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Report a repair

To report a repair either complete our online form or call us on 0131 551 5035 during office hours.

Reporting an Emergency Repair out of Office Hours

If you need to report an emergency repair out of office hours phone: Aquarius on 0131 608 1447

For more information on how we categorise repairs visit our FAQs.

Report anti-social behaviour

To report an incident of anti social behaviour you can call into our office, telephone us on 0131 551 5035, write a letter or send an email. For further information on how we handle reports of anti social behaviour please click here.

If you have witnessed an incident of anti social behaviour of a criminal nature please report the incident to Police Scotland. Telephone 999 for an emergency and 101 for non-urgent calls. Please always ask the Police for an incident number and forward this information onto us.!

Make a complaint

You can complain in person at our office, by phone on 0131 551 5035, in writing, email or by using our complaints form.

It is easier for us to resolve complaints if you make them quickly and directly to the service concerned. So please talk to a member of our staff of the service you are complaining about. Then can then try to resolve any problems on the spot.

When complaining, please tell us:

• your full name and address
• as much as you can about the complaint
• what has gone wrong
• how you want us to resolve the matter.

Find out more about how we handle your complaint once it has been made.

Pay my rent

It is a condition of your tenancy agreement that you pay your rent on a weekly basis. If you wish to pay by another frequency you must make payments in advance to cover your weekly rent charge (e.g. four weekly or monthly in advance).

You can pay by: 

• cash or card at the office
• card over the phone
• by bank standing order (weekly, fortnightly, 4 weekly, monthly)
• by direct debit on the 1st day of each month

Please note even if you are in receipt of housing benefit or universal credit you are still responsible for your rent being paid to WGHC.

Please note you cannot pay your rent online.

Our last tenant satisfaction survey revealed there was not a huge demand from our tenants for this facility. We will, however, continue to ask about their thoughts on this through our main tenant satisfaction survey and monitor the responses.

It is important you do not let your rent account go into arrears.

Your tenancy agreement is a legal agreement which is why we can raise action in court against tenants who persistently miss payments.

If you are experiencing difficulty paying your rent we can help. We can discuss your individual circumstances and where appropriate, agree a repayment agreement plan. We can also arrange for you to have a full benefit check to ensure your income is being maximised. 

If you are experiencing difficulties please don’t leave it until it’s too late – always keep in touch and let us know what is going on. 

If you find yourself in this situation please contact our Housing Management Team urgently on 0131 551 5035. 

Make an alteration or decorate my home

Before carrying out any works to your home please read this information.

If you read it and you are still unsure about what you can and cannot do then please seek advice from WGHC staff.

Alterations – permission

Please remember :- 

do not do any work to your house without first getting written permission from WGHC. 

Tenants may not make alterations inside or outside the property without the prior permission of WGHC.

Any and all conditions made with the permission must be complied with and the alteration must be maintained in good condition.

For the avoidance of doubt please note that any permissions referred to in this guidance means WRITTEN permission from WGHC. 

Internal decoration

You may decorate to your own taste but the house must be kept in reasonable order.

• You can paint or wallpaper internal walls;
• You can lay flooring or carpets (but Do not remove threshold plates and Do not use nails or tacks);
• You can put up pictures or shelves but please minimise the number and use appropriate fixings (usually plasterboard wall plugs or similar).
• Do not fit coving or ceiling roses or artex ceilings.
• Do not paint light switches, sockets, central heating controls, radiator valves or other fittings.
• Do not paint kitchen units.
• Do not paint internal woodwork or radiators any colour other than white. Consider cleaning painted surfaces with an appropriate cleaner (e.g. sugar soap) instead of repainting.
• Do not paint or stain entrance doors (i.e. front and back doors), windows or window frames.
• Do not fix stone or ceramic or similar floor tiles.
• Do not fix wall tiles or remove or add to existing tiling.
• Do not glue anything to walls or floors. This includes pictures; hooks, dado rails, panelling etc. Re-moval of glued fittings can cause extensive and expensive damage.

If you want to ask our permission to carry out an alteration please send us details of what you would like to do on our general enquiry form. Alternatively you may send in a letter to our office 

Alterations Inside the House or Flat

Please remember you have signed a legal contract with WGHC and in it you have agreed not to make alterations to the house without our permission.

In particular please bear in mind the following “Do nots”:

• Do not carry out any decoration in the first two years of a new build property. This overrides anything else stated below.
• Do not subdivide rooms or remove walls or erect raised floors or platforms.
• Do not replace or add electrical or plumbing fixtures and fittings without prior permission. This includes light fittings, sockets, switches and cooker hoods. Permission will not normally be given other than for medical reasons. If electrical fittings are external and/or require extending the wiring, permission will be conditional on the tenant obtaining a Minor Works Electrical Installation Certificate from a qualified contractor.
• Do not install cooker hobs or built in appliances or otherwise alter kitchen worktops or units without permission. If the gas installation needs to be altered or extended (e.g. for a gas hob) then permission will be dependent on the tenant obtaining a Landlord’s Safety Certificate from a Gas Safety Registered contractor. Permission will not be granted for gas fires.

