Manage Your Home
Manage Your Home
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Welcome to your New Home
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Tuath Housing is very happy to welcome you to your new home. There are many things to remember when you get your keys and are moving into your new home. This is just a small outline of some of the main things to remember and what to do next.
What next?
-Spilt your keys, give a spare key to your next of kin. Make copies if required. We do not hold any spare keys to your property so if your keys get lost during move in you will have to have the locks changed, this can be costly.
-Visit or call your local Community Welfare Officers (CWO that covers the area where your new home is) and seek the information required for the CWO to be able to assess your application for assistance with flooring, blinds and furniture.
-Gas & Electricity accounts- set these up in your own name. Failure to do so can result in supplies being cut off or terminated and the cost to have these reconnected can be expensive. Proof of this change over should be provided to you Housing Services Co-ordinator.
-Set up your bin collection, where applicable.
-Insurance, purchasing home contents insurance cover is recommended on your belongings including flooring etc.
-Address, change your correspondence address from your old address to your new home address – Medical appointments, GP, Social Welfare Office, Banks etc.
Redirecting post – An Post’s redirection service will ensure that your mail is forwarded to your new address. This service is generally offered for periods of 3, 6 and 12 months, but you can extend it for up to 2 years. Download the application form (pdf) or get one at any post office. You will need to provide proof of your identity and evidence of your old address and pay the appropriate fee. https://www.anpost.com/Post-Parcels/Manage-Your-Post/Arrange-Redirection
Important things to remember
Flooring and appliance installation – ensure the contractors who are providing the fitting services for flooring and appliances are fully insured and qualified to do so. Unqualified contractors could incorrectly fit items which may lead to major leaks and severe damage to new flooring.
Lifts – do not overload lifts when moving in as some lifts will go out of service, they can also go out of service when there is something placed in the door to hold them open. Please advise any delivery drivers of this also.
Bins – if you live in an apartment and your bins are included it is important to remember packaging from large appliances should be removed by the delivery drivers. Offcuts of wood, carpet flooring should not be put into bins and should be disposed of in recycling centres, similarly if you have household goods you no longer want please dispose and recycle these. These should not be placed in bin sheds, fines can be imposed for leaving items like these in bin sheds (Tv, sofa, beds, mattress, kettles, toasters, baby baths, buggies etc.)
Heating – your Housing Services Co-ordinator may of given you a manual if available, if they have not it can be useful to check online or check our repairs section on the Tuath website www.tuathhousing.ie, look up the make and model of control panels, storage heaters etc. as there are multiple video user guides online to make this easier.
TV- most developments to not permit any satellite dishes of any kind or size. If you are thinking of getting sky television please ask your Housing Services Co-ordinator. Other TV suppliers may need access to locked areas in apartment blocks. Please arrange access to these with your Housing Services Co-ordinator to avoid damage on doors, 24 hours’ notice is normally required.
Parking – Please only park in an allocated space and always use a parking permit if these are applicable to your scheme. Ensure your visitors also abide to this and only use visitor spaces. Similarly, if you have a driveway ensure visitors do not park on the pathway or cause an obstruction with their parking.
Bikes – Please use the space provided to store bicycles e.g. a designated bicycle shed. Do not leave items in communal hallways, stairs, landing or on green areas. If you live in a house, secure these items in your rear garden.
Access Codes/Fobs – Please do not share your access code to your block with anyone outside of your household. This compromises the security of the block for you and other residents. The code should not be given to children. Fobs may have to be ordered from a Management Company so if you require additional or a replacement please keep this in mind, it may take some time to receive a replacement and there is also an additional cost involved in replacement.
Repairs – Please check the repairs section of our Tenant Handbook, this gives a comprehensive breakdown of all repairs.
