Severn Vale Housing Society

Surveys

Since I last wrote to you, we have surveyed all affected properties and identified the scope of work needed to each. Consequently, we have asked a number of contractors to price and will be reviewing that information on Monday 13th August with a view to starting on site as quickly as possible.

Obviously we cannot work on all properties at the same time and so we will group them and prioritise the work depending on the number of contractors available and the needs of customers. I will be able to give you more information next week.

Temporary Accommodation During Works

We have been in touch with a firm which specialises in providing caravans/mobile homes in circumstances like this. We have identified those customers who have requested temporary accommodation close to their homes and will be visiting sites next week to work out the best way of placing these.

Rent Payment

You will remember from the advice leaflet we originally produced that the normal rent is payable if you live in your home or are in temporary accommodation e.g. another SVHS property, caravan, living with family/friends.

We will not charge you for the temporary accommodation we provide but for those people living with friends or family, we will pay a reasonable total boarding charge of £70 per week. If you wish to claim this allowance, please complete and return the enclosed application form.

We have discussed the position regarding payment of Housing Benefit with Tewkesbury Borough Council who will continue to pay on your original property whether you are living there or not. This is to make administration simple, to avoid affected customers having to complete additional claim forms and minimise the chance of mistakes being made in respect of payments.

Please continue to pay your rent in the normal way. Direct debit payments will be processed as usual.

Yours sincerely,

H. R. Aldridge

Executive Director