what you should expect from us

CDS Co-operatives aims to provide residents and others with the best possible service at all times. Our customer service standards set out the standard of service you can expect to receive. The standards apply equally to our own tenants, members of independent housing co-operatives, owners of properties to which CDS provides a management service and to anyone else who makes use of our services.

Below is a summary of our customer service standards, to download the full document click here

Contacting CDS - we will

• be polite and courteous when speaking to residents in person or on the telephone and will treat our customers and others with dignity and respect;
• be open for telephone calls and office appointments from 9.00 am to5.30 pm Monday to Friday except on bank holidays;
• answer telephone calls within 12 seconds;
• introduce ourselves by name when we answer the telephone or meet residents;
• show an identification card when visiting residents in their homes;
• return voicemail messages by the end of the next working day;

• arrange for an interpreter from Language Line to assist residents who do not speak English as a first language;
• write in plain English;
• respond to letters and e-mails within seven days.  If it is not possible to provide a full response within seven days, we will write to you to explain how long it will take to provide a full response;
• make an appointment for you to visit our offices to speak to someone by the end of the next working day;
• see you straight away when you visit our offices, although you may have to wait a short while to speak to a particular member of staff; and
• arrange to visit you the same day or the following working day about urgent matters. For less urgent problems, we will arrange a home visit within two weeks.

Informing and consulting - we will

• carry out regular surveys to establish residents’ views on the quality of our services;
• consult you about any significant changes to our policies and on any other changes which may affect you as a resident;
• consult you about any major repairs or improvements we plan to carry out to your home or estate and, wherever possible, give you a choice of colours and fittings;
• make copies of all our policies, procedures and other standard documents available on request through the helpdesk and on the internet;
• translate key documents on request  for residents who do not read English as their first language; and
• produce a newsletter at least three times each year and send it to every resident. 

Working towards equality - we will

• not discriminate because of age, disability, gender, race, religion or sexual orientation;
• give you access to all the information we hold about you on your tenancy file and computer systems. If you want to see your records, we will make you an appointment within seven days; and
• not tolerate the use of foul or abusive language, inappropriate comments about disability, comments of a racist, sexist, homophobic or ageist nature, or harassment of other residents or of our staff or contractors.

Confidentiality – we will

• keep all the information we hold about you strictly confidential and only disclose information to competent authorities, such as the police and local council, who have a legal right to this information.

Putting things right – we will

• respond to complaints about our services within 14 days. If it is not possible to provide a full response straight away because we need more time to carry out an investigation, we will write to you acknowledging your complaint and tell you how long it will be before we can provide a full reply;
• offer you compensation if we have made a mistake which has cost you money or seriously inconvenienced you; and
• employ a tenant auditor to provide an independent perspective on the quality of our services and to advise residents who are dissatisfied with the service.

Paying your rent or service charge – we will

• send you a rent or service charge statement four times a year.  If you want an additional rent or service charge statement, we will send you one within seven days;

• provide you with an annual service charge account which explains how your service charges have been spent;
• supply a rent payment card within seven days of your request;
• send you a receipt for postal payments (cheques and postal orders) within seven days; and
• give you advice on how to pay your rent and how to claim welfare benefits.

Moving home – we will

• process your completed transfer or housing application form and write to you with a decision within 21 days;
• give every new tenant a sign-up pack containing their tenancy agreement, our tenants’ handbook and other useful information;
• offer assistance with applying for housing benefit; and
• offer to visit every new tenant within six weeks of moving in to check that they have settled into their new home and to offer any necessary support and advice.

Maintaining your home - we will

• provide safe, secure, efficiently heated and weatherproof homes with modern kitchens and bathrooms;
• offer an emergency repair service 24 hours a day, seven days a week;

• give you the job reference number, the deadline for completing the work and contact details for the contractor;

• complete emergency repairs within 24 hours, urgent repairs within seven days and routine repairs within 28 days;

• require our contractors to contact you to make an appointment before visiting to carry out any repairs you have requested; and

• require that our contractors provide identification and respect you and your home.

Managing our estates - we will

• inspect each of the estates we manage on a regular basis to make sure that common areas are clean, tidy, well maintained and safe to use;

• remove offensive graffiti from common areas by the end of the next working day and other graffiti within five days; and

• remove bulk refuse dumped on our estates within seven days.

Right to buy - we will

• send you a receipt within one week of receiving your completed notice claiming the right to buy (RTB1 notice);

• send you an offer notice (section 125 notice) within eight weeks if you are buying a freehold property and within 12 weeks if you are buying a leasehold property; and

• respond within one calendar month if we receive an initial notice of delay (RTB6 notice).

Value for money - we will

• offer residents value for money. We will regularly review the costs of providing our services and tell you how well we have performed compared to other similar landlords.

If you are dissatisfied about any aspect of our services, we would like you to let us know.  Please write to our housing services manager, Maria McCarron, at CDS Co-operatives, FREEPOST SW140, London SE1 1EP or email maria.mccarron@cds.coop