Enjoy your new home, if you have any queries please visit our website www.tuathhousing.ie, consult your Tenant handbook or phone our office to speak to your Housing Services Co-ordinator. Please click on the link for all our office contact details. https://www.tuathhousing.ie/contact/
Keep in touch – when you are settled in why not find out how you can get involved in tenant engagement. For the most up to date tenant information, competitions, activities and events please like our Tuath Housing Facebook page facebook.com/TuathHousingAssociationLtd
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Choosing your Energy Provider
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Tenants are required to select an energy provider for electricity and/or gas when a tenancy agreement has been signed. A tenancy letting checklist will be provided in your tenancy pack and will include details of your MPRN & GPRN numbers and also the meter reads for your property. These details will be required by your new energy provider in order to set up an account in your name.It is important to set up an account with an energy provider immediately after signing your lease agreement even though you may not be moving into your property straight away. This will prevent a possible supply disconnection charge by the utility’s supplier.
Picking the right gas and electricity deal could save you considerable amounts of money each year so it’s worth doing your research and shopping around for the best possible package before you commit yourself to a particular provider. Some comparable energy providers websites can be found below
https://switcher.ie/gas-electricity/guides/energy-prices/compare-energy-prices/
http://www.moneyguideireland.com/electricity-prices
Estimated meter readings can get your usage completely wrong. To find out if your bill is estimated, look for ‘estimate’ or an ‘e’ written next to the number of units you’ve used. If your supplier has estimated your bill, take your own meter reading and give it to your energy supplier – they’ll send you a new, correct bill.Some providers offer better deals if you choose a dual fuel package therefore it is important to compare suppliers to get the best unit price. Some of the main energy suppliers in Ireland are –
Board Gais, – 01 611 01 51
Electric Ireland – 01 852 9534
SSE Airtricity -1850818110
Energia – 1850 300 700
Pre-Pay Power – 1800 910 310
Panda Power – 01 829 8989
Flo Gas – 041 987 4874
Pinergy – 0818 363 749Types of Meters
There are a number of different types of meters available, there will be one meter which will be applicable to your property –
1/ Standard Meter Read – Make a note of the number, reading from left to right. Please ignore the figures in red or surrounded by a red box.
2/ Day Night Meter – You’ll find that these meters may have numbers ‘1’ and ‘2’ or the Roman numerals ‘I’ and ‘II’ beside each register referring to Night and Day respectively.
The night charges apply between 11 p.m. and 8.a.m. (wintertime) and between midnight and 9.a.m. (summertime).
3/ Electronic Meter – To take a meter read, you will need to press 9 on the keypad and your meter usage will then be shown.
4/ Pre-Pay Meter – To check your balance, press 111 on the keypad. Press the number 2 button to check how much electricity you have used in the previous few days and button 1 shows how much credit you have left
5/ Gas Meter Read – Make a note of the number, reading from left to right. Please ignore the figures in red or surrounded by a red box
Many suppliers offer great, usually, contract-length discounted rates and sign-up incentives to attract new customers with these discounted rates typically last for a period of 12 months. These discounts make for some significant savings on your energy bills therefore it’s important to shop around when your contract period lapses.
Please note: Should you wish to install a pay as you go electricity / gas meter, all removal charges of the meter will have to be paid by you the tenant should you wish to have it removed or if your tenancy ends.
90% of a washing machine’s energy expenditure is spent heating the water, so if you wash your clothes at 30-40°C you’re saving a significant amount of money.
A lot of electricity is used in lighting your home, but you can use less energy by investing in specific energy-saving lightbulbs, which are readily available. You won’t lose any light, and you’ll save money too.
LINKS ON DIFFERENT MONEY SAVING TIPS
https://www.moneyguideireland.com/top-money-saving-tips-for-2012.html
https://rollercoaster.ie/family/50-ways-to-save-money/
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Home Contents Insurance
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While Tuath Housing insures the property you are living in, you are responsible for insuring your own belongings. This insurance is called either “Contents Insurance” or “Renter’s Contents Insurance”.
If you are a long-term tenant, i.e. living in your Forever Home, everything inside the property is yours. If the property came with furnishings and appliances, these were gifted to you, so you own them.
