Tenants text housing problems

Tenants can text message the housing association

Text messaging has become the latest tool for tenants to report problems about their homes.

People living in Eastern Valley Housing Association homes in Torfaen have been offered a text service which allows them to message officers about repair problems and anti-social behaviour.

The scheme is one of the first of its kind to be offered in Wales and about 1,600 people are being invited to use it.

It means tenants can report a problem at any time during the day or night and it will be answered promptly.

Mark Gardener, chief executive of the association said they were making use of growth in mobile phone usage.

"It is all about opening up another communication channel for people to talk to us by," he said.

"Some people don't like speaking on the phone, and this is a quick and easy way of letting us know if there is a problem.

"And the beauty of it is that people can send us a message at any time of the day or night and we will get back as soon as possible.

"Although no-one is around to answer the messages sent during the night, they will get responded to in the morning.

"It is a personalised service - we don't sent out an automated response - so the sender will know that there is someone dealing with their request and not a computer.

"The tenants can text about anything they want help with and we will never miss a text," he added.

A spokeswoman for the tenant's panel said they welcomed the scheme.