One Voice

Welcome to our latest news round up for residents.

Our new Noise App is live to assist you when making noise reports

Our Community Safety Team continues to work hard to keep our neighbourhoods safe and enjoyable for all.

One of our most common reports is noise disturbance within homes affecting nearby neighbours. We understand that everyone has different tolerance levels and high-density neighbourhoods are made up of people with different lifestyles, but some noise could be considered anti-social behaviour such as loud music being played at inappropriate hours.

If your neighbours are disturbing you, we would advise that you try speaking to them first if you feel able to.

However, if you feel the noise you are experiencing is excessive and you believe it could be anti-social behaviour, you can report it to us.

Following your report, the Community Safety Team will review the details and make contact with you.  If the noise reported is anti-social behaviour, the team will ask you to use the new Noise App to assist with their investigations.

The Government announces a 7% cap on social housing rent increases for tenants

We know many of our residents are concerned about the increasing cost of living and maintaining their rent payments.

On Thursday 17 November 2022, Jeremy Hunt, Chancellor of the Exchequer confirmed that following a consultation, the Government will introduce a 7% cap on social housing tenant rent increases from April 2023 for the 2023/24 financial year for all social housing landlords.   

This will mean a lower than expected rent increase which under the Regulator of Social Housing’s Rent Standard were set to rise by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) plus 1%.   

Please note there will be no changes to your rent at this time. The changes will take effect from 1 April next year, 2023 and you will receive full details in the rent review notice that will be issued in February 2023.        

As a not-for-profit organisation, we use the money to improve our homes, support our planned investment in critical fire safety works and invest in local communities.

We know too that shared owners are also concerned about rent increases next year. We have been working with the National Housing Federation and other Registered Providers looking at what options are available to the housing sector and shared owners at this difficult time. We are pleased to confirm that we have now agreed a voluntary settlement for shared owners which means we will also cap shared owners rent at 7%. This is lower than the expected increase which under the terms of most leases is linked to the Retail Price Index (RPI).    

We will write to all residents and provide you with a booklet detailing your individual charges in February 2023.

We know the rent increase may present another financial challenge for many of you, but we have a friendly and dedicated team of Welfare Benefits Advisors who can provide support and advice. We have also put together tips and resources to help you if you’re struggling to meet the rising costs of running your home.

If you have difficulties paying your rent or service charge, please call us on 0300 123 9966 or email us as soon as you can so we can work with you to find a solution. We can also signpost you to other experts and sources of advice.

Change of our building insurance provider

As your landlord and the freeholder of the building, we’re responsible for insuring the building against damage.

Please note that from 1 December 2022, we’ve moved our insurance provider from Zurich to Protector. If you're a leaseholder or shared owner, you don't need to take out building insurance yourself as this is covered by your service change. If you experience damage to your property such as walls or ceilings e.g., following a storm, water leak or fire, please contact Protector. If you have a managing agent, please report your claim to them instead.

If, as a leaseholder you sublet your property, you should hold separate Landlord insurance. To make an insurance claim for a leasehold property, our insurer must speak directly with the leaseholder.

Please be advised that we don’t insure your furniture, electrical appliances or personal belongings such as jewellery or clothes – this is your responsibility.

We recommend that all residents think about taking out home contents insurance to protect your possessions against fire, flooding, theft and other risks, such as accidental damage. You can source your insurance through a scheme such as MyHome* or via an independent insurance provider.

*Please note we’re not affiliated to the My Home scheme and we provide their details for information only. We’re not involved in the provision of any cover.

Update on the delivery of our Resident Engagement Strategy

During our Resident Engagement Strategy consultation residents told us they would like to get involved in shaping, scrutinising, and improving our services.

Following your feedback, we were pleased to support residents to create a new Scrutiny Panel which will review customer-facing services and recommend improvements.

The Panel Members held their first meeting on Wednesday 16 November 2022 and will shortly be deciding on their first inspection area. They'll need your help to learn more about how residents receive our services and to undertake the inspections.  If you're interested in mystery shopping or feeding back about services, please contact our Resident Engagement Team via residentengagements@onehousing.co.uk.

Helping you to find a job or training

Our Employment and Training Team is available to support all residents so you can take the next steps in finding the right job or career path for you.

If you’re concerned about job security, need help finding your dream job or would like to access additional training, we’re here for you.

