Getting tenants’ queries to the right place first time

It’s a problem most housing and property staff will have had. A request comes to you – direct from a tenant, or from a colleague about a tenant – but you’re not actually the right person or team to help them.

You don’t want to just turn them away. But you might not know where to send them, or how to help them get an answer.

The below table should help you respond to just such a situation.

We’ve worked hard to verify this information but we can’t always get everything right. If you think:

Any of the table is incorrect

A particular policy or procedure has changed

Something needs to be added

Contact [email protected] to discuss correcting the error.

How to use the table

Scroll down past this section to view the table.

Issue types

In the left-hand column, you will see a list of types of issues that tenants may approach the council for help with. This is based on research with tenants and staff.

Routing guidance

The centre column shows

The team mostly responsible for processing and/or resolving these requests

Where relevant, links to online guidance or forms.

Tenants who are able to do so, should usually access online channels first, where they exist. These should be the most efficient method and in many cases they will just be routed back to these by the service if they haven’t tried them.

For tenants who cannot use online channels but can use the phone, and need to speak to someone other than their NHO, calling Camden on 020 7974 4444 will generally be the best way to get routed to the correct service.

But for more specific queries or queries from staff, you might sometimes need to pass tenants or colleagues direct to the team in question.

Escalations

The right hand column shows the best role, process and/or individual to escalate things to if there are serious problems or repeat issues that don’t seem to be handled well via usual channels.

These are contacts for you or other Camden staff to reach out to, not public-facing contacts for tenants.

In some cases, there is a defined policy for escalations. We have linked to this where relevant.

