On 14 March, the UK Government launched the ‘Homes for Ukrainians’ website where people can record their interest in providing a home to Ukrainian refugees.
The Scottish Government has proposed to become ‘super sponsors’ to allow up to 3,000 Ukrainians to come to Scotland as part of the first wave of refugees fleeing the war. Once people arrive, they will be accommodated temporarily and then people will be matched to longer term accommodation, which will include the offers of rooms from members of the public. Any person who registers through the government scheme must be able to offer a spare room for at least six months and potentially even longer. All applicants will be vetted, as will all the Ukrainian nationals. Those households that are able to receive a refugee will be offered £350 a month. If you are thinking of registering for the scheme to host a Ukrainian family, please remember that you will need our permission to take in lodgers. You will need to fill in a lodger application form. Please get in touch with us if you'd like to fill one in. Once we receive your form, we will contact you to discuss your request. If you move people into your home without prior agreement from ourselves, your tenancy may be at risk because you will be in breach of your agreement. If you want to know more about taking in a lodger before applying, please get in touch. Further information and links The following links may be useful to direct Ukrainians to for more general information about the response from the UK: If you want to donate financially to support people directly affected by the invasion of Ukraine, here are some organisations you can donate to:
0 Comments
Like so many others, we closed our office doors and asked our staff to work from home, as instructed by the Scottish Government around 2 years ago. Our staff worked tirelessly to ensure the services and support each of you required was given during this difficult time.
We are now in a position to start returning to the offices and we will be following a hybrid model, which means that eligible staff will split their time working at home and in the office. We will continue to follow Scottish Government guidance regarding isolation and other safety measures to make sure that our staff and customers are kept as safe as possible. From 4th April, our offices will reopen to the public. However, we encourage you to make an appointment rather than popping in, as the person you need to speak to may be working from home or visiting another tenant in their home. Making an appointment guarantees that they will be available to speak to you. As a reminder, you can contact us by: Covid-19 safety measures Please do not visit our offices if you have Covid-19, are a close contact of someone who has tested positive or are generally unwell. Please wear a face covering (unless you are exempt), use the hand sanitiser provided, keep your distance from our staff and take a lateral flow test before visiting (while they remain free). If you contract Covid-19 after visiting our offices, please let us know so that we can inform our staff. We've become members of Circular Communities Scotland, which gives us access to a thriving network of charities and social enterprises that supports Scotland's circular economy.
Unsure of what a circular economy is? Find out more here: https://www.circularcommunities.scot/.../circular-economy/ Cairn Housing Group has been awarded a grant of £264,920 from the Scottish Government’s Social Housing Fuel Support Fund.
The Group, which consists of Cairn Housing Association, Ancho, and commercial subsidiary Cairn Living, will reach out to families with children aged 19 and under who are currently in fuel poverty with a one-off £140 payment, plus an additional £10 per child. Working in partnership with the Wise Group’s Home Energy Advice Team (HEAT), the Cairn Housing Group will also provide energy advice and assistance, ensuring a holistic approach is given to vulnerable tenants. Jason MacGilp, Group Chief Executive, said: “We are delighted to have secured this funding. Our tenancy sustainment team has seen a significant increase in the number of tenants contacting us for energy advice in recent months and the funding will go some way to alleviate the financial pressure that our tenants are currently under.” Jim Percival, HEAT Project Lead, said: “Our HEAT service is aimed to ensure that every customer we assist is able to have a level of comfort in their home at an affordable cost. Our HEAT Advisors will allocate funding support on behalf of the Cairn Housing Group and provide advice and information to assist the household to resolve any energy related issue or concern. With the forthcoming energy price increases, there has never been a more important time for households to be able to manage their energy usage and costs.” In October we asked tenants in our email newsletter how equality, diversity and inclusion could be better at Ancho.
We received 11 responses. What do you think Ancho needs to do to become a more diverse, equal and inclusive organisation to tenants and other customers?
Conclusion We received some great responses to this complex question so a huge thanks to tenants for taking the time to give us their thoughts on this topic. As a result of your feedback, we are going to:
Except where you have caused the damage, we are responsible for the majority of repairs to your home. Did you know that you have responsibility for carrying out certain repairs though?
