Housing service standards | Service standards

The terms ‘you’ and ‘your’ means the customer. The terms ‘we,’ ‘our’ and ‘us’ means Norwich City Council.

Service standards for our landlord services

Our overall responsibilities as a landlord

We will:

Allocate homes fairly to those who are in greatest need of social housing.
Provide safe, well maintained and good quality homes.
Regularly inspect and assess the condition of our homes to plan future investment and ensure they remain safe, decent, and energy efficient.
Provide support for you to maintain your tenancy and to live independently in your home as long as possible.
Engage with relevant parties (such as the Police and County Council) so that you can live in safe and well-maintained neighbourhoods.
Treat you fairly and with respect.
Provide information about our services that is easy to find and clear to understand and make reasonable adjustments based on your communication needs.
Publish our policies so you can see what we can and cannot do and why.
Listen to your feedback and take appropriate action.
Provide a wide range of ways for you to influence service delivery.
Provide you with information about our tenant satisfaction and landlord performance so you can hold us to account.
Take your complaints seriously and deal with them promptly and fairly.

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Your home

We will:

Provide a home that is well-maintained, warm and safe to live in.
Invest in your home so it meets or exceeds the Decent Homes Standard.
Increase the efficiency of your home through insulation and renewable technologies.

Our commitment to you:

Treat you and your home with respect whenever we need to visit or carry out work.
Complete repairs to a high standard, and ensure your home is left clean, and tidy.
Provide clear updates on the progress of your repair and let you know if there are any delays or changes to your appointment.
Consider your individual circumstances, including any health conditions, disabilities or communication needs, when responding to repairs and make reasonable adjustments to ensure the service is appropriate for you.
Attend emergency repairs within 24 hours, including those related to damp, mould or other significant hazards mould where there is an imminent risk of harm.
Attend urgent repairs within 5 working days.
Attend routine repairs within 60 working days.
Take prompt action to investigate and fix serious hazards in your home, including damp and mould , .
Investigate reports of damp, mould or other significant hazards within 10 working days of being made aware.
Provide a written summary of findings within 3 working days of the inspection.
Begin repairs within 5 working days of the inspection if the issue poses a health risk.
Offer a convenient appointment for non-emergency repairs.
Complete required safety checks in your home, including gas safety, electrical installation, fire risk assessment, water hygiene (legionella), asbestos surveys and lift inspections.
Ensure homes are clean, secure, and ready to move into.
Provide clear information about planned maintenance and improvement works.
Carry out upgrades to keep your home at a decent standard and improve energy efficiency.
Carry out stock condition surveys every 5 years to check the overall condition of your home and plan future improvements.
Ensure empty homes are re-let within appropriate timescales.
Pay compensation in line with legislation for home-loss, disturbance and disrepair.

Our expectations of you:

Look after your home and report repairs to us promptly.
Keep appointments relating to your home or let us know if you can’t.
Allow access when we need to carry out a safety check or complete a stock condition survey of your home.
Cover the costs of rechargeable repairs that are your responsibility
Ask us permission if you would like to make any improvements to your home.

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Your tenancy

We will:

Provide you with information about your tenancy rights and responsibilities .
Give you clear advice and support on tenancy-related matters.
Promote a mutual exchange scheme where you can swap your home with another tenant.
Offer support to help you sustain your tenancy.

Our commitment to you:

Treat you and your household fairly and with respect whenever we contact or need to visit you.
Consult with you on any proposed changes to your tenancy or significant changes to the services we deliver.
Consider the diverse needs of our tenants generally when designing homes and services, and individually when delivering services to you.
Keep your information and data secure and use it only for the purposes it has been collected in compliance with our Data Protection Policy .
Offer you tailored support to help sustain your tenancy based on your individual circumstances.
Process mutual exchange applications within 42 days of receiving all required information. You won’t need to move within this time.
Provide information in various languages and formats as needed.
Ensure that our staff are trained to support vulnerable individuals and respond appropriately to complex needs.

Our expectations of you:

Provide us with contact information, so we can reach you quickly, especially in an emergency and update us if this information changes.
Provide us with information on who lives in your home, including any changes to household members or occupancy, which helps us keep you and others safe.
Tell us if you or anyone in your household has a disability, health condition, vulnerability or needs support with communication, so we can make reasonable adjustments and provide services in a way that works best for you. Let us know if your needs change.
Keep appointments relating to your tenancy or let us know if you can’t .
Keep to the terms of your tenancy agreement.
Engage with us constructively and honestly.
Engage with us if you’re struggling to manage your tenancy.
Work with us to complete reasonable requests to benefit both you and your neighbours.

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Money matters

We will:

Provide a home that is affordable.
Provide you with information about your rent and any other charges.
Give you advice and support to help you manage your money.

