Do you live in a South Essex Homes property in the City of Southend-on-Sea? Then this is your Forum website!
STRF stands for Southend Residents & Tenants Forum & is for South Essex Homes residents and leaseholders as well as any person with the right to reside within their property, allowing the entire family, including children, to get involved.
Everyone is entitled to attend STRF Meetings without invitation. Full details can be obtained by emailing info@strf.org.uk
Dates and times of any Forum meeting to be held can be found on this website and on Facebook.
Tea & coffee will be available free during the meetings. Read more
Tea & coffee will be available free during the meetings. Read more
Please note: The number for repairs or any contact with SEH is 0800 833 160
The ‘Residents Section’ is for residents/tenants/leaseholders and leaseholders tenants to share any tips, recipes, household hacks, local events or news or in fact anything that you may feel could be of interest to your fellow residents. We need input from you the people we serve to regularly update this page so if you think you have an item that may be of interest then please email it to us at info@strf.org.uk
Don’t forget to check out the A TO Z Page
PLEASE CLICK ON ANY NEWS ITEM LINK FOR MORE INFORMATION.
PLEASE NOTE THAT OUR CONTACT NUMBER HAS CHANGED. IT IS NOW 07904 052311
We love hearing your feedback of the residents living in the homes that South Essex Homes manage, and the communities that they make up, it is important to South Essex Homes that you have a voice that is being listened to. There is a page on the SEH website called You Said. We Did, so please look. Click this link https://southessexhomes.co.uk/you-said-we-did to see. Is there anything that you have said needs doing that SEH did, please let us know by filling in the Contact Us form.
Click here to access the Survey directly: Social housing stigma – what’s the progress on tackling it? Survey
Are you interested in learning more about your rights, then there is a lot of help for you at → Four Million Homes – Knowledge and action for change in social housing
Guidance for social housing residents
Training videos
Free webinars
Free training events
Resident Engagement August 25
If you would like to see what is going on at any of the below, or what the Engagement Team are putting on for you, then click here → Resident Engagement. You will find information on the following places as well as much more from your Resident Engagement Team.
EAST AREA – ACTIVITIES & PROJECTS — Sheltered – Crouchmans — Great Mead — Norman Harris House General Needs – 105 Kingfisher/Sandpiper Community Hall — Cluny Square — Shoebury- general — Multicultural Essex Women’s Association (MEWA) Temporary Accommodation – Southchurch Road Temporary Accommodation
WEST AREA – ACTIVITIES & PROJECTS — Sheltered – Adams Elm House –- Scott House — Furzefield — Senior House — Nicholson House — Buckingham House — Bishop House — Trafford House — General Needs – Queensway — Chaucer House
The Disability & Carers Action Group is open to anyone who cares to come along to their meetings.
The Next Meeting will be on the 9th July, 1st floor, room 6 of the Civic Centre.
Please note this starts at 11am, There will be a presentation by a guest speaker.
There is tea and coffee available free of charge
If you would like the agenda or minutes sent to you, please contact bobmacwos@gmail.com
If you have a concern, a problem, a need or you would like information on disability or carers, then please let us have your questions 7 days before a meeting, so that they can be answered for you.
HELP THE NHS
Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to complete our survey on adult vaccinations – we’ve already received over 480 responses, and your feedback is helping us build a clearer picture of people’s views and experiences across mid and south Essex.
We’ve listened to early feedback and have now made the survey more accessible. Previously, it was only available through MSE Virtual Views for registered users – this restriction has now been removed. The survey is open to all residents of Essex, and no login is required.
If you haven’t yet had your say, there’s still time to share your views. The survey remains open until 31 July 2025.
Completing the survey will also help you understand what vaccines there are out there for your health and safety.
Complete the survey by clicking here →Understanding how people feel about getting vaccinated | MSE Virtual Views
Complaining to SEH is a very easy thing to do.
Have you a problem that you cannot solve, i.e. repair not being completed or there is something else you are not happy about with SEH.
Tried your estate officer or your sheltered officer, repeatedly contacted the call centre, Axis or others and still are having trouble, then you can make an Official Complaint.