Issue routing table

Issue Types Types of issue that tenants approach the council with	Routing guidance The team(s) and/or contact channel(s) best placed to solve each issue type	Escalations Roles staff can contact if they think services are struggling to resolve an issue or if there are repeated problems
Tenant in immediate danger from criminal activity Other criminal activity (NB – Community Safety, Neighbourhood Housing Officers, Camden Safety Net and/or Safeguarding teams may need to be made aware of some issues too. See relevant rows below)	Police 999 call for emergencies 101 call for non-emergencies	N/A - police officers’ performance and response are outside of Camden’s control
Anti-Social Behaviour (This must be reported via online form or call to Camden on 020 7974 4444)	ASB reporting form: Report antisocial behaviour - Camden Council Community Safety team resolves high-risk cases (after reporting and triage by Contact Camden) Neighbourhood Housing Officers resolve low-medium risk cases (after reporting and triage by Contact Camden)	ASB case review process (Anti-social behaviour case review - Camden Council)
Community safety risks (alongside Police, Children’s and Adult Social Care, and/or NHO as appropriate): Hate incidents Women’s safety Drugs Exploitation	Community Safety Team (will support other agencies/teams)
Noise and Other Nuisance (for a tenant – non-tenants should report via online form)Change tenant details Change to joint or sole tenancy Take over tenancy (succession) End tenancy Report tenant’s death Copy of tenancy agreement Request for double glazing (For NHM, who needs to approve and then pass to Energy Efficiency team) Made aware of criminal activity or community safety issues	Neighbourhood Housing Officers/Managers	Neighbourhood Operations Manager
Risk of homelessness Advice on housing needs	Neighbourhood Housing Officers (If named tenant) Homelessness (If not named tenant) Info and reporting advice on homelessness	Homelessness Initiatives Service Manager
Domestic Abuse (Refer to all three of the services listed in the centre column)	Neighbourhood Housing Officers (If relating to a Camden tenant/property) Camden Safety Net Camden Safety Net info and form Safeguarding Adults: How to report a concern \| Home Children: Are you worried about a child? - Camden Council	[Coming soon]
General safeguarding concerns about an adult or child (Neglect, abuse, etc)	Safeguarding Adults: How to report a concern \| Home Children: Are you worried about a child? - Camden Council	Child safeguarding escalations policy available here [Adults coming soon]
Abandoned vehicles and bikes Vehicle registration, permits, and spaces (including rent parking, lost permit and swap parking bay) Parking space repossession Rent garages and sheds New key or fob Notify of move out and hand in keys	Neighbourhood Support Team Abandoned vehicles and bikes form Report fly tipping form Report graffiti form Rent parking space Rent a garage	Neighbourhood Housing Support Team Leader
Housing benefits issue Make a housing benefits claim Change in circumstances (housing benefits)	Benefits Make a benefits claim form Tell us about a change in circumstances form	Benefits Service Manager
Rent charge Rent card Can’t pay rent Payment issue Info on home contents insurance	Rents Link to rent payments online	Rents and charges service manager
Cost-of-living	Contact Camden	Head of Customer and Registration Services
Right to Buy	Leaseholder Services Right to Buy form and info	Antonia Shortall (Leasehold Services Team Manager)
Apply to join the housing register Bid for a home Housing options Swap council home (mutual exchange) Sheltered housing Downsize home Decision on a move Overcrowding Medical points Report change in circumstances (allocations)	Allocations Info on applications for housing Report a change in circumstances form	Housing Placements Service Manager
Pests	Pest Control Form to report pest control issues	Pest Control Team Leader
Home repairs Window issues in communal areas Location of external stopcock Damp or Mould Issue with a road within an estate	Property Customer Services Centre	Issues with repairs that have already been reported can be escalated by staff to the Neighbourhood Repairs Liaison Team, on a patch basis. We cannot publish contact emails on housing hub, so please follow this link to a document containing contact details.
Major works	Capital Works Info on major works We cannot publish contact details on the housing hub, so please follow this link to a document containing contact details.	Programme Manager for the area/project in question
Mental health Physical health	GP	N/A - GPs’ performance and response are outside of Camden’s control
Care/ support need for an adult Home Adaptation	Adult Social Care Info and Contact on support available from ASC	ASC Duty Manager
Family in need of support	Family Early Help/Family Hubs Info on support available for families in Camden	Service Manager, Early Help Community and Practice
Universal Credit	Department for Work and Pensions	N/A - DWP performance is outside of Camden’s control
Benefit application Debt issues	Citizens Advice Bureau	N/A - CAB performance is outside of Camden’s control
Street parking	Parking Operations	Head of Parking Operations
Blue badge	Gov.uk Link to info and form (If assistance is needed, ask Camden Accessible Transport)
Green badge Report parking permit fraud Substitute badge	C amden Accessible Transport Link to Green Badge form Link to Report Parking Permit Fraud Link to Substitute Badge form
Maintenance, cleaning, litter picking and upkeep of shared spaces and gardens  Remove hazard from communal areas  Health and safety check  Query or complaint about the work of a caretaker (including queries around leaseholder charges) Request assisted rubbish collection for a vulnerable person Graffitti	Caretaking An estate services team leader is assigned to each estate. Details are available on the estate noticeboard.	Estate Services Manager
Info on building safety Health and safety issue	Building Safety Link to info	Building Safety Manager [email protected].
Info on fire safety Problem getting out of home safely if there was a fire Advice on safety hazard and what you're allowed to keep outside	Fire Safety Link to info	Fire safety Adviser Manager
Waste management Street obstructions Order a bin, box or bag Order bags for clothes, batteries or electrics Change your wheelie bin Additional waste collections and container hire for estates, blocks and communal collections Street cleaning Fly tipping	Veolia Link to form	N/A
Street problem with a public road. Estate roads should be reported to property customer services. Including: Road signs and name plates Bollards Bridges Walls Roads and pavements Blocked or flooded drains Manholes Utility boxes and cabinets Street furniture Street lighting and zebra crossings Traffic lights Trees	Highways Link to form	Highways Manager
Sewage blockage	Thames Water Link	N/A
Electricity or Gas bills	Utility Provider	N/A