The coronavirus pandemic means we've had to make some changes to our services, to keep the Trust’s customers and employees safe, and to comply with government restrictions.
In general, we are following these key principles:
We will continue to monitor the situation and implement changes as and when they are required.
Brentwood Housing Trust has been operating in Brentwood since 1966. We are a small not-for-profit organisation and registered under the Industrial and Provident Society as well as with Homes England.
We are proud of being a community-based housing association and we value our independence. Although we work mainly, in Brentwood we have one scheme in Havering and we remain committed to assisting those in housing need with a local connection.
We own and manage 200 homes in various tenure types. The Trust is controlled by a Board of Management who set the strategic direction and agree the policies and procedures. It is up to the office team to ensure that our homes are managed to the highest standard within the policies set.
We have purchased several properties on the open market to let to local people at sub-market rents. Although we are only able to purchase a small number of homes we hope that the scheme will grow and more people in housing need can be helped.
Repairs
Use the Contact Form to report a Repair
Anti Social Behaviour
Use the Contact Form to report Anti-Social Behaviour
Make An Enquiry
Contact us
Waiting List
Looking for a home?
Tenancy Handbook
Information on your tenancy
Pay Your Rent
Find out the different ways that you can pay your rent
We aim to be the local affordable housing provider and partner of choice in the Borough of Brentwood.
We will focus on quality, efficiency, value and the highest levels of service delivery.
We will remain committed to working in the Borough of Brentwood and adjoining local authority areas only.
We will remain an independent community based housing association.
We understand that to deliver our vision, we need to uphold the highest possible set of values that will underpin our governance, leadership and service approach.
Our core values are:
Chief Executive
Finance Officer
Housing Manager
Housing Assistant
Administrative Assistant
Office Opening Hours: 9:15am – 4:45pm
Brentwood Housing Trust,
The Lodge,
28 St. Thomas Road,
Brentwood,
Essex,
CM14 4DB
01277 225 084
enquiries@brentwoodhousingtrust.co.uk
Brentwood Housing Trust owns 169 properties most of which are small (1 and 2 bedroomed) flats. The Trust also manages 11 properties for other landlords which the local authority have 100% nomination rights to.
Housing in Brentwood is expensive and there is a shortage of affordable and social housing so once let, very few of our properties become vacant. Of those that do become vacant, the Trust has to offer a minimum of 50% to the local council to be advertised on their Choice Based Lettings scheme. We always advise applicants to register with the council as well as with Brentwood Housing Trust.
Once we receive your completed application form, two officers will make a decision whether to accept you on to our waiting list. If we do not think we will be able to house you within a reasonable time we will not accept your application and will write and tell you so. In order to be considered you will generally be:
Unable to afford to purchase a property on the open market;
Unable to afford to rent privately;
Unable to live with members of your immediate family (partner, children etc.) Living in a property unsuitable for your needs.
Once there is a property available for letting the person in the greatest need for that property type is made an offer. We do not take into consideration the length of time you have been onof the waiting list. However, if here are two applicants with the same need, your date of application will be considered.
We consider priority in the following order. They are listed in descending order of priority i.e. greater importance is attached to items higher up the list:
a) Actual or potential homelessness e.g. foreclosure on mortgage, loss of tied accommodation, ending of lease, eviction from parental home, need to leave matrimonial home on divorce etc. Victims of domestic violence or other harassment.
b) Involuntary separation of members of a household due to lack of accommodation, e.g. where they are obliged to live in separate rooms or homes and there is lack of adequate bedroom or living rooms.
c) Lack of domestic facilities such as W.C, bathroom, hot water etc.
d) Unsuitability of accommodation due to the applicants disability or medical condition.
e) Condition of available accommodation e.g. structural defects or dampness.
f) Sharing accommodation or facilities.
g) Any other factors not listed.
BHT aims to help as many people as we are able to, and if we feel that you qualify to be entered on to our waiting list, we will register your application. We aim to allocate fairly and without discrimination. Please browse our allocation procedure, which can be viewed in the document provided.
Read more about the Allocations Procedure
If you wish to apply please download the form, complete every section in the detail that is requested and return it to our office at:
Brentwood Housing Trust
The Lodge
28 St Thomas Road
Brentwood
Essex
CM14 4DB
Download an application form
A Safe & Secure Home
Complaints
Customer Care
Dealing with condensation
Dealing with debt
Emergency Repairs
Ending Your Tenancy
Equality and Diversity policy
Householders Insurance
Neighbour Nuisance
Brentwood Housing Trust wants your home to be comfortable and safe. We would ask that you report any repairs as quickly as possible.
Brentwood Housing Trust will repair / maintain most things for you, in particular the structure of the building, communal parts, gas, electricity and water supplies.
In order that the most urgent repairs are dealt with quickly, all repairs are prioritised into four categories: emergencies (dealt with within 24 hours of report); urgent (dealt with within 7 days of report); routine (dealt with within 28 days of report) and cyclical - these are generally non-urgent external repairs such as paths and garden fences. These will be dealt with as and when it is possible but usually within 3 months of report.
The following issues are emergencies and you should report them immediately:
There are some repairs that the Trust would expect you to carry out yourself. These are:
If there is a genuine reason why you are unable to carry out the repair yourself you must inform us. It may be possible to arrange for work to be done for you. However, in some instances there may be a charge.
You can down load the "Repairs Leaflet" here.
What is Anti Social Behaviour?
Anti-social behaviour is defined under the Anti Social Behaviour Act 2003 as:
'Conduct which is capable of causing nuisance or annoyance to any person and directly or indirectly relates to or affects the housing management functions of a relevant landlord; or conduct which consists of or involves using or threatening to use housing accommodation owned or managed by a relevant landlord for an unlawful purpose.'
How we can help you?
All tenants have security of tenure unless they break or fail to adhere to one of the conditions of tenancy. If this is the case there is a legal procedure which the Trust must follow. Firstly, the Trust will serve a Notice of Seeking Possession. This will give details of which tenancy condition we believe has been broken. The Notice will advise that the Trust will only start court action for possession after a specific time, which gives the tenant time to rectify the breach. The next stage is applying to court, when the Trust will provide evidence of the breach. The judge will then decide whether it is reasonable to terminate the tenancy for the breach.
In the case of Anti-Social Behaviour the Trust cannot proceed to court without significant evidence of the behaviour being complained about. The Trust will expect the person complaining about the behaviour of another resident to have done a number of things. i) to keep diary sheets, detailing when and who was seen being anti-social and exactly what they were doing. ii) to involve the ‘statutory agencies i.e. the police and the Environmental Health Department. If the behaviour is criminal – involving drugs, causing damage, being abusive to name a few, we will expect a complainant to contact the police. If the nuisance is loud noise or a detriment to public health, we would expect you to contact the Environmental Health Department. To be able to take successful action against the perpetrator, it will be necessary to have the evidence from these agencies. In certain circumstances it may be necessary to ask the complainant to appear at the hearing.
The Trust will support any resident making a complaint to complete the necessary steps.
Pay Your Rent
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I have worked in housing management for over 40 years. I joined Brentwood Housing Trust in 1997 as Housing Manager and was made Chief Executive in 1998. I have overall responsibility for the day to day running of the Trust and the strategic direction of the organisation. In addition I am the Trust’s representative and liaison point for all the Trust’s interactions with external bodies and organisations.