Service request

Sheltered housing is designed to meet the needs of older people.

These properties offer you the independence of having your own home, with the safety of having an alarm system and sheltered housing officer service.

Sheltered housing is usually made up of a group of flats in a small building complex.

We provide 10 sheltered housing complexes in Renfrewshire. There are also 10 complexes provided by housing associations.

Our sheltered housing flats are accessible for people with mobility problems and include:

• safe bathrooms with doors which can be opened from the outside in an emergency
• lowered light switches and raised sockets to make them easier to use
• controlled entry and an emergency call system.

Our sheltered housing officers look after the complexes and make sure the residents are safe and well.

We provide the sheltered housing officer service 7 days a week, from 8am to 2pm. Officers work at more than one complex and will spend part of the day at each one.

If a sheltered housing officer is not at a complex, you can contact them during these hours through the emergency call system.

Each complex has a shared lounge where social activities take place, including events by local organisations and groups.

Many of our complexes have extra facilities, including a laundry room, garden, and a guest flat.

Guest flats are for visiting relatives or friends, and you should book these in advance. There is a small charge per night for the guest room.

What our sheltered housing officers can do

Our sheltered housing officers can:

• respond to emergencies
• carry out morning checks to make sure you are well
• make sure the emergency alarm system is always working
• encourage and support you to take part in social activities
• make sure all personal information is confidential and is only shared with others you have agreed to
• provide general assistance, including supporting you to arrange minor repairs, and help to fill in forms or contact other services.

What our sheltered housing officers cannot do

Our sheltered housing cannot:

• help with medication
• do your shopping for you
• assist or prepare meals or snacks
• carry out financial transactions for you or look after your financial affairs
• help you to get washed or dressed.

If you need additional housing support, you could get:

• a type of housing called very sheltered housing
• a type of housing called extra care housing, for more personal care support
• a place in a care home
• housing support at home.

You can contact the Adult Services Referral Team (ASeRT) at Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership by phoning 0300 300 1380 to discuss what services may be available.

Sheltered housing is available for people aged 60 or over who have a housing support need.

We have 10 sheltered housing complexes across Renfrewshire. Each complex contains between 14 and 42 self-contained homes, which include a kitchen, bathroom, private toilet and living area.

Our complexes are:

• Altpatrick Gardens, Paisley
• Houston Court, Johnstone
• The Oaks Complex, Johnstone
• Darkwood Court, Paisley
• Gallacher Court, Paisley
• Rowan Gardens, Paisley
• Speirsfield Gardens, Paisley
• Springbank Complex, Paisley
• Fulbar Court, Renfrew
• Monkdyke House, Renfrew.

Sheltered housing services are inspected by the Care Inspectorate Scotland. You can view the latest inspection reports on the Care Inspectorate Scotland website. 

Before you start, you'll need to register for MyAccount through mygov.scot. If you've already registered, you do not need to do it again. 

You must have a current application for housing with us before you can be considered for a property in our sheltered housing complexes.

If you do not have a current application for housing with us, you can complete our housing options application form online.

You do not have to finish the form all at once. You can save your progress and come back to it later.

If you would like to speak to someone about sheltered housing at one of our complexes, phone our housing advice service on 0300 300 0222 and select option 2.

To apply for sheltered housing provided by a housing association, you should contact the provider directly.

We'll pass your application to our assessment panel, who will send a letter to let you know their decision.

A number of housing associations in Renfrewshire also provide sheltered housing. These are:

• Bridgewater Housing Association
• Hanover Scotland Housing Association
• Linstone Housing Association.

Some housing associations also provide the option of retirement housing. This is like sheltered housing, but with no onsite staff.

Housing associations in Renfrewshire that provide retirement housing are:

• Bield Housing Association
• Cairn Housing Association
• Link Housing Association.

Applications for housing at these locations are handled by the individual housing associations.

You should visit the complexes before you apply to help you decide which one is best for you.

If you want to apply for housing at one of these locations, you'll need to contact the housing association directly.

More information

For more information about locations and types of sheltered housing provided in Renfrewshire, contact our housing advice service by:

• phone: 0300 300 0222
• email: housingadvice.hps@renfrewshire.gov.uk

All sheltered housing properties are rented. You cannot buy your sheltered housing property.

How you pay for sheltered housing will depend on your income or how much money you have saved.

You could get benefits to help pay your rent, such as Universal Credit or Housing Benefit.

By moving into sheltered housing, you are also agreeing to use our sheltered housing officer service.

In addition to your rent, the sheltered housing officer service costs up to £14.29 per week, but many residents pay much less than this.

The Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership will carry out an assessment of your income to calculate how much, if anything, you may have to pay.

Emergency repairs

An emergency repair is when the problem:

• is a serious threat to health and safety
• needs to be repaired quickly to prevent further damage to your home or a nearby property.

If it's an emergency repair, phone us on 0300 300 0300.

You can also use the freephone Repairs Direct telephone in the Johnstone neighbourhood office or the Paisley Customer Service Centre.

