A public body is paying · 6
A housing provider is paying
Council and housing-association work, including decants during major refurbishment and exchanges between two households on the same day. Procurement, scheduling and adapted-property requirements make these unlike anything else on this list.
Residents in a decant have usually not chosen to move. That changes how the day is run, not what is on the invoice.
What this work involves
A decant is not an ordinary move
A household is moved so that major works can happen — a roof, a heating system, a structural repair, a whole-block refurbishment. Sometimes into a temporary property and back; sometimes permanently into a new one.
Nobody in that situation chose it. Some residents have lived in the property for decades, some are unwell, and some are frightened of what will not fit into the new place. It is a removals job in the mechanics and it is something else entirely in the doorway.
Mutual exchanges, which are a scheduling problem
Two households swap homes, usually on the same day, frequently in different boroughs, occasionally in a chain of three. Neither can move in until the other has moved out, which makes the order and the timings the whole job.
Both households are spoken to beforehand and both get the same plan in writing. The commonest failure on these is one side assuming somebody else has told the other side something.
Adapted properties
Grab rails, ramps, stairlifts, wet rooms, hoists. Whether an adaptation travels with a resident is a decision for the provider and an occupational therapist, not for us, and we ask rather than assume.
What we do handle is the practical side: establishing in advance what equipment is coming, what has to be in place at the new address on day one, and making sure a resident is not left without something they depend on.
If a resident refuses on the day
We stop and tell the provider. A crew standing in a hallway is not the right place to resolve a housing dispute, and we do not want to have carried out a move over somebody's objection.
It costs a slot and it is unambiguously the right call. Providers we work with know this in advance rather than discovering it on the morning.
A housing provider is paying
Questions about a housing provider is paying
- 01
What is a decant?
A move arranged by a council or housing association so major works can be carried out, either into a temporary property and back or permanently into a new one. Residents have usually not chosen it.
- 02
Do you handle mutual exchanges?
Yes — two households swapping homes, usually on the same day. Both households are spoken to beforehand and both get the same written plan.
- 03
What about adapted properties?
Equipment and mobility requirements are established in advance with the resident and the provider. Whether an adaptation travels is a decision for the provider and an occupational therapist rather than for us.
- 04
What if a resident refuses on the day?
We stop and tell the provider. A crew in a hallway is not the right place to resolve a housing dispute, and we do not want to have carried out a move over somebody's objection.
- 05
Can you work to a framework?
Yes. Scope, scheduling and invoicing follow the provider's own process, and we confirm in writing what has been agreed for each block of work.
- 06
Do you provide storage between a decant and a return?
Yes, listed at the property and held for as long as the works run. On a long refurbishment that is frequently the bulk of the arrangement.
Who is paying for yours?
Both addresses, roughly what is going, and — the useful part — who is paying and who will be instructing us on the day. That last question saves more trouble than any other on the form.