If the repair is your responsibility you can either get a contractor in to do the work yourself, or get us to carry out the work for you and we will send you the invoice to pay for the work. We call this a rechargeable repair. When you report a repair, we will let you know whether it is a rechargeable repair and how much the work is likely to cost. Common examples of rechargeable repairs are:
You can find more information on our repair responsibilities and yours in your Tenant Handbook. We’re here for more than your housing needs, and can help you look after you and your family’s wellbeing too. One of the ways we can do that is through providing a comprehensive welfare benefits advice service. The service will help to maximise your household income by identifying any unclaimed benefits and, where necessary, assisting you through the application process.
This service is now being provided by our new Welfare Benefits Advisor, Paul Pearson. This is an important service for our customers just now as many of you are facing pressures brought about by recent changes and reductions in the benefits system. Prior to starting employment with Ancho Paul worked for over 30 years at an advice centre in Glasgow. His work included setting up and running advice surgeries at a variety of housing associations across the Glasgow area and beyond. We are keen to offer the opportunity of providing benefit checks to all of our customers to ensure that all possible entitlements are maximised with a view to giving our customers the best way forward in trying to alleviate the financial impact of Covid and benefit changes. An initial check should take no more than 15 minutes of your time and can be carried out by telephone or Microsoft Teams. If you would like us to carry out a benefits check for you or anyone in your household please contact us by emailing mail@ancho.co.uk or by calling 01294 313121. As Christmas approaches, we understand that it may be challenging for you to manage your money.
Many people feel pressured to spend more at this time of year than their budget allows. Rent arrears can escalate quickly and be difficult to pay off. Debt problems can quickly spiral out of control and that’s why it’s important to prioritise your spending to help prevent longer term problems happening in the future. Please remember to pay your rent first. If you are having difficulty paying your rent then don’t worry. We are here for you. If you are worried about your rent, let’s talk. The sooner you speak to us the quicker we can help you get back on track. For all the different ways you can pay your rent, please click here. Every year we review how much rent you pay. We look at the money spent over the past year and calculate how much we will need to invest in our homes and run our services for the coming year, whilst making sure our rent remains affordable.
This year, our Board are proposing a rent increase based on the September 2021 rate of inflation Consumer Price Index (CPI) of 3.1%. In July 2018 Ancho tenants voted overwhelmingly in favour of a new partnership with Cairn Housing Association. Increasing rents by 3.1% allows us to keep our promise made in the Rent Guarantee to increase rents by CPI only for the first five years, and deliver the accelerated investment commitments made in our partnership promises. 2021 has been an incredibly challenging year. If you are experiencing financial problems then your Housing Officer is here to help. The sooner we know, the sooner we can help. Please get in touch. To have your say on the rent proposal, please email mail@ancho.co.uk or send us your comments through our feedback form. You can also call us on 01294 313121, or submit feedback through your My Ancho account. If you wish to give us feedback then please do so by 23 December 2021. The Board will be meeting in January to look at your feedback to the rent review and make a final decision. We will write to all tenants to let them know the outcome. We will provide at least 28 days’ notice before the new rent is applied on 1 April 2022. Many thanks to all the tenants who took the time to respond to our recent survey on the future of the repairs service. We received 678 responses from Cairn and Ancho tenants with lots of good feedback on what is important to you and your preferences and priorities for reporting and receiving the repairs service. Some highlights of the feedback include:
This feedback also highlights that many tenants do not have regular access to the internet or digital devices and this is something we are keen to understand, to make sure we provide accessible services, understand potential barriers, and provide support where we can. Over the next few weeks, we will continue to review all the feedback and this will be used to help inform our service planning and identify further areas for exploration. Over 200 tenants said you would like to hear about opportunities for further involvement in the future of the repairs service, and the feedback here provides a very good starting point. Over the next few months we will be getting back in touch with all those who expressed an interest to look at ways to get involved – this could include one-off focus groups or workshop sessions, Q&A sessions with the team or other ways of getting involved that suit your needs. Thank you again to all those who took the time to share your thoughts. |
What can you do online? | Request a Repair | Make a Payment | Apply for Housing | We Care, Please Share | Report Antisocial Behaviour | Contact Us |
Contact UsAncho
Sovereign House, Academy Road, Irvine, KA12 8RL |
Opening hoursMonday to Friday, 9am - 4pm
The office is open to visitors on Monday and Thursday, 9am - 4pm. Please contact us to make an appointment if you'd like to see a member of staff outwith our office opening times, or call or email anytime. |
Company InformationRegistered Society under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014
No 2559R(S) Scottish Housing Regulator No 306 Recognised as a Scottish Charity No SC036082 Registered property factor PF000346 |