Please follow the link below to learn more about our offer, which includes:

• Free training which we run in partnership with Learning Curve offering courses in health and social care; hospitality; warehousing; and security
• English, Maths, and Digital Skills Level 2 qualification, as well as Nail Technology courses run in partnership with Free2Learn
• Employability training
• Barista and cleaning training
• And much more

You can now report issues with damp and mould and pests via MyOneHousing

Water can have a damaging effect on a home if not piped, plumbed and managed properly.  Where that happens, it can cause damp, mould and condensation which can have a damaging effect on both the property and those living in it. 

If you notice any issues with damp and mould or pests in a communal area, you can now report them via your MyOneHousing account. You can also access useful information and links to purchase kits to prevent damp and mould problems from ever occurring.

We are encouraging all residents to sign up for MyOneHousing – do look out over the coming months as we introduce more services that you can access online. 

To register for MyOneHousing, you'll need to be the named person on your lease or tenancy agreement. If you’re a joint tenant or homeowner, you can each register separately with your own email address for full access to your account online. 

You’ll also need the following details: your agreement reference which you can find on any correspondence we've sent you, first name, surname, date of birth and email address. 

Christmas opening times

Friday 23 December 2022            8am-4pm

Saturday 24 December 2022       Closed

Sunday 25 December 2022          Closed

Monday 26 December 2022        Closed

Tuesday 27 December 2022        Closed

Wednesday 28 December 2022  8am-6pm

Thursday 29 December 2022      8am-6pm

Friday 30 December 2022            8am-4pm

Saturday 31 December 2022       Closed

Sunday 1 January 2023                 Closed

Monday 2 January 2023              Closed

Tuesday 3 January 2023               8am-6pm

If you need to report an emergency repair, you can do that at any time by calling us on 0300 123 9966.

Please note that our office at Castalia Square will be closed during the festive period. Our Millwall office will be open on 28, 29 and 30 December between 9am-1pm. We will resume regular operating hours from Tuesday 3 January 2023.

Celebrating one year anniversary of our partnership with the Riverside Group

On 1 December last year, One Housing and Riverside officially joined forces, forming a partnership which we believe will make us Better and Stronger together.

Since then, we’ve been working together to form one fully merged organisation as well as working to deliver on six key pledges we made.

One of those key pledges was to keep our promises and be accountable to you, publishing an annual report on our progress.

Read on to find out what we’ve done this year, how we’re delivering against our five other pledges and what we’ll be doing for the rest of the year as we continue our journey towards the creation of a fully merged organisation.

Looking after your home

Helping you look after your home this winter

The winter months can be difficult for a lot of us. With heating bills increasing and lots of extra outgoings, keeping your home warm can feel like a lot of financial pressure.

We’re committed to giving you and your family a safe, warm and comfortable place to live in. Looking after your home is a joint effort and we’ll work with you to make sure everything we’re responsible for is looked after as it should be. However, you’re also responsible for looking after some things so please check your tenancy agreement to find the rights and responsibilities specific to your home.

If you’re our tenant and your heating breaks down or you don’t have hot water, we will attend your property and carry out an emergency repair within our target of 24 hours.  We’re working really hard to achieve this target and last we met this for 87.2% of emergency repairs.

The cold weather period is always a busy time of year and occasionally getting parts needs another visit. Please bear with us if this is needed and make sure you ask us for extra temporary heaters if you need them. Do call us on 0300 123 9966 as soon as you have a problem to make sure we can deal with it as quickly as possible. You can report emergency repairs at any time, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

We’ve also put together some tips to help you minimise the risk of any problems from checking your boiler to managing condensation so you can stay safe and well during winter.

Winter home maintenance tips

Please follow these tips to discover some ways to look after your home during the colder months.