Our commitment to you:

Provide different payment methods so you can pay your rent and any other charges in a way that suits you.
Contact you early if you fall into arrears and offer support, including access to money advice and budgeting services to help you manage your payments and debt.
Treat financial difficulties with empathy and discretion.
Provide clear breakdowns of charges annually.
We will provide rent statements on request and offer online access to your rent account.

Our expectations of you:

Pay your rent and service charges on time.
Engage with us if you are struggling to pay your rent or any other charges.
We encourage you to make use of support if it’s offered.

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Your community

We will:

Keep your neighbourhood safe, clean and well cared for.
Give help, advice and support for antisocial behaviour, domestic abuse, hate crime and hate incidents.
Work with partners (Police, County Council, voluntary sector) to promote safe and inclusive neighbourhoods.
Offer advice and support to empower you to get involved in your neighbourhood and community.

Our commitment to you:

Conduct inspections of estates to identify and resolve issues.
Provide a caretaking service within certain blocks and areas within the city.
Respond to all reports of antisocial behaviour within 5 working days, and the most serious incidences, including hate crime within 2 working days and keep you informed of any action.
Attend reports of offensive graffiti within 24 hours to remove it.
Remove non-offensive graffiti within 14 days of it being reported.
Collect needles and sharps within 2 hours of receiving a report.
Investigate and remove fly-tipping within 48 hours of it being reported.
Support community initiatives and resident-led projects.

Our expectations of you:

Show kindness and respect to your neighbours and the community you live in.
Report any issues that you might be experiencing in your neighbourhood or home.

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Your health and wellbeing

We will:

Provide clear information to help you access support that is specific to your situation and your needs.

Our commitment to you:

Respect your privacy and dignity.
Work with health, social care and voluntary and community sector partners to help you access support to meet your health, wellbeing and housing needs.
Offer minor adaptations and equipment to help you live independently and safely in your home.
Deliver both minor and major adaptations within the timescales set out in our Aids and Adaptations policy, using a risk matrix to prioritise cases based on urgency and complexity.

Our expectations of you:

Provide us with information about your health and well-being so we can tailor our services to better meet your needs.
We encourage you to make use of support if it’s offered.

Related information

Service standards for leaseholders

Service standards for our leaseholders

We will:

Maintain the structure, internal communal spaces and exterior of your property.
Provide you with information about your leaseholder rights and responsibilities.
Provide you with information about your service charges.

Our commitment to you:

Treat you and your property with respect whenever we need to carry out work.
Attend emergency repairs that we are responsible for within 24 hours.
Attend urgent repairs that we are responsible for within 5 working days.
Attend routine repairs that we are responsible for within 60 working days.
Offer a convenient appointment for non-emergency repairs where access to your property is required.
Consult with you on matters relating to major works to improve your property (unless the works are emergency)
Provide you with an annual service charge statement that details what costs we have incurred in relation to your property, block and estate and what you owe us.
Provide different payment methods so you can pay your service charges in a way that suits you.
Resolve any disputes or enquiries you may have with your service charges or repairs to your property, including referral to independent experts where appropriate.
Process your right to buy application in accordance with sta tutory timescales.

Our expectations of you:

Report repairs to us that we are responsible for.
Let us know if you sublet your property and provide the occupiers contact details so we can contact them if we need to, for example if a leak is reported which may be coming from their home.
Ask us permission if you would like to make improvements to your home.
Pay your service charges and major works charges when they are due or engage with us to make a payment plan.

Related information

Service standards for Housing Options

Service standards for your housing options

We will:

Listen and treat you fairly and with respect.
Give advice and support about the housing options available to you.
Publish our policies so you can see what we can and cannot do and why.
Take your complaints seriously and deal with them promptly and fairly.
Act in a fair, consistent and transparent manner.

Our commitment to you:

Ensure equal and open access to the Housing advice service .
Provide information on applying for social housing that is clear and easy to understand.
Process Home Options applications within 30 days where all supporting documentation is provided.
Allocate properties in accordance with the Home Options policy, ensuring fairness and consistency for all applicants.
Complete all Home Options banding and medical review requests within 56 days.
Provide information in various languages and formats as needed.
Ensure that our staff are trained to support vulnerable individuals and respond appropriately to complex needs.
Listen to your needs and provide clear and realistic advice from a specialist at first point of contact.
Meet our statutory duties with regards to the prevention and relief of homelessness, dealing with domestic abuse and the allocation of social housing in Norwich.
Speak to you on the same day if you are homeless .
Speak to you on the next working day if you are facing homelessness within 56 days.
Provide an out of office service for those in housing crisis.
Work to relevant legislation, timeframes and government guidance.
Let you know about your right to a review if you are unhappy with a decision we have made.

Our expectations of you:

Treat our officers with respect.
Be honest with the information you provide.
Provide any information requested in a timely manner.
Keep your contact and household details up-to-date while you are on the housing register.

Related information

Published date: 12 November 2025
Review date: 12 November 2026