Making reasonable adjustments

It is the responsibility of all housing and property staff to make the reasonable adjustments where the information has been recorded, and it could support the person’s experience of the service being provided. This is in line with our duties according to the Equality Act (2010).

When responding to additional needs, we make reasonable adjustments to our services to remove barriers for tenants and households and support them to build resilience.

When providing additional support to tenants and households, staff members should always discuss with them what’s is the most effective and safest option for the resident or household member. Not all support options will be relevant to tenants and context should be considered, as well as intersectionality between barriers faced.

Tenants and household members are not required to have an identified support need to be able to request a reasonable adjustment. In addition, tenants who have recognised support needs are not required to accept a reasonable adjustment. Whilst these are commonly connected, they are not mutual in all circumstances.

Reasonable adjustments can be requested at any time and by any method of communication by:

The resident or household member impacted

A nominated advocate

Staff, contractors, or partner agencies

There are reasonable adjustments which can be recorded centrally and carried out across Housing and Property services, these include:

Adjustments to appointments or visits	Meet at level access for office appointments
	Ring doorbell multiple times
	Give notice before in-person visits
	Same gender officer (where possible)
	Avoid physical contact
	Provide low light environment / warning before bright or flashing lights
	Provide low noise environment or warning before loud noise
	Ensure wheelchair access is available
	Enable assistance animals during encounters
Adjustments to communication	Large print
	Braille
	British Sign Language (BSL)
	Easy Read
	Another spoken language/translation
	Contact in AM
	Contact in PM
	Does not have mobile phone - no texts
	Does not have smart phone – cannot send photos
	Does not have digital access - cannot report online
	Additional time for understanding information/ signing contracts
	Additional time to answer the phone
	Prearrange times for phone calls where possible
	Send summary of meetings via email
	Verbal communication (if low literacy)
	Deaf - no phone calls
Communication preferences	Preferred method is by letter
	Preferred method is by in-person visit
	Preferred method is by telephone
	Preferred method is video call
	Preferred method is by email
	Preferred method if by text

A resident or household member should be able to inform any housing or property service member of staff about the type of adjustment being requested and this will be recorded on the Support Needs App and shared across Housing and Property Systems. Staff members are advised to check any personal records where possible before contacting or visiting a resident.

There may be other reasonable adjustments which can be made, this will depend on the vulnerability as well as the service delivering the adjustment. These adjustments should be discussed with a line manager before confirming with the resident or household member. When deciding on further reasonable adjustment, the following is to be considered by staff:

Impact: What will the impact be for the tenant, their strengths, and the barriers they face to services? e.g. for survivors of domestic abuse, it might be supportive to meet outside of the home, but if they are pregnant or disabled, other options may be more appropriate

Practicality: Is it feasible to implement for all parties involved? e.g. female-only visits may not be practical in terms of operational delivery

Cost and resource: Is it financially viable for all parties involved? e.g. it may be financially via to source travel to an engagement panel quarterly, but not viable for weekly volunteering

Disruption: What will be the potential disruption to all parties involved? e.g. visiting in AM or PM only might not be possible where there is a calendar conflict.

If Housing and Property services are unable to make the adjustment requested, alternatives will be offered and reason explained.

Responding

Responding

Making reasonable adjustments