Section 19 — Contents, word list and quick guide

Part 1 — Contents

Information about your own home is not in this handbook. Section 1 explains where to find it.

Part 2 — Quick guide: something has happened, where do I look?

Part 3 — Word list

These are words used in this handbook, and what they mean.

Adaptation — a change to the building to help somebody, like a grab rail, a ramp or a walk-in shower. See Section 13.

Advocate — somebody whose job is to speak up for you. They are independent. They do not work for Harbour Light or for your support provider.

Anti-social behaviour — behaviour that upsets, frightens or annoys other people. See Section 11.

Appointee — somebody the Department for Work and Pensions has agreed can look after a person's benefits for them.

Arrears — rent that has not been paid and is owed.

Assured shorthold tenancy — the kind of tenancy Harbour Light tenants have. See Section 3.

Awaab's Law — a law that says how quickly a landlord must act when a home has a serious hazard, like damp and mould. See Section 8.

Carbon monoxide — a gas you cannot see or smell. It is dangerous. Alarms are fitted to warn you. See Section 6.

Complaint — telling us that something has gone wrong and you want it put right. See Section 14.

Condensation — water that appears on cold surfaces, like windows, when warm damp air touches them. See Section 8.

Contents insurance — insurance for your own belongings. Harbour Light does not insure your things. See Sections 5 and 9.

Damp — water in a building where it should not be. See Section 8.

Deputy — somebody a court has said can make certain decisions for a person.

Easy read — information written in short simple sentences with pictures.

Emergency duty team — the council team you can telephone about an urgent worry outside office hours.

Extractor fan — a fan, usually in a bathroom or kitchen, that pulls damp air out of the room.

Fair wear and tear — the way things get worn out over time from ordinary use. You are not charged for this.

Fire door — a door made to hold a fire back. It must never be propped open. See Section 7.

Fixflo — the online system used to tell Harbour Light about a repair. Your support worker usually uses it for you. See Section 5.

Hazard — something in a home that could hurt somebody or make them ill. See Section 8.

Housing Benefit — money from the council that pays your rent. See Section 4.

Housing Ombudsman — an organisation that looks at complaints about landlords. You can go to them yourself. See Section 14.

Inventory — the list of the furniture and other things Harbour Light has provided in your home. See Section 9.

Landlord — the organisation that owns or leases your home and rents it to you. Harbour Light is your landlord.

Legionella — bacteria that can grow in water systems and make people ill. Regular checks and flushing help stop it. See Section 6.

Mould — black, green or grey patches that grow where it is damp. See Section 8.

Notice — telling somebody officially, usually in writing, that something is going to happen. See Sections 3 and 17.

Personal emergency evacuation plan — a written plan about how a person would get out of the building if there were a fire. See Section 7.

Property information sheet — a sheet about your own home. We give it to you with your tenancy agreement. See Section 1.

Reasonable adjustment — a change to how we do something, so that a disabled person can manage as well as anybody else. See Section 13.

Registered provider — a housing organisation on the official list kept by the Regulator of Social Housing. Harbour Light is one.

Regulator of Social Housing — the government body that sets rules for social housing landlords and checks that they follow them.

Repair — fixing something that is broken. See Section 5.

Safeguarding — the word used for keeping adults safe from harm, and what happens when somebody is worried. See Section 12.

Service charge — a charge for shared things, like cleaning shared areas or heating shared parts of the building. See Section 4.

Stopcock — the tap that turns the water off in your home. See Section 20.

Subject access request — asking to see the information an organisation keeps about you. See Section 16.

Support provider — the organisation that gives you care and support. It is a different organisation from Harbour Light. See Section 2.

Support worker — somebody who works for your support provider and helps you day to day.

Tenancy agreement — the legal agreement between you and Harbour Light about your home. You signed it when you moved in. See Section 3.

Tenant — a person who rents a home. If you rent a Harbour Light home, you are a tenant.

Part 4 — The main points from every part, in one place

This part brings together the most important line from each part of the handbook. It is for anybody who wants the whole handbook in one look.

Getting help to understand this

If any of this is hard to understand, that is OK. Ask your support worker. You can also ask a relative, a friend or an advocate to help you.

You can ask us for this information on paper, in a bigger size, or in another format. Just ask us or ask your support worker.