An example (but not a complete list) of your home contents is:
- Appliances – fridge/freezer, washing machine, dishwasher, cooker/oven/hob
- Furniture
- Flooring – wooden, laminate, carpet etc.
- Clothing
Unfortunately, accidents and breakages do happen in the home: there could be a roof leak, a burst pipe causing a flood and even a fire. All of these can result in catastrophic damage to your belongings. Thankfully most things are replaceable and if you have contents insurance you won’t have to worry about the cost.
We advise all our tenants to look in to getting Contents Insurance as soon as they move into their new home. The most cost-effective way to buy insurance is online, as companies often give a discount when you sign up this way. If you don’t have internet access at home, your local library will have computers and internet.
There are several insurance companies servicing the Irish market and you should always compare a number of quotes to get the best value. An example of these are*:
Company Website Phone Number Allianz Insurance Allianz.ie/renters-insurance 01 448 4848 Chill Insurance Chill.ie/home-insurance 01 400 3400 Axa Axa.ie/home-insurance 1890 247 365 Zurich Zurich.ie/home-insurance 1890 400 300 *Tuath Housing is in no way affiliated with any insurance company
Contents insurance will cost on average €15 per month but could save you thousands.
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Pets in the Home
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There are many responsibilities that come with owning a pet and you need to ensure you can fulfil these before bringing a pet into your home. You need to remember that some animals can live up to 15 years meaning you will be responsible for that pet for 15 years. In order to keep some pets such as a dog, a licence is required. You will need to ensure that you have a valid licence at all times.
Rules and obligations;
- The rules around pets in the home is different in each scheme and therefore you MUST discuss bringing a pet into your home with your Housing Services Co-ordinator, they can advise if pets are allowed or not in your scheme.
- You will need to check your lease agreement. Most lease agreements will have clauses within it to state that:
-no tenant should keep any horses, poultry, pigs, large birds, reptiles or other animals (other than domestic pets which are not likely to create a nuisance or become a source of annoyance).
-Tenant should not engage in the breeding of any animal within their home.
-Tenant, if permitted to have a pet in the home, should ensure that the living space of the animal is sufficient.
-Tenant should keep pets under control at all times.
- It is also worth noting, that in many lease agreements, the “restricted breed of dogs” list will be outlined. These breeds of dogs are highly dangerous and not permitted at all. This list includes:
-American Pit Bull Terrier, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, English Pit Bull Terrier, Bull Mastiff, Doberman Pinscher, German Shepherd, Rhodesian Ridgeback, Rottweiler, Japanese Akita, Japanese Tosa and crossbreeds.
Being a responsible pet owner
- Tuath tenants live in both houses and apartments and with each of these come with different responsibilities.
- When living in a house you will need to ensure that:
-your garden is secure and that your pet cannot escape in any way such as jumping a fence or digging under a back gate.
-your pet has adequate shelter within the back garden.
-you are regularly attending to the maintenance of your back garden e.g. regular clearing of fouling
- When living in an apartment complex you need to ensure that:
-you have you pet under control at all times.
-you take your pet out regularly to go to the toilet and ensure you are cleaning up after your pet.
-you ensure your pet has no means of escape from your apartment.
-you do no leave your pet on the balcony while you are not at home.
-your pet does not spend long periods of time on the balcony even if you are present.
-regular cleaning of cat litter trays to ensure that there are no foul smells within your apartment.
It is worth noting that if you have a balcony, you will need to mindful, there is often small gaps in the flooring of a balcony and if your pet urinates while out on the balcony this will drip down onto your neighbours balcony. This is why regular walks and visits outside are necessary and why we ask for your pet not to spend long period of times on the balcony.
Being a good neighbour with a pet
- Please bear in mind that not everybody may have the same love or tolerance for pets as you.
- Noise can often be an issue for people with pets, you may be used to the noise however your neighbours may not be.
- Please refer to your lease as there will be hours outlined such as 11pm – 8am where any noise is prohibited that would cause any annoyance to neighbours or any occupiers within the scheme in which you are living.
