Covid 19 - Procedures and Services Update 15th December 2021

15 Dec 2021

In line with updated Government Guidance regarding Covid-19, Peter Heron wish to offer this advice to our clients to keep you all up to date with our associated procedures and any changes to our services. We trust you will appreciate that the situation and guidance from Government will change, and in the event it does; we will endeavour to update our own policy in line with theirs as quickly as possible.

For up to date information click on the link: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-lockdown-stay-at-home

At Peter Heron we take the safety of our valued clients, staff and contractors very seriously. As such we are currently taking the following precautions, as in line with Government Guidance;

Opening Hours -  Our telephone lines are open as normal.

Monday 9.00 - 17.00

Tuesday 9.00 - 17.00

Wednesday 9.00 - 17.00

Thursday 9.00 - 17.00

Friday 9.00 - 17.00

Saturday 9.00 - 12.00

Sunday CLOSED

Branches

Our City Centre Branch and Fulwell Branch is open by prior appointment only.  May we politely request customers do not attempt to enter the branches without an appointment which can be arranged by telephone.   Any key collection will be by appointment only in line with our existing Covid-19 Policy.

Virtual Market Appraisals and Valuations

We offer both Physical and Virtual Valuation appointments and further details can be found on the link below: https://www.peterheron.co.uk/sell/virtual-valuation/

Virtual appointments can be arranged with Managing Director Mr Ashley O’Carroll or Senior Valuation Manager Mr Paul Hubbard.

Please contact our branches as normal over the telephone, via our online booking system or via email to arrange this if required.

Viewing Appointments

A selection of our properties can already be viewed virtually online via our "Virtual Viewings" tab which will always be displayed in yellow on the main photo of the property we are adverising however when this is not possible and if you are living in the home you are selling or renting, you will obviously have some reservations in letting people through your door.  Whilst we fully understand how you may feel, we do believe this can be done in a safe way. We have updated our Covid-19 Procedures which are set out below:

No more than one viewing appointment can be attended at any one time with a maximum of two people in attendance along with the Owner/Agent.

Social Distancing must be always adhered to.

Face masks must be worn by all parties concerned.  Failure to do so will result in non-entry to the property.

The Seller/Agent will ensure all doors are open in order to limit any contact within the property and will remain outside of the property during the appointment. 

All prospective buyers and tenants wishing to view any sale or rental properties must be proceedable and financially qualified.  Our team can run through this process at the appointment booking stage. 

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Tenanted property visits and inspections

All routine Property Visits for inspections to tenanted propereties are now conducted virtually.

Maintenance of tenanted property

We will continue to manage maintenance in line with the timescales outlined in the Tenant Handbooks, out of hours emergencies will also continue to be managed as normal until further notice. All maintenance issues should be reported as normal using the “Report a Repair” tab on the home page of our website www.peterheron.co.uk

Gas Safety Certificates

We can arrange for Gas Safety Certificates to be carried out with contractors having full PPE.

Clients, Customers and Tenants

Tenants in a ‘High Risk Category’ as per the Governments Guidelines or those self-isolating, should contact us via email at [email protected] to inform us,  so that we may update our records.

Rent Payments

Rent payments will be due as normal and for the foreseeable future. If the Government confirms any changes to this and/or any changes to legislation regarding tenancy agreements and rent payments, then we will update this page along with any procedural changes accordingly.

ARLA advise Tenants who have any concerns about paying their rent due to a change in their work circumstances, please follow the guidance from the Department of Work and Pensions.

We appreciate the majority of our tenants already follow tenancy guidelines and pay rent via standing order, however we would like to stress we will not be accepting any “in person” rental payments going forward, this includes cash or card payments in branch.

Tenants can continue to report any repairs via the www.peterheron.co.uk report a repair function, we simply ask for their understanding of potential limitations during this pandemic. 

Please read our full rental payment Q and A in a PDF document.