Alterations Outside the House or Flat

There are also limits to what you can do to the outside your home.

Here are some more useful “Do nots”.

• Do not paint any external wood including doors, windows, fascias and balcony decks;
• Do not paint any external metal including doors, fences and handrails;
• Do not fix anything to, or drill any holes in, the outside of the house or flat without our prior permission. Permission will not normally be given other than for medical or security reasons (for TV see below).;
• Do not install TV aerials or satellite dishes or cable without the prior permission of WGHC. If permission is granted it will normally contain conditions. These will include minimising external cabling and fitting aerials or dishes to the rear of the property. Aerials or dishes fitted without permission may be removed by WGHC and tenants may be charged for the cost of removal. Permission to fix TV aerials or satellite dishes to buildings will not be given for flats.
• Do not lay stone chips. Do not lay slabs or decking without our prior permission.
• Do not erect fences, garden sheds or other outbuildings without prior permission. Any fences, sheds etc. you do erect must be maintained in good order and removed at the end of the tenancy.
• Do not erect a pigeon coop. Keeping pigeons is expressly forbidden by your tenancy agreement.

Apply for Housing

WGHC will advertise any empty properties available to let to non-WGHC tenants, on the “Key to Choice” website.

Copies of all advertised properties should also be available from any Edindex partner landlord.

Each week we print out an updated list of all the advertised properties. Copies can be picked up from our reception area and are available to everyone.

Applicants can note their interest in any of the properties advertised. This is called placing a bid. All properties are advertised for one week and the closing date for bids is every Friday. Generally, the property will be let to the first applicant on the shortlist who meets the criteria for the vacancy.

You must be registered with Edindex  to note your interest in any of the properties advertised. Edindex Application forms can be picked up direct from the WGHC Office or from partner landlord, including any Council Office.

Apply for an internal transfer

If you want to move house please contact us.

You can also find out about how to apply for a mutual exhange in our FAQ section.

Join WGHC’s Committee

As a fully mutual co-operative only tenants can become members and only members can apply to join the Committee

Co-opted committee membership

Any member who is interested can apply to be co-opted onto the Committee. Being co-opted means that no election takes place but that your application to join is approved by the existing members of the Committee. You will be invited to attend a Committee Meeting and you will be asked to confirm that you wish to take on the responsibility of being a committee member.

Full committee membership

Every year an Annual General Meeting is held. A pack is sent to all members inviting them to attend. At this time any member can apply to stand for the Management Committee by filling in a nomination form and being seconded by another member. If more members stand than there are vacant places then an election is held at the end of the AGM. Those members with the most votes are duly elected.

What is expected of Committee Members?

Management Committee members receive clear guidelines from a Policy & Procedures Documents Pack which sets out how WGHC operates. They must adhere to the Code of Conduct and declare any conflicts of interest relating to matters arising. The Committee meets approximately 11 times in a year. Meetings are usually held once a month, beginning at 6.15pm and lasting 2 hours.

An agenda, minutes from the previous meeting and reports are sent out to Committee members before the meeting. Members are then able to contribute to discussions and decision making during the meetings. The Committee may also decide to form subcommittees. It may also decide to establish ad hoc subcommittees to perform specific tasks within a specific time; for example to review a particular policy or procedure.

To find out more about the role of a Committee Member, a Co-option Form and our New Committee Member Induction Policy click here.

If you are interested in joining the Committee please contact David Mills (COO) or Larke Adger (CEO) on 0131 551 5035 or email at mail@westgrantonhc.co.uk .

Become a member

All tenants of WGHC must first become members of the Co-operative. To find out what this means visit our membership page.

Find out information about WGHC

You can find out more about West Granton Housing Co-operative in our about us section.

Report a Significant Performance Failure

The Scottish Housing Regulator (SHR) can consider issues raised with them about ‘significant performance failures’.
A significant performance failure is defined by the SHR as something that a landlord does or fails to do that puts the interests of its tenants at risk, and which the landlord has not resolved. This is something that is a systematic problem that does, or could, affect all of a landlord’s tenants. You can ask us for more information about significant performance failures.
To find out more from the SHR website click here or you can phone them on 0141 242 5642.
To download a fact sheet about making a complaint about a regulated body click here.
To download an information leaflet on Reporting a Significant Performance Failure click here.
To download a form to report a Significant Performance Failure click here.