- Do not leave your pet alone for long periods of time whether living in a house or an apartment, if you are not there, you do not know what disturbance your pet may be causing.
- Please speak to your neighbours, advise them that you have pet and that if they are ever disturbed by any noise that your pet may be causing, to please come and speak to you in order for you both to resolve the issue.
If you are concerned about the welfare of any animal in any circumstances, you should contact the local dog warden.
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Response Period for Maintenance
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Emergency
Aim to have a contractor call out within 24 hours
There are very few repairs that would require this response. The tenant handbook outlines these as;
• uncontrollable major plumbing leaks.
• complete heating failure (in consistent and extreme cold weather).
• breakdown of lifts where Tuath manage the lift.
• where there is a possible risk of damage to buildings or injury to persons.
• gas leaks – in the first instance contact Gas Networks Ireland on 1850 20 50 50.We often find residents request emergency call out when it does not fall within the above criteria, along with this the time of year can have an impact on this call out. We have provided some examples below where a 24hour call out would not be required.
1. Loss of heating in the middle of the summer
2. Loss of hot water from gas system but has immersion system as an alternative
3. One radiator/storage heater not workingDuring colder winter months we can be overrun with heating failures and breakdowns. Our contractors communicate with us and advise of their work load as they are being instructed by 4 offices at any given time, this can often mean we have to prioritise complete loss of heating repair and some may be changed to urgent due to the volume of call outs required.
Urgent
Aim to have a contractor call out within 4 working days
Similar to Emergency repairs an urgent repair is a nonemergency that requires attention but is not deemed to be an emergency;
• insecure external windows.
• leaking roofs where it is safe for the contractor to repair and not impacted by high winds.
• blocked drains/sink (re-chargeable to tenants in some cases)
• Loss of heating (Summer)Usually, loss heating would also fall into these criteria during the warmer months of the year. Residents would be inclined to think most repairs would fall under this category however most will fall under routine.
Routine
Have a contractor call out within 28 days
Most repairs will fall under this category along with some estate repairs also. Some examples of repairs that will fall under this category are;
• easing doors and windows
• repair of internal door entry system handsets(Where Tuath is responsible)
• One radiator not heating
• Repairs to garden fencing- where these do not fall into planned belowIt is important to remember most repairs will fall into this category of repair, we understand you may feel your repairs requires a higher priority however we have strict criteria to adhere to for the processing of repairs. This means we can provide a more efficient service and insure the availability of our contractors in actual emergency situations.
Planned
Some non-urgent repairs may not be prioritised within the pre-described timescales and may be designated as planned work which will be completed under a planned maintenance programme. You will be advised of repairs which fall within this category.
• Planned annual boiler service
• Planned ventilation service
• Larger unit issue that must go through a process of tender to the public
• Scheme issues that mut go through a tender process
• Kitchen replacements
• Window cleaning to Tuath Managed Blocks where windows are not reachable
• Heating upgradeSome maintenance or difficulties a resident may be experiencing may have to go through a tender process in order to have the repair completed. This will often be managed by our Technical Department and is beyond the remit of the Housing Department.
Out of Hours (OOH)
Emergency issues only while our offices are closed.
Residents sometime report non-emergency issues to our OOH contractors. Theses will not be attended to by this service.
The only repairs a call out will be completed by for this service are:
• Complete loss of heating in adverse weather conditions
• Complete loss of hot and cold water
• Complete loss of electrics if it’s an individual issue and not a problem in the areaDid you know most of our emergency OOH calls are resolved over the phone with our contractors such as loss of electricity or water. Its also important if you are experiencing outages such as this to check in with your neighbours, we often have cases where Irish Water are completing maintenance or have a burst watermain in your area and all your neighbours have no water or ESB networks if there is a loss of electricity. This will not be something Tuath can repair.
