Wellbeing | First Choice Housing

First Choice could help Tenants get on a social water tariff with Welsh Water

2 min read

Updated: Apr 1

Hand turning on a faucet with a drop of water. Text: "FCHA: Getting on a Social Water Tariff." Red background with water drop icon.

Are you an FCHA tenant and a Welsh Water Customer? First Choice could help you get on a social water tariff to save money.

WaterSure Tariff

From the 1st April 2025 you won’t spend more than £532.27 a year on the WaterSure tariff.

White accessible bathroom with a shower, grab bar, and shower chair. Yellow textured mat on chair. Open door reveals light wood floor.

You can apply for WaterSure if:

a: Someone in your house has a health reason for using more water. Fore example, you need to wash more clothes or have more baths and showers.

A smiling woman and three kids sit on a black couch. The kids are wearing colorful casual clothes. Cozy setting.

b: There are 3 or more children in your house who are under 19 years old who you can claim child benefit for.

You also need to receive at least one benefit to be on the WaterSure tariff.

Close-up of a water meter showing numbers, a blue button, and logos. The meter features a white background with red and black text.

To be on the WaterSure tariff, you need to have a water meter at home. If you don’t have a water meter then Welsh Water can fit one for you.

HelpU Tariff

A checklist with years 2020-2024, each marked with blue checks except 2024. A blue pen lies across the list, highlighting the pending 2024.

From the 1st April 2025 you won’t spend more than £319.03 a year on the HelpU tariff. That’s around £26.50 a month.

Please not that you have to reapply for the HelpU tariff every 12 months. You do not have to do this with the WaterSure tariff.

A woman in a floral dress signs a document handed by a woman in a wheelchair, set in front of a red brick house with white windows.

You can apply for HelpU if:

a: You are a low income household

b: Someone at home receives a means-tested benefit like Housing Benefit or Universal Credit.

Choose the Tariff that suits you

WaterSure Tariff

If you think you should be on this tariff for your water please follow the link below. First Choice can do the full application for you.

WaterSure Tariff Application

HelpU Tariff

If you think you should be on this tariff for your water please contact Welsh Water directly by following the link below.

HelpU Tariff Application

Help is coming soon!

If you are with Severn Trent or Hafren Dyfrdwy for your water then help is coming your way soon! Please keep an eye out for information on your social tariffs

Pizza and Terrariums:

1 min read

World Mental Health Day 2023

Today is #WorldMentalHealthDay, and at FCHA, our team gathered around a wood-fired pizza van for lunch, indulging in good food and conversation. 🍕 before spending the afternoon at our stress-down session.

Relaxation and creativity were on the cards as staff sat together to build beautiful terrariums, finding solace in the soothing process of creating something green and serene. 🌿

Taking care of our mental health is essential. We believe in fostering a supportive environment where everyone can thrive.

Remember, it's okay not to be okay, and seeking help is a sign of strength.

Call Samaritans or Mind for more information

Samaritans: 116 123

Mind: 0300 123 3393

Keep Wales Tidy: A Retrospective

2 min read

Updated: Mar 7, 2023

First Choice Tenants have continued to tell us how important outside space and access to nature is for their wellbeing, and we have continued to listen!

Tenants and Staff in Cardiff — Start of Cardiff Property 2021

Since November 2021, we have completed 13 garden projects worth over £65k through our partnership with Keep Wales Tidy. This is something we are still looking to continue.

Matthew and Chloe posting at garden — Matthew and Chloe

Outside space is so important to our tenants, particularly during the pandemic for fresh air and wellbeing, and Keep Wales Tidy have helped us to enhance this private garden. We had a great afternoon planting fruit trees, a small vegetable garden, and wildflowers across the property; come summer and years to come it will be colourful and full of fruit. A big thank you to Keep Wales Tidy for their support and guidance (who knew there was that much to planting trees) on this project. - Matthew, FCHA Board (Vice Chair)

Keep Wales Tidy runs the 'Local Places for Nature' initiative which offers a range of free garden packages. The intention is to reverse nature's decline and boost wellbeing throughout communities in Wales.

At the beginning, we were supplied with smaller garden packages which included fruit trees, fruit bushes, wildflowers, bulbs, habitat boxes and tools to maintain the garden. You can read about our first projects with Keep Wales Tidy here: https://www.fcha.org.uk/post/fcha-keep-wales-tidy

tenants and staff planting in the raised beds.

Since then, some projects have grown to include raised beds, ponds, greenhouses, tool sheds, compost bins and seating areas. All of these were developed with the help of FCHA staff, volunteers from FCHA partners, Support Provider staff and the Tenants themselves getting involved wherever possible.

These garden projects are tailored around the Tenants interests and needs. Feedback has shown that the garden projects have improved wellbeing and the biodiversity of the outside space, enabling better access to nature from the doorstep for Tenants and their support networks.