You will find making a complaint information and the ‘Report a complaint form’ by clicking this link →Complaints | South Essex Homes The complaints form can be found Here
There is also a video that will help you in making a complaint by clicking this link →How to complain to your landlord – YouTube You can also look at the following page to help you by clicking this link →How to complain to your landlord | Housing Ombudsman
Please remember that you are intitled to make complaints if you have tried every avenue open to you and are not satisfied with the result. SEH learn from your input and they rely on you to keep them informed as to what is going on.
The same if you have had a great service from someone or a department, SEH want to know about it as they help SEH to understand what is going right for the residents. You can put in a complement by clicking this link →Compliments | South Essex Homes and filling in the form.
Scrutiny are Looking for Residents to join them
The Resident Scrutiny Forum are looking to recruit new members to join them. If you are a South Essex Homes resident or leaseholder and feel that you can work alongside others, who are like minded and dedicated and have some free time to spare, then please contact Chris McPhillips (RSF CHAIR) – Email: chris.mcphillips@sehscrutiny.co.uk
Recent reports created by the Resident Scrutiny Forum can be found by clicking →Here as well as more information around the Scrutiny Group.
South Essex Homes Needs Your Help
There are groups of residents who guide and challenge the services you get from South Essex Homes. These focus group meetings are with officers, contractors & residents with sometimes guests. Please take a look at the groups below & what they each do, then decide if you could help by joining them.
Emergency repairs, Outstanding repairs, New voids received, Completed voids returned, Void inspections, Total number of repair jobs raised, as well as other KPI’s. Residents are encouraged to ask questions and challenge provided reports, as well as offering suggestions in order to improve the services provided.
Repairs, Gas & Voids:
Held on the 3rd Tuesday of every month online between 10am and 11am approximately.
Residents meet with officers of SEH, Axis and Sureserve Compliance Central (formally known as Aaron Gas Services) to discuss monthly performance figures and provide feedback on the following:
- Completed jobs and if done so within target time,
- Boiler services,
- Satisfaction and complaints,
- Emergency repairs,
- Outstanding repairs,
- New voids received,
- Completed voids returned,
- Void inspections,
- Total number of repair jobs raised, as well as other KPI’s
Residents are encouraged to ask questions and challenge provided reports, as well as offering suggestions in order to improve the services provided.
Planned Maintenance:
This follows on from the repairs meeting but every other month online and lasts approximately 30 minutes.
In this meeting things like Electrical and Maintenance Servicing contract; Minor and Major Works contract; and the Lift Modernisation contract are discussed alongside other contracts on works going forward during the year with start and finish times.
Income Management:
This is held 4 times a year in person soon after a board meeting has been held, between 10am to 12noon at the Civic Centre.
At these meetings, residents are informed about rent arrears cases. The group discusses ways to improve rent collection, debt prevention, and reduce evictions due to non-payment. Outcomes include redesigning the rent statement for clarity, integrating it with Insight magazine to save postage, and creating posters/leaflets to remind residents of payment responsibilities, effectively reducing evictions.
Disability & Carers Action Group:
This group meets every 2nd Wednesday of the month in person between 11am till 1pm at the Civic Centre.
- This group welcomes residents with disabilities (visible or hidden), carers, those with disabled children, or anyone interested in supporting the disabled community. Meetings are run by disabled residents and carers living in SEH properties who provide support, a listening ear and opportunities to help.
- The Disability and Carers Action Group has influenced changes within SEH and Southend City Council that benefit disabled residents and carers. They work with SEH and SCC to guide decisions on works affecting disabled residents.
Leaseholders Focus Group:
This group meets in person at the Civic Centre every quarter.
- South Essex Homes holds quarterly meetings with Leaseholders to discuss topics related to leases, estates, service charges and more. Leases outline mutual rights and responsibilities, including shared costs for maintaining buildings and communal areas like corridors and stairways. All leaseholders are welcome, and new attendees are encouraged.
- Meetings often uncover shared issues, allowing collaborative solutions.
- Meet your SEH Leaseholder Officer at these meetings.
To join or attend any of these groups, even just to see if it is right for you, please contact the Resident Engagement Team at: residentengagement@seh.southend.gov.uk or call 0800 833 160
The Community Fund Panel information is to be found by clicking the link below.
Click here →https://strf.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Community-Fund-Panel-poster-1.pdf to see the full information regarding joining the panel.
Why not come along to the following events and meet new and old friends.
TENANCY OFFICERS
To find your Tenancy Officer please click → Here.
Weekly Benefit Rates 2025/26
