Ashfield District Council: Right To Buy Charter

Right To Buy Charter

Ashfield District Council considers it is important that our customers are aware of the standards that can be expected from the Right to Buy service.

The service is committed to meeting your needs and we shall do this by:

providing you with the best possible service;
providing helpful and impartial advice;
advising you on your rights, the implications of home ownership and your obligations once you have bought your home;
treating you with courtesy at all times;
treating everyone fairly and equally.

How do we achieve this?

We will provide you with a named officer or officers with contact details who will be able to assist with an enquiry relating to your application.
Undertake the processing of your application as quickly and smoothly as possible.
By making an appointment to visit you at your home if you have special needs.
By answering promptly any enquires.
Most enquiries can be resolved by telephone. If we cannot deal with your enquiry immediately, or the person who would deal with your enquiry is not available, we will take your telephone number and phone you back within 2 working days.
If you send us a letter we will reply by letter, telephone or e mail within 5 working days of receiving a request if the query can be answered by the Right to Buy Officer. This may not always be possible if we have to obtain information or advice from another party. In such circumstances, we will acknowledge your query within 5 working days and respond as soon as possible thereafter.
If you ask for written confirmation of any information we have given you we will send out the information in writing within 5 working days of your request.
If you have an appointment we will see you within 5 minutes of your appointment time.
If you do not have any appointment an officer from the Estates Section will, wherever possible, see you. If this is not possible we will give you the opportunity to make an appointment at a later date.
By posting any requests for a Right to Buy application form (RTB1) within 3 working days of the request.
By acknowledging the receipt of your Right to Buy application.
If you have only been a tenant of Ashfield District Council we will advise you within 4 weeks of receiving the completed Right to Buy Application Form whether you have the right to buy your home (RTB2). This may take up to eight weeks if you have been a tenant with another landlord, as we must write to the landlord to verify the information given in your Application Form.
If you have the Right to Buy your home we will:
- instruct the valuer within 5 working days of the date of the RTB2 notice;
- tell you the price of your home within 8 weeks of the date of the RTB2 notice for a house and within 2 weeks of the RTB2 notice for a flat or maisonette.
If you advise us you wish to proceed with the Right to Buy we will:
- instruct the solicitor acting for the Council within 5 working days of you informing us of the name and address of your legal representative;
- acknowledge your letter/notice within 5 working days.
If you withdraw your application we will amend our records within 5 working days of you informing us of that you do not wish to proceed with the Right to Buy.
Acknowledge your letter/notice within 5 working days.

Consultation and Information

We welcome any ideas and suggestions you may have to improve our service to you. If you have any suggestions on how we could improve the processing of you application please contact the Council's Estates Manager by letter, by telephone or e-mail (see "Contact Estates Management").

We consider it is important to ask you about the standard of the services we provide. Therefore, we will contact you to ask whether you were satisfied with the service you received from the Estates Section.

Equalities Policy

Ashfield District Council is committed to ensuring that individuals and groups are not discriminated against on the grounds of gender, gender reassignment, colour, race, nationality, ethnic or racial origins, disability, marital status, sexuality, trade union activity, age, political or religious beliefs, or because they live with HIV/AIDS.

A copy of the Council's Equalities Policy can be obtained by contacting the Scrutiny & Policy Manager or viewed at the page "Equality & Diversity".

If things go wrong

If you have a problem, please speak to officers within the Estates Section as soon as possible and tell us why you are not happy and what the problem is. We will do our best to sort out the problem straight away.

If we cannot deal with your complaint straight away, we will:

Refer your complaint to the Estates Manager, and
Write to you within ten working days with a detailed response.

If you are not satisfied with the Estates Manager's response you may make a formal complaint to the Council's Customer Services Manager. For more information on the formal complaints procedure please see the page "Complaints, Comments & Compliments".

You may refer your complaint to the Local Government Ombudsman if you consider that you have been caused injustice as a result of maladministration by the Council. The Ombudsman may investigate the way a decision has been made, but may not question the merits of a decision properly reached. Further information on the role of the Local Government Ombudsman is available in the leaflet "Complained to the council? Still not satisfied?"

Contacts

If you need additional copies of the Right to Buy Charter or need advice on any aspect of the Right to Buy please contact the Right To Buy Officer for assistance.

Customer Services Manager
Ashfield District Council,
Urban Road,
Kirkby in Ashfield,
Nottingham,
NG17 8DA

Tel: 01623 450000
E-mail: customerservices@ashfield-dc.gov.uk

Scrutiny & Policy Manager
Ashfield District Council,
Urban Road,
Kirkby in Ashfield,
Nottingham,
NG17 8DA

Tel: 01623 450000
E-mail: scrutiny@ashfield-dc.gov.uk

Local Government Ombudsman
PO Box 4771, Coventry, CV4 0EH