Chance for Gentoo clients to meet housing ombudsman in Sunderland

Gentoo tenants are invited to an exclusive event with the England housing ombudsman to hear more about the free support they can get.

The event is on Tuesday, February 27 between 1pm and 2pm at Gentoo’s head office on Emperor Way at Doxford Park.

It will give customers the opportunity to present questions to the ombudsman Richard Blakeway and find out more about how the housing association can help resolve housing management issues.

The ombudsman works closely with Gentoo and its customers to resolve housing disputes.

These involve issues such as disrepair, anti-social behaviour, complaint handling, damp and mould, adaptations, charges, leasehold and other housing management issues.

Richard Blakeway said: “Meet the Ombudsman events are a great way for residents to ask questions directly to me about issues they may be facing or to learn more about how the complaints process works.

"The landlord will also have staff on hand to deal with any case related queries on the day, and I look forward to seeing as many residents there as possible to hear about their experiences.”

Louise Bassett, chief executive officer at Gentoo, said: “We’re thrilled to welcome the housing ombudsman, Richard Blakeway, to Gentoo to talk about our work for our customers and how we are reviewing our services to improve services to our customers.

"We welcome the changes to consumer regulation brought by the Regulator of Social Housing and the Ombudsman which give a greater voice to our customers and will enable our teams to learn and improve our services.

“We are urging all customers to attend to find out more about the free service offered by the Ombudsman and ask any questions they may have - it’s their session as much as ours.”

Tenants are invited to attend the event in person or online via teams and must sign up prior to the session at www.gentoogroup.com, where more information is also available.