Change of Management Provider and the Introduction of My Brolly

Why are you changing the management of my home to Pinnacle?
Following a review of our Management Provider network and feedback from our customers, we have decided to appoint a different provider to manage your home. The new management provider for your home will be Pinnacle. Pinnacle already successfully manage many of our homes across England.

When is this change happening?
This change will take place on 1 February 2024.

How will you keep me updated?
We will send you emails and letters in the run up to the change, to keep you updated on progress.

Who should I contact if I have a question about this change?
If you have questions, please contact us at customercare@landgah.com and one of the team will be happy to help.

Will the services you offer change?
No, all services that were previously offered by Stonewater will continue to be provided by Pinnacle.

Temporarily, some less urgent services will be suspended for a time as we transition between Management Providers. This will include alterations or adaptations in the home, pet requests and changes to your tenancy.

In future, you will be able to request all these services via My Brolly, our online home management system (more information below). You will be sent details, by email, of how to log into that system soon.

Will a different company be looking after the upkeep of any communal areas (inside and out), or will it be the same company as usual?
This will vary depending on where you live. For the majority, we expect to keep the cleaning or grounds maintenance company the same. However, we will monitor the performance in each neighbourhood to ensure that services being offered to residents are at the standard we would expect.

Can I still telephone or email Pinnacle or do I only use My Brolly to contact them?
After the 1^st February 2024, My Brolly will provide the easiest way to report or receive answers to any queries you have. Please use the Help & Queries section to raise your enquiries.

However, you will also be able to contact Pinnacle

· by email at landgah@pinnaclegroup.co.uk.

· in an emergency, by phone on 0203 701 3514.

Why have you introduced My Brolly?
My Brolly will allow everyone living in one of our homes to log on at any time and manage most aspects of their home – from reporting a repair, asking a question and paying rent – everything will be in one place.

What can I do in My Brolly?
Your rent account – you will be able to see your current balance and payments, adjust the amount you pay, set up a direct debit and download a statement.

Repairs – you can use our online diagnostic tool, request a repair, see the status of a repair you have raised and see the repair history in your home.

Questions – you can let us know if you have any queries, view your household account, ask for an adaption in your home or permission to keep a pet.

How do I register for My Brolly?
You will be sent a welcome email with a link to My Brolly where you can log on and create your password.

I have logged into My Brolly and I am not sure the information I can see is right?
If there is anything in My Brolly that you think is incorrect, please notify us through the ‘contact us’ section and one of the team will review your comments and come back to you.

I don’t have a login or password to use My Brolly
If you have not received a link to log into My Brolly, please email customercare@landgah.com and we will arrange to re-send the details to you.

Can anyone else in my household also register so we have more than one account?
Yes, if there is a joint renter, they can also have full access to My Brolly. To do this, the current account holder can visit the Account & Profile page and click ‘Provide My Brolly Access.’ Access can only be provided for another joint renter and no other household member.

How is my data processed?
Your data is processed in line with our privacy policy.

Will the way I pay my rent change?
Yes, you will no longer pay your rent to Stonewater as you do now. You will be able to pay Legal & General in one of two ways – either by Direct Debit (see below) or you will be able to make card payments directly online in My Brolly.

What about Direct Debits?
If you already have a Direct Debit, as part of the change to My Brolly we will move your Direct Debit to our new supplier – Go Cardless. You will receive direct communication from them as we make that change.

The amount of rent you pay will not be affected, but the day of the month we ask you to pay might change – we collect all Direct Debit Payments on or shortly after the 1st working day of the month.

Once transferred, you will be able to see details of your direct debit in My Brolly.

You will not be able to set up a new direct debit during the transition period, but once you have access to My Brolly, you will be able to set one up there if you do not have one already.

When will this change take effect?
You will be able to pay your rent to Stonewater until the 31 January 2024, but from that date you will need to make payment directly to Legal & General Affordable Homes online in My Brolly once we have sent you your log in details.

If your Direct Debit is moving, the first payment taken by the new supplier will be for your February rent, due on the 1 February 2024.

I am in credit/arrears on my rent account, will this all transfer to Pinnacle?
Yes, your closing balance with Stonewater will be transferred to My Brolly, and Pinnacle will take over any issues relating to credit or arrears on your account.

Can I download a copy of my rent statement?
Once you are registered on My Brolly, you can visit the Account & Profile page and click on ‘Rent Statements’ at the top of that page. You can also see a live view of your rent account by clicking on ‘Rent & Payment’.

Will my rent and service charge change?
Your rent will not change as a result of the transfer to Pinnacle, it will change in April each year as it did with Stonewater.

Your service charge will change in April as normal. As this is based on the costs of delivering services, some costs might change. You will be advised about this in the same way as you did when Stonewater were managing your home and tenancy.

The Management Fee you pay as part of your service charge will change as it is based on the costs, we pay the Management Provider to look after your home. This is set out in more detail below.

You say our shared owner management fee will increase, why is this and by how much?
The management fee you were paying covers the cost Stonewater charged for managing your home on our behalf. The fee Pinnacle charge is higher and therefore the cost you pay will increase.

We understand that any increase in costs will have an impact on our customers. To help with this we have decided to stage the increase over 3 years as set out in the table here.

The base management fee payable will increase in line with inflation each year and is applied as the service charge increases in April each year.

Legal and General Affordable Homes will cover the proportion of the increase not charged to customers. This is illustrated here

If fees increase, aren’t you supposed to consult with customers before you do that? 
As landlord, Legal and General Affordable Homes is required by Section 20 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 to consult with you if it plans to appoint a supplier for more than 12 months that might lead to you being charged more than £100 in a year. 

However, due to the nature of our relationship with our network of Management Providers we do not believe it is possible to do a full consultation when changing Management Provider.  As a result, we have made an application to the First Tier Tribunal to make a decision on whether or not a full consultation is required.  You will be contacted as part of that process so that you are aware of what is happening. 

I receive Housing Benefit or Universal Credit to support with the payment of rent, what should I do?
If you receive either of these payments directly to you, you will need to ensure that you pay Legal & General directly as outlined above.  

If these payments are made directly to Stonewater we will arrange for this to be transferred and we will write to you separately to let you know what you need to do.  

Will my rent change? 
Your rent will not change as a result of the transfer to Pinnacle, it will change in April each year as it did with Stonewater. 

If I pay a service charge, will it change?  
Your service charge will change in April as it normally does.  

I receive Housing Benefit or Universal Credit to support with the payment of rent, what should I do?
If you receive either of these payments directly to you, you will need to ensure that you pay Legal & General directly as outlined above.  

If these payments are made directly to Stonewater we will arrange for this to be transferred and we will write to you separately to let you know what you need to do.  

Can I report issues in my home in My Brolly?
If you have an issue in your home that needs to be repaired, you can let us know by using our diagnostic reporting tool. Please visit the Maintenance section in My Brolly, and click on the ‘Report a New Fault’ button.

Do I use My Brolly to notify you of an emergency in my home or neighbourhood?
Please don’t use our online system to report an emergency, please report any emergency directly to Pinnacle by telephone or call the relevant emergency service straight away.

Can I edit my contact details in My Brolly?
It’s important to keep your contact details up to date. You can update your email and/or phone number by clicking on the Account & Profile section in My Brolly.

Can I update who lives with me in My Brolly?
You can directly update your household members, should anyone move out or if someone moves in with you. You can visit the Account & Profile section and navigate to ‘Household Members’. Here you can click ‘Add more’ to let us know that someone else has moved in with you, or ‘Remove’ if someone has moved out.