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Anti-Social Behaviour
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Anti-Social Behaviour
Anti-social behaviour directly affects the wellbeing of other people and has a negative impact on communities. When people think about anti-social behaviour they usually think of criminal behaviour such as drug dealing, any behaviour that causes fear, danger, or injury to other people, such as threats or racist abuse. But anti-social behaviour can also be considered as an action or person that persistently disturbs other people’s peaceful enjoyment of their home, for example by playing loud music, continual parties or other continual noise disturbances. Tuath Housing is committed to tackling anti-social behaviour to create safer and better communities for our tenants. Tenants have an obligation not to behave within the dwelling, or in the vicinity of it, in a way that is anti-social or allow other occupiers of, or visitors to the dwelling to behave within it or in the vicinity in such a way.
Anti-social behaviour could be regarded as:
- Committing an offence which is reasonably likely to affect directly the well-being of others.
- Engaging in behaviour which causes or could cause fear, danger, injury, damage or loss to any person living, working or otherwise in the dwelling or its vicinity.
- Engaging persistently in behaviour that prevents peaceful occupation by any other person residing in the dwelling, another dwelling within the property or in the vicinity of that dwelling.
Examples of anti-social behaviour include:
- Sale, supply and possession of illegal drugs
- Illegal drinking, gambling and prostitution
- Harassment and discrimination
- Any activity that can cause a danger, harm or fear to any person living in the vicinity
- Excessive noise or loud music
- Uncontrolled animals
- Rubbish dumping or damage to the property including graffiti
- Unruly children
- Keeping certain breed of dogs or allowing someone to visit you with such dogs
- Breaches of “House Rules” as defined in your agreement and tenant handbook
Action Against Anti-Social Behaviour
Initial incidents of Anti-Social Behaviour can be reported in the following ways:
- Informing Housing Services Co-ordinator by phone, letter, e-mail or in person
- Informing Resident Supervisors where one exists
- Via a Tenants or Residents Association
It is important that Tuath are provided with the following information:
- Date and time of the incident
- Details of the alleged offender
- Nature of the incident
- Details of any witnesses
- Supporting evidence of the incident from another source, e.g Gardaí.
Tuath will record the incident and acknowledge the report, Tuath may need to obtain further details from the victim either in person or by telephone to agree a plan of action with the victim. Whether possible, we will engage with the respondent and interview them, which may lead to:
- A written warning regarding a breach of their obligations in line with the letting agreement and the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 to 2019
- Or where applicable a Notice of Termination or a Notice to Quit may be issued if the tenancy is with the Local Authority and/or Commencement of Legal Action to end the tenancy.
Tuath will provide assistance to the victim and take appropriate action against the perpetrator where it is within our control. Everything will be treated in confidence and we will also take care of any urgent repair caused by the incident. We will also endeavor to keep you informed of any progress.
What can you do?
In some situations, it may be possible to resolve the matter by engaging directly with the perpetrator and reach an agreement with them. Where the behavior is a dispute between two residents, mediation may also resolve the problem. Your HSCO can assist in accessing mediation to reach a resolution. Sometimes it may be necessary to report the issue to the Gardai and we can assist you in doing so.
Confidentiality
Be assured that all reports of anti-social behaviour will be treated in confidence. Though we will need to know your name when you report the anti-social behaviour this will remain confidential and will not be shared with anyone. If issues remain unresolved and action must be taken through the Residential Tenancy Board the details of your complaint, but not necessarily your personal information, will be made known to the offending party as part of the exchange of evidence.
Reporting Anti-Social Behaviour
It is our view that everyone should be able to enjoy their home and feel happy and safe in their community. Please report anti-social behaviour. Crimestoppers freephone confidential number 1800 25 00 25 Garda Confidential freephone number 1800 666 111
Anti-social behaviour and the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB)
Engaging in anti-social behaviour is a breach of tenants’ obligations and Tuath Housing can take action against perpetrators to terminate their tenancy. In the event of serious offences, a 7 days’ notice of termination can be served and the Association can seek possession of the property through the Residential Tenancies Board. In other cases, the Association can may serve a warning notice allowing time to remedy breach and whether the breach will continue then a 28 days’ notice of termination may be served.
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