ 

You will have to request permission in writing to make any structural alterations to your flat, following which an inspection will be undertaken prior to a decision being made on the alterations.

Our leases allow for leaseholders or their tenants to keep pets provided they do not cause a nuisance to other residents.

Leaseholders do have the right to manage the block they live in. The right must be exercised through a specific company, set up by the leaseholders for that purpose.  The company must comply as required by the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002. This is called ‘collective enfranchisement’. The landlord will make available information relating to the right to collective enfranchisement to any leaseholder requiring it.

Possibly, MHA will consider buying back flats depending on the circumstances, location, price, etc. If you purchased your flat from another leaseholder (i.e. not MCC or MHA) you can sell your flat at any time. We would, however, request that your solicitor contacts us to advise us of the sale and that you settle any outstanding service charges before proceeding.

LEASE, the Leasehold Advisory Service, is funded by Government to provide free legal advice to leaseholders, landlords and others on the law affecting residential leasehold. LEASE advisers are solicitors or non-practising barristers who can provide advice by telephone, letter or e-mail.

The LEASE website can be found here: https://www.lease-advice.org/

This depends on the type of business. Each case would have to be considered on it’s own merits.

The cleaning schedule is available on MHA’s website and is searchable by postcode. Our current cleaning contractor does not provide the day which cleaning is carried out, but the week commencing date for each property. The schedule can be found here:

https://www.monmouthshirehousing.co.uk/communal-cleaning-schedule/ 

The new leaseholder pack is found on the MHA website in the leaseholder section under useful information.

https://www.monmouthshirehousing.co.uk/leaseholders/

If you would like to receive a hard copy of the pack, please let us know and we will arrange for a copy to be sent to you.

Yes, You must have written consent from MHA before you move. The person you are exchanging with will also need written consent from their landlord. To request consent email consent@monmouthshirehousing.co.uk or call us.

MHA will reasonably consider requests to transfer a Contract. We will consider if it is reasonable to refuse/accept the request. We can consider a range of issues including if there are or have been any breaches of your Contract i.e. is your rent account up to date or do you have a court order. The property you wish to exchange to must be appropriate for your household size and needs.

You should only transfer your Contract if you are sure you want to do so. Once you sign to transfer your home, it’s legally binding.

You can visit the HomeSwapper website at https://www.homeswapper.co.uk/ or call 0345 677 2277.

You can contact the Homesearch team by;
Phone: 0345 900 2956
Email: homesearch@monmouthshirehousing.co.uk
Website: http://www.monmouthshirehomesearch.co.uk/choice/home.aspx

You will need to ask us for consent in writing. You can do this by emailing us at consent@monmouthshirehousing.co.uk or by Post: Monmouthshire Housing, Nant-Y-Pia House, Mamhilad Technology Park, Mamhilad, Pontypool, Monmouthshire, NP4 0JJ
If you need support, give us a call.

If we need more information from you to look the request, we’ll ask for this within 14 days. For example we may ask you to fill out a form or to provide evidence or specifications.

Once we have all the information that we need, we will let you within 1 month of the outcome of your request.

Our decision could be Yes, No or Yes with conditions.

We can help and support you if you are worried or finding it hard to keep up with your rent payments.  Please contact us immediately on 0345 677 2277 and ask to speak to your Income Officer to discuss your options.  Failure to pay your rent could result in legal action, but by working together we can make sure this is the last resort.

If you pay your rent weekly, the annual total of your rent is divided into 50 equal weekly payments.

If you pay your rent monthly by direct debit, the annual total of your rent is divided into 12 monthly payments. When setting up your direct debit, unless you make alternative arrangements with your Income Officer any outstanding arrears will be divided over the year and added to your overall monthly payments.

We are unable to discuss rent accounts or balances with anyone other than the account holder unless you have set up an agreed password or have given us permission to do so.

Every tenant is entitled to a two week rent-free period. However if you pay by monthly direct debit your payments will continue as normal. This is because your payments are divided into 12 monthly payments and already accounts for the rent free weeks.

Rent free periods are generally before Christmas for all tenants. However over this period you will still be expected to continue to pay off any arrears as agreed with your Income Officer.

Rent should be paid at least one week in advance on the Monday of each week. You can also pay in advance of every two or four weeks.

Unlike Housing Benefit, the housing element of Universal Credit is no longer paid directly to us. Instead the housing element is paid to you and is included in your Universal Credit payment and you will be responsible for paying your rent to us. For more help please contact your Income Officer.

• Change in employment status e.g.) go from working over 16 hours to under 16 hours.
• The birth of a child
• A change of address that requires a new claim for Housing Benefit
• Relationship changes in a household e.g.)a partner leaving or joining the household
• Child of lone parent, who is out of work, reaches the age of 5
• Stopped full time education
• Take on or stop full time caring responsibilities
• Attend court/jury service
• Remanded in custody.
• Move from out of work to sick or sick to out of work
• Move from sick to working more than 16 hours

If any of your circumstances change call us!

Set up an online Universal Credit account and make claim online. Claims can only be made online at https://www.gov.uk/universal-credit. Once your claim has been set up you will need to verify your identity, attend a job centre interview and sign claimant commitment.

• Internet access – All UC claims have to be made and managed online.
• Email address
• A bank account – monthly payments will go into a nominated bank account.
• Key information eg. Email address, National Insurance Number, proof of nationality, housing details, employer details, details of benefits currently being received, details about income or earnings, bank details and valid ID.

Universal Credit will only be backdated for a maximum of one month in exceptional circumstances. If someone loses their job (and they think they’re entitled to claim universal credit), they need to claim straight-away.

Payments are monthly. However you will have to wait for up to 5 weeks to receive your first payment. If you live with someone as a couple, and are both entitled to claim UC, you will get one monthly joint payment paid into a single bank account.

Yes! Instead of Housing benefit getting paid directly to your landlord, it will now be part of your monthly UC allowance. You will be responsible for ensuring your rent is paid. To pay your rent click here.

No, this needs to be requested separately, as Council Tax Reduction please contact Monmouthshire County Council on 0800 282569 (free phone).

The Claimant Commitment is your record of the responsibilities that you have accepted in return for receiving Universal Credit. It sets out what you have agreed to do to, prepare for and look for work or, increase your earnings if you are already working. You will need to log into your account to update you commitment called the “journal”, showing how you have prepared for getting a job or finding work. This may be linked to your Universal Job-match account.

If you have a health condition or disability which stops you from working your commitment will be tailored to your needs.

If you don’t meet your responsibilities or do what you’ve agreed in your Claimant Commitment, your Universal Credit payments could be stopped or reduced – this is called a sanction and depending on the circumstances can last up to three years.

If you think you have been sanctioned unfairly you can appeal the decision with the DWP. You can get support from the Money Wise team at MHA to help you if you have been sanctioned.

There is lots of support available to help you through your claim. Here are a new of the different places you can go if you need help or advice about Universal Credit.

• Monmouthshire Housing Association – Speak to the Money Wise Team or your Income Officer on 0345 677 2277.
• Free Universal Credit Helpline – If you need help with your claim, call the Universal Credit helpline free on 0800 328 5644. Calls to the helpline are free and support is available Monday to Friday 8am – 6pm (closed on bank and public holidays).
• Online support – Online support can be found at https://www.gov.uk/universal-credit or https://www.understandinguniversalcredit.gov.uk/

Recently there have been changes for those approaching pension age.  If you are reaching pension age over the next 12 months and are unsure of what this means for you and your benefits please call  0345 677 2277 to speak to one of our Money and Benefits Advisers.