In this section of our website you can find out more information about the specific services we provide (such as grounds maintenance and the services we offer in our sheltered schemes), along with more information about your tenancy or lease.
The Decent Homes Standard
The government's Decent Homes Standard (DHS) has set the minimum standards that social homes are required to meet since the early 2000s. You can read the full definition of the DHS on the GOV.UK website; in summary it says that your home should:
- meet the current statutory minimum standard for housing
- be in a reasonable state of repair
- have reasonably modern facilities and services
- provide a reasonable degree of thermal comfort
We're pleased to report that we are 100% compliant with the DHS - you can check how we're performing each month to see a range of information from statistical through to tenant satisfaction, including compliance with all of our safety, rent and home quality standards.
Our tenants can easily report a repair using our online tool or via our contact centre, and they report high levels of satisfaction with our planned works services (average 84.08% March 2024-February 2025).
Our Empty Homes Lettable Standard describes the work we carry out to ensure a home is ready for new tenants when they move in, and our programme of improvements includes planned investment in and refurbishment of windows, roofs, canopies and porches, and kitchens and bathrooms, as well as a cyclical programme of external decoration.
Our page on heating your home explains how warm your home should be, and what you can do if it's too cold. We carry out annual safety inspections of your gas appliances and heating systems to make sure they are working correctly. Our goal is to achieve a minimum of EPC C for all our homes by 2028, and to help achieve this we are reviewing and implementing new technologies, including thermal performance and energy management to minimise the risk of damp, mould and condensation.
Using your home
You must use your home as your only or main home. You must not sublet your Red Kite home. If you do, legal action will be taken to recover possession of your home.
If you want to use your home to run a business you must ask us and you will need written permission before you will be allowed to do this. Some businesses, such as taxis or car repairing which can cause a nuisance, will not receive permission.
Lodgers
If you are an assured tenant, you have the right to take in lodgers. A lodger is someone who lives in your home, but does not have sole use of all of it. They usually get some sort of service from you, such as cooking or cleaning. The law says how many people can live in one house and so you must make sure that a lodger will not make your home overcrowded.
If you are on Housing Benefit you must inform us if you are taking in a lodger. You also need to tell the Housing Benefit team at Buckinghamshire Council that you have taken in a lodger as this may affect your benefits. Also, you will need to let the Council Tax team know if you receive a single person discount.
If you want your lodger to move out, you will be responsible for organising this. When the lodger moves out, please let us know.
Pets
After asking for and receiving written permission, you may keep pets in your home, as long as they are not a nuisance to your neighbours or visitors and do not foul the pavement or communal areas. You are also responsible for making sure that if you have a dog, it is kept on a lead when not in your home. This includes pets that belong to visitors in your home. If they do cause a nuisance, we could ask you to re-house your pet.
You are not allowed to keep wild or farmyard animals such as goats, sheep, horses, ponies, pigs and cattle. There are some homes which are not suitable for some animals, e.g. dogs in flats with no access to a private garden.
You are responsible for making sure that your garden is secure and the fencing will stop your pet from escaping.
If you cannot take your pet with you on holiday, you must make arrangements for it to be properly looked after, for example, at kennels, a cattery, or by a responsible person in your own home.
We have the right to withdraw permission to keep pets if you breach any of these conditions.