Easter Weekend.

Please note we will be closed for business Friday, 2nd April and Monday, 5th April for Easter.  We reopen for business at 9am on Tuesday, 6th April. For emergency repairs please find further information on the repairs section of our website. 

We hope you have a happy Easter from all the staff at Rural Stirling.    

COVID-19 IMPACT ON SERVICES - Please read 

Temporary Service Changes

Due to the latest Government guidance all staff will remain working from home for the foreseeable future and the office remains closed. Our normal working hours will be reduced until further notice as follows:

Contact business hours for tenants will be reduced to Monday to Friday 9am to 1pm.  We will operate an answering service from 1pm to 5pm Monday to Thursday and 1pm to 4pm on a Friday.  We will monitor the answering service for emergencies each afternoon.

• Please only contact us by phone during our reduced business hours to report an emergency or urgent repair and try to avoid contacting us unless it is absolutely necessary.
• We have had to reduce our service as a result of the further lockdown restrictions and impact on our resources.
• It may take us longer than usual to deal with your requests but we will do all that we can to respond as quickly as possible.
• We thank you for your patience and cooperation during this time. 

This is being kept under constant review inline with the guidance that is being issued from the Scottish Government and we will update you through this website and SMS text messaging as soon as this is likely to change. In the meantime please continue to contact us on either the main office phone number 01786 841101 or contact your Housing Officer directly.  You can also send an email to our enquiries email address - enquiries@rsha.org.uk - We thank you for your continued cooperation. 

We must all work together in order to try to prevent the spread of Coronavirus and protect our family, friends and the most vulnerable within our communities.

Please read our COVID-19 Safety Measures.     

Or watch this short video

Self-isolation & Social Distancing

It goes without saying that you should all now be following the principles of social distancing within your communities. Please let us know if you have symptoms of Coronavirus or a member of your family has and you are currently in self-isolation.  The information you share with us will be treated with the utmost confidence and only shared with a third party if emergency works are required within your home. We are grateful to all of our tenants and staff for their patience, support and understanding at this uniquely challenging time.

1. Paying your rent during the COVID-19 crisis:

We have updated our guidance on paying your rent and financial difficulties during the outbreak. You can read more here.

Please also see our frequently asked questions.

You can get free income related financial advice and support from the following agencies:

• Shelter Scotland - 0808 800 4444
• Citizens Advice Scotland - 01397 705 311
• The Money Advice Service - 0800 138 7777
• Scotland's Financial Health Service - 01349 886 606
• Step Change - 0800 138 1111

• Here is a link to the latest STEP  e mail containing information on latest business support. Again scroll through for various pieces of information and further links.

  https://mailchi.mp/stepscotland/business-gateway-stirling-funded-suppor-221838?e=afb3e9ac0a

2.  Allocations, Voids and Letting

We would encourage all new applicants to visit our website where you will find a copy of our application form available to download (here). This should then be e-mailed back to enquiries@rsha.org.uk to be processed more quickly.  Lettings and voids will continue in order to do this and keep everyone safe, we need to follow certain procedures which will involve online communication.  If this will be difficult for you, please contact us and we will help you. 

3.  Home visits and face-to-face appointments cancelled

We appreciate many of our tenants prefer to meet face-to-face with our staff. However, in the interest of protecting staff, tenants and the wider public, we will not be carrying out home visits or face-to-face appointments until further notice. We know this is a very worrying time which is causing deep anxiety and concern.  We are here to help you where we can.

If you need to contact us urgently, please visit the Staff Team area of our website where you will find contact information for all members of staff. If you already had a home visit or appointment scheduled with a member of staff we will be in touch with you to discuss this and offer an alternative option. Where we are identifying that tenants' means of paying have been affected, we are offering a follow up call from our Income Maximisation Officer, Kevin McGhee, who is able to give specialist advice about benefits and other money advice.

4. Planned maintenance works & Inspections

Planned maintenance works such as new kitchens, Fire Safety and Electrical Upgrades are suspended until at least the end of January and will be planned to recommence from February, subject to easing of restrictions.  

In keeping with Government Guidelines external services such as Landscaping, window cleaning, communal close cleaning, external painting, render cleaning, pressure washing etc are all designated as key works and can be progressed, if carried out by a sole operator who implements social distancing and has availability of PPE etc. This obviously is dependent on our contractors having the staff to undertake the works and we will assess whether works can be undertaken on a scheme by scheme basis. 