• Check for draughts around windows and doors and fit draught excluders.
• Make sure your gutters and drains aren’t blocked or leaking.
• Check stopcock and isolation valves haven’t seized up. If they’re stiff, loosen them with WD40.
• Protect your pipes. Get in touch with us if any insulation or 'lagging' around external pipes needs replacing.
• Check where your inside water stop valve is. This will help if you need to turn your water off quickly in an emergency. Most stop valves are under the kitchen sink.
• If your boiler makes a gurgling sound when on, it’s pipe might be frozen. If you can safely access it, try to gently unfreeze it with a hot water bottle or by pouring hot but not boiling water over it. Once this is done, hold down the boiler’s reset button to switch the system on again.
• If your boiler stops working, check its pressure gauge. If it shows a reading of one bar or less, low pressure could be the reason why your boiler’s not working. Follow the steps in your boiler’s manual to top the pressure up.
• If you go away for over 24 hours, switch off your water supply to minimise the amount of water which can escape in the event of leak and leave the heating on a low setting to prevent burst pipes.
• Check your Home Contents Insurance and make sure you’re covered for any winter-related damage.
• If you’re a leaseholder subletting your property, please remember that you’re responsible for finding temporary accommodation for your subtenant should they need to vacate the property due to flooding or other issues caused by bad weather.

Staying safe when using portable heaters

When strong wind, rain and snow hit, you may be turning to portable heaters to help stay warm. These can present a fire hazard so please use them with care. Please note that portable gas heaters omit carbon dioxide and cannot be used in any circumstances.

• Don’t move a heater while it’s switched on.
• Don’t place heaters too close to bedding, furniture or clothing.
• Don’t air or dry clothing on heaters.
• Don’t leave portable heaters on if young children or pets are left unattended.
• Turn off portable heaters before going to bed at night.

Your safety at home

Carbon monoxide detectors help you stay safe at home

We work to ensure our homes are maintained to a high standard and are safe, secure and warm for our tenants. 

To do this, we must carry out a variety of checks on your property each year, including a gas safety check to make sure your appliances are safe to use, as faulty or unsafe gas appliances can cause carbon monoxide poisoning.

Your home has been fitted with a carbon monoxide detector and it will activate if there is too much carbon monoxide in the air in your property. Please note that the alarm needs to be present in any room where there is a gas appliance fitted. It’s not required for a cooker, so a kitchen is excluded unless that’s where your boiler is fitted.

If you have been affected by carbon monoxide poisoning you may feel dizzy, sick, tired, breathless, suffer chest pains or you may even lose consciousness.

If you think there is carbon monoxide in your home, please call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999 immediately.

If you’re a leaseholder or shared owner, it’s your responsibility to make sure that a carbon monoxide detector is fitted and the gas appliances in your home are safe. We recommend you get a gas safety check once a year, too. If you want to arrange a gas safety check in your home, you can check the official list of gas registered engineers on the Gas Safe Register https://www.gassaferegister.co.uk.

Money matters

Cost of living support

As the cost-of-living continues to affect all households, we know that many of you are concerned about how you will cover essential items such as bills, groceries and rent this winter.

We have put together a list of schemes and funding opportunities on our website where you can learn more about the exceptional payments and other support available, including our Helping Hand Fund.

How we used the Helping Hand Fund to support our residents

1)      One of our older residents was unable to repair her fridge and cooker which broke down. We used the Helping Hand Fund to help replace her appliances.

2)      We supported a mother who had not had her benefits paid and was left with no money for food over the weekend. Our Helping Hand Fund helped us secure supermarket vouchers to allow her to buy food for her family.

Broadband social tariffs can save you up to £200 a year

If you, or your family member, are struggling with broadband or mobile phone bills, please check if you are eligible to switch your package to a social tariff.

Social tariffs are cheaper broadband and phone packages for people claiming Universal Credit, Pension Credit and some other benefits. Some providers call them ‘essential’ or ‘basic’ broadband.

They are delivered in the same way as normal packages, just at a lower price.

Our community

Our TRA Toolkit will help you set up a TRA in your community

Our Tenant and Residents’ Associations (TRAs) help to make sure that residents have a voice and can share their views. By being involved with your local TRA, you can stay informed about issues affecting your local area, organise neighbourhood events and activities, and discuss service improvements with One Housing on a regular basis.

To help you set up a TRA in your local area, we have developed a TRA toolkit. The document acts as a handy guide and provides information about our Resident Engagement Officers, funding and practical help, positions of responsibility, constitution and local service agreements.

Transform your area with an Environmental Improvement Bid

Would you like to make small scale improvements to your local area? Perhaps you would like to create a communal garden or have other ideas on how to improve your neighbourhood.

If so, please submit your application for an Environmental Improvement grant. Successful projects can receive funding up to £3000 to transform local areas. 

For more information and to download an application form, please visit our website.