The housing market, Ascend & Lockdown 2.0

As the nation has now entered a second lockdown, naturally there are many questions regarding the do’s and don’ts across the 4 weeks between November 5th and December 2nd. Not to worry, following our email earlier this month, below we’ll highlight some of the key points and most importantly, remind you of how Ascend are working with business as usual during this time.

During this 4-week period, the housing market has been impacted minutely in comparison to April with branches still allowed to open and property viewings, mortgage valuations and surveys still able to go ahead. This is great news for many of our landlords with tenant changeovers coming up or taking place, especially given the clear guide which has been set out for all parties to follow which can be seen here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/government-advice-on-home-moving-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak

Here at Ascend, across all branches and head office it’s safe to say that we have developed a streamlined approach and system proven to work when it comes to the lockdown and any other changes as a result of Covid-19. With head office staff regularly working from home across the last 8 months and branches fully equipped and functioning with all safety measures in place, we can operate with business and service levels as normal. The only change that has taken place is that we are now conducting maintenance works on a priority basis, meaning all emergency maintenance requests now take priority - which has been communicated to all tenants. 

If you have any questions during this time, your Portfolio Manager is still on hand during working hours and all of our teams available as normal.

To recap on the current lockdown measures and Ascend’s current procedures, see below: 

Coronavirus lockdown - key points from the Prime Minister:

·         You are only allowed to leave your home for the following reasons:

1.       Childcare or Education - where this is not provided online

2.       Work - where your place of work remains open and where you cannot work from home (including if your job involves working in other people’s homes)

3.       Exercise - you can exercise outdoors or visit an outdoor public place with the people you live with, with your support bubble or on your own, with 1 person from another household

4.       Medical - appointments and emergencies

5.       Shopping – for basic necessities

6.       Visiting members of your support bubble or to provide care for vulnerable people

·         The above list does not exhaust all reasons and is a basic outline. For more information please visit the Government website.

·         Repairs - during this lockdown, we are now operating on a priority basis. This means our contractors will attend to urgent maintenance requests first and we would like to ask for your patience for any increased wait time during this period.

·         All forms of contact are still functioning properly, although please do bear with us during this time as our phone lines are busier than usual.

·         Move-ins and check-outs are still operating as normal (if residents/applicants are still wanting to go ahead) for now however we have adjusted the key collection/return policy to improve hygiene standards and reduce risks. Keys will now be returned via the office letterbox, in a sealed envelope. Branch teams will then sanitize the key(s) using hot water and soap.

·         Rent processing and payments will continue as usual. Tenants have been told to inform us if they are in any financial difficulty due to the COVID-19 effects.