Gas checks will continue as normal with controls in place.  Electric checks will continue on voids only with controls.  Major voids scheduled works will continue. 

All routine technical, estate management and pre-inspections are suspended until at least the end of January and will be planned to restart from February, subject to easing of restrictions, 

5. Repairs

Emergency and urgent repairs will continue to be processed.  Routine repairs will be logged and processed when restrictions ease.  

Emergency repairs 

Please contact us on 01786 841 101 during normal working hours to report an emergency repair. Our out of hours emergency contact numbers remain the same:

• Gas repairs call Saltire on 0845 606 1555

• All other emergency repairs please call the  McDougall Group on 0800 975 1234.

When you report an emergency repair, we will need to ask you some screening questions to protect both you and our contractors before visits can be confirmed. Our Contractors will also ask you a series of questions before they enter your home.

We will advise tenants as soon as possible if there are any further changes to the repairs service. In the meantime, please consider whether your repair is an emergency before requesting a visit.

Right to Repair

Due to current government restrictions for coronavirus we have suspended the Right to Repair element of our reactive repairs service.  This is in line with guidance from the Scottish Government.  We will review the service on an ongoing basis and keep you informed of any changes as and when it is appropriate to do so.

The wellbeing of our tenants and staff is of paramount importance to us, which is why we are following Government advice and have made some changes to the services we offer.

WE WILL GET THROUGH THIS TOGETHER

GENERAL ADVICE

If you have the symptoms of COVID-19

If you have developed a new or continuous cough and/or a fever/high temperature in the last 7 days, stay at home for 7 days from the start of your symptoms even if you think your symptoms are mild. Do not got to your GP, pharmacy or hospital. You should phone 111 if:

• your symptoms worsen during home isolation, especialy if you're in a high or extremely high risk group

• breathlessness develops or worsens, particularly if you're in a high or extremely high risk group

• your symptoms haven't improved in 7 days

If you have a medical emergency, phone 999 and tell them you have COVID-19 symptoms.

Do the people I live with need to take any action?

If you live with other people and have symptoms, they'll need to stay at home for 14 days from the start of your symptoms even if they don't have symptoms themselves. If they develop symptoms within the 14 days, they need to stay at home for 7 days from the day their symptoms began. They should do this even if it takes them over the 14-day isolation period

There are things you can do to help reduce the risk of you and anyone you live with getting ill with Coronavirus.

Do:

• wash your hands with soap and water often - do this for at least 20 seconds
• use hand sanitiser gell if soap and water are not available
• wash your hands as soon as you get home
• cover your month and nose with a tissue or your sleeve (not your hands) when you cough or sneeze
• put used tissues in the bin immediately and wash your hands afterwards

Don't:

• touch your eyes, nose or mouth if your hands are not clean

Further guidance is available by following the links below:

Here is a link to the information available from NHS Forth Valley regarding the vaccination programme. Please scroll down for information on a range of vaccine related queries & questions.

https://nhsforthvalley.com/covid/covid-19-vaccination/

 This is a link to a WHICH page providing information on a fake vaccination text message being circulated by scammers. Also contains info on other fraudulent emails/messages in circulation.

https://conversation.which.co.uk/scams/scam-nhs-covid-vaccine-text-message/

NHS INFORM - FURTHER GUIDANCE

Here is a ink to information regarding who can currently be tested for coronavirus. 

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-getting-tested 

Those who are eligible to have a test done  can apply you will be given a choice of test sites available to you on the day or the following day.  You must book your appointment in advance so you are pre-registered.  If you arrive without an appointment you will not be tested .If you are a Health and Social Care employee separate arrangements are in place via the NHS.

Time and Space - Action in Mind service

How to access support in Scotland for COVID-19 Guidance 5-11-20

Stirling CAB Energy Advice Service

CORGI independent quality inspections

Stirling Council Coronavirus Community Support Line

The latest Edition of the Community Response Bulletin from Stirling Council is available here.

If you are vulnerable, or you know somebody who is vulnerable, self-isolating and who has no immediate support available, please contact the community support line. Contact details and more information can be found here.

Stirling Council and Stirlingshire Voluntary Enterprise (SVE) are now asking volunteers and local community groups to register and be part of a co-ordinated response to the Covid-19 emergency. By volunteering you can make a big difference in your area and on a national level. More info can be found here.

My World of Work Website

The My World of Work website has a selection of free online training courses, learning opportunities and funding available to support training, jobs available as well as help and advice if you are looking for work.