We will attend to an emergency repair outside of normal working hours when:

• it is not safe to wait until the next working day
• there is a serious risk to the structure of the property
• the property is not secure.

If it’s not an out-of-hours emergency, and does not need to be fixed immediately, we will arrange an appointment for the repair on the next working day.

If we cannot do a full repair, we’ll carry out a temporary repair to make it safe, and then return to complete the repair.

Some emergency repairs will be done within one day if they qualify for the Right to Repair Scheme.

Urgent repairs

Urgent repairs are not emergencies, but repairs which need to be carried out quickly to prevent further damage to your home.

Urgent repairs can include:

• minor leaks and overflows
• damaged flooring and tiles
• faulty showers.

To report an urgent housing repair:

• report it online
• phone 0300 300 0300
• email repairs@renfrewshire.gov.uk 

We aim to fix urgent repairs within 5 working days of you reporting it to us.

However, some urgent repairs will be done sooner if they qualify for the Right to Repair Scheme.

There is a separate way to report a lighting fault on stairs or close.

Routine repairs

Routine repairs are everyday repairs due to normal wear and tear to your property.

Examples can include 

• blocked rainwater pipes or gutters
• radiators not working properly
• faulty electrical switches or light pendants.

You can report a routine house repair online.

We aim to do these routine repairs within 15 working days of you reporting it to us.

However, exact timings for routine or non-urgent repairs will depend on what the problem is.

Some routine repairs will be done sooner if they qualify for the Right to Repair Scheme.
 

Arranging your repair appointment

When reporting a repair, make sure that you:

• arrange the appointment for a time you'll be at home
• give a contact number in case we need to reschedule the appointment
• let us know about any reasons or issues that may affect us getting access to the property, so that we can act accordingly.

If you email us, make sure to tell us:

• your name
• your address
• your phone number
• what problem needs repairing
• what days and times you will be at home so someone can do the repair.

Appointments are available Mondays to Thursdays from:

• 8am to 1pm
• 10am to 3pm
• 12.30pm to 4.30pm.

Appointments are also available on Fridays from 8am to 1pm.

Report a housing repair

To report an urgent housing repair:

• phone 0300 300 0300
• email repairs@renfrewshire.gov.uk 
   

We'll arrange an appointment for a tradesperson to come and fix the problem.

If we need to inspect the repair first, we’ll arrange a visit from a Repairs and Maintenance Officer. 

If we cannot finish the repair in a single visit, we'll fix the problem so it's safe and return and finish the repair later. 

Before the repairs person arrives

Once you have an appointment arranged, we need you to:

• make sure there is a responsible adult present to allow our tradesperson access to the repair
• clear the area around the repair before our tradesperson arrives to carry out the work – this can include lifting up carpets or laminate flooring, clearing counter tops and surfaces, emptying cupboards, taking down curtains or moving furniture away from the area
• keep pets and young children away from the area of the repair work whilst work is in progress.

Changing your appointment

If you can’t be there for the appointment, let us know as soon as possible and we will arrange an alternative time to suit you.

If you do not let us know, and we come to your house to carry out the repair and cannot access your home, the repair request will be cancelled. 

You will then need to call and arrange a new appointment.

Contact us if you need to change your appointment by:

• phone on 0300 300 0300
• email at repairs@renfrewshire.gov.uk 

Phone us on 0300 300 0300 if you have lost your keys to your home or key fobs to your building entrance.

You can also contact your local neighbourhood services who may have spare house keys or key fobs for main doors.

If you need a lock repaired or replaced in your home, you can report a repair online.

You need to tell us:

• your name
• your address
• what the problem is or what is missing (house keys, entrance fob etc.).

If you have lost your keys or key fobs, phone us on 0300 300 0300.

We will let you know how soon we can replace your keys.
 

You're responsible for taking care of your home, including replacing keys.

We advise that you leave a spare set of keys with family, friends or neighbours to avoid needing to request replacement keys or fobs.
 

If you live in a council-owned or council-shared building or block of flats, report a lighting fault on a stairs or close to us.

You can report this if you are a council tenant or you’re a private homeowner in a council-shared building.

If the lights or power are not working on the stairs or communal areas of your building, check if other people in your building or street are affected as well. 

If it’s an electrical power outage in your area, phone Scottish Power Energy Networks on 105 to report the issue. 

If the lighting issue just affects communal areas of your building, report it to us. 

Do not it attempt to fix the problem. It is not safe to investigate a power supply, switch, socket, or light that is not working.
 

Report a stair or close lighting fault

You can also report it by:

• email at repairs@renfrewshire.gov.uk
• phone on 0300 300 0300
• contacting your local neighbourhood services.

You’ll need to tell us:

• the address of the building
• your name, phone number and an email address, if you have one
• if you’re a council tenant or not
• the floor number where the issue is
• if there’s a door entry system in place
• the location of the fault, how many lights are out, or any other details you can provide.

We’ll send a repairperson to look into the issue. It will depend on the type of fault and where it is for how long it will take to be fixed.

If there’s still an issue with the lighting or it’s not safe in the halls or stairs, let us know.