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Welcome to your July news from Paradigm
Our Big Door Knock is underway!
We're coming out to listen to your views
During the next few weeks, we'll be out and about in your neighbourhoods and we’d love to chat to you!
Our dedicated team will be hitting the streets, going door-to-door, to listen to your thoughts, ideas and hopes for your homes and neighbourhoods. We’ll be listening to what you tell us and then committing to action plans to make whatever changes we can.
We’re visiting a number of communities and, as well as listening to your views, we’ll be talking about the support we can offer and how you can get any extra help you might need.
What we need you to do:
Please look out for a text from Paradigm Housing two weeks before we’re due to visit your area. We’ll send a reminder text the day before too. If we knock on your door, we’d really appreciate you taking a few minutes to chat to us.
What if we don't come to your area?
Unfortunately, we can’t get out everywhere but hearing from all customers, even those we’re not visiting, is really important to us. Once the project is completed, there will be a chance for customers we didn’t get to see to answer the same questions.
"We don’t want to wait until you contact us with a problem, we want to hear about things we can do to stop those issues happening in the first place,” says Hannah Manyewu, Executive Director of Customer.
Are you thinking about subletting your home?
Your Homeownership Team are on hand to answer any subletting queries you may have, however, your lease will state whether you can sublet your home. If you have bought under the shared ownership scheme subletting is not usually permitted, however, we will accept applications and review them on a case-by-case basis.
If your lease allows you to sublet, you must first get written permission from Paradigm.
There is a fee payable to deal with the request of £120 inc VAT and you will need to submit a subletting application form along with the following documentation:
· Copy of Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement
· Copy of valid gas certificate
· Copy of valid electric certificate
If you have a mortgage, you must also check with your mortgage company whether they authorise you to sublet.
You can contact our Homeownership Team by calling 0300 303 1010 or emailing them at HomeOwnershipteam@paradigmhousing.co.uk to request a subletting application form or discuss further.
If you do sublet your home without written permission from Paradigm, you will be breaching the conditions of your lease agreement.
Support this summer for parents
We know the school holidays can sometimes be hard to juggle because of increased food, energy and childcare costs, work, and other commitments.
Your local Council can provide a range of assistance to ensure you and your children are supported during the school holidays, including food vouchers, holiday clubs and hot meals for eligible families. Find out more by clicking on your local Council's website below:
Buckinghamshire
Bedfordshire
Welwyn Hatfield
Milton Keynes
Or search 'support during summer holidays' in your web browser if yours isn't listed.
Places where kids can eat free (or for £1) this summer
Money Saving Central has put together a helpful list of where kids can eat free during the six-week break. If you do decide to use any of the deals, always check with your local branch to make sure they are offering it before you make any purchases. Take a look below:
We're here to help
Our Support Hub
We know many people are worried about money due to the cost of living crisis. There's lots of useful information and links in our support hub about:
🌟 Your wellbeing
💰 Your finances
🍔 Food
👨👩👦 Your family
💼 Support into work
Citizens Advice
Your local Citizens Advice is also a great service that can help with everything from claiming benefits to cost of living advice. Take a look at their website for more information:
If you're struggling to pay your rent, or are worried about money, please call us on 0300 303 1010. The earlier you talk to us, the better. We're here to help.
Are you worried about a neighbour?
Check who's calling
We have been contacting customers we haven’t heard from in a while to check everything is ok and see if they need any additional support from us.
If you receive a call from us, but you want to double check we are who we say we are, please do call our customer centre on 0300 303 1010 to verify the call. You will then be transferred back to the relevant member of our team.
Are you worried about a neighbour?
Maybe you haven’t seen or heard from your neighbour in a while, you’ve seen that post has not been picked up or noticed unusual activity.
If you have any concerns about your neighbours, please do let us know by calling 0300 303 1010.
If you think there's an immediate risk of harm, call the emergency services on 999.
DIY videos
We have a range of videos to help you with everyday DIY in your home. From unblocking sinks to replacing the battery in your smoke alarm - one of our videos could help!
#DrivingImprovement in our communities
Customers at Cherry Orchard, one of our Older Peoples Schemes, are delighted with their new and improved gardens, thanks to teams across Paradigm.
Derek Currie, Estates Services Manager, said, "Our customers said they had some money they wanted to use to improve the garden. They told us they had been attending car boot sales and had raised £170, and they were keen to bring their garden dreams to life! We also had some funds from our estate improvement budget that we wanted to use to help make the garden an oasis for our customers."
In the scorching heat of late June, members of our Property Services team spent the day with customers, placing hand-crafted planters, filling them with compost, and preparing them for flowers. The team also provided 30 trays of mixed bedding, adding an extra touch of magic. Customers are now enjoying their new oasis thanks to some teamwork and hard labour, fuelled by cups of tea and bacon sandwiches!
#WorkingAsOne to help our customers reduce their energy bills
We changed our energy suppliers last year which has led to high estimates being given for some of our communal areas.
We've been working hard to provide actual meter reads so we can challenge the bills and make sure customers only pay for what they use and were pleased recently to get credit back of over £15,000 for one block. We're now switching to smart meters to reduce the burden of manually collecting meter readings. We have converted most of them but still have over 150 to do.
Do you have household contents insurance?
Contents insurance is a type of insurance that financially protects the possessions in your home, this typically means anything you'd take with you if you moved.
It could cover the cost of replacing them if they’re stolen, destroyed or damaged through unexpected events such as fire, theft, storms, floods and water leaks.
We would advise you to have contents insurance if you don't already - check out Comparethemarket to see the best rates for contents insurance.
Electric mobility scooters
We have seen several incidences of small fires caused by E-scooters or electric mobility scooters. Here are some top tips from the London Fire Brigade on using these safely:
🔌 Charging ⚡️
Follow the manufacturer’s instructions when charging and always unplug your charger when finished.
Ensure you have working smoke alarms.
Charge batteries whilst awake and alert so you can respond quickly if a fire should occur. Don’t leave batteries to charge while asleep or away from home.
Always use the manufacturer-approved charger for the product, and if you spot any signs of wear and tear or damage buy an official replacement charger from a reputable seller.
🗄️ Storage 🏞️
Do not store or charge e-bikes and e-scooters on escape routes or in communal areas of a multi-occupied building. If there’s a fire, it can affect people’s ability to escape.
Avoid storing them in excessively hot or cold areas.
Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for the storage and maintenance of lithium-ion batteries if they are not going to be used for extended periods of time.
🌸 Gardening competition - last chance to enter! 🌸
We know many of you like taking care of your gardens, and we’d love for you to share your gardening achievements with us, so why not share a picture with us to win a £25 gardening voucher?
Even if you don’t have a garden in the traditional sense, don’t worry! You can still join the fun by sending us photos of your favourite container or pot.
Please submit photos of your garden to communications@paradigmhousing.co.uk by 15 August for your chance to win.
Good luck to all the green fingers out there!
Join our team
From Plastering Repairs Technician to Window and Door Installer to Customer Service Advisor, we’ve got lots of vacancies currently available.
We are more than a housing association. We’re a growing business committed to delivering excellent services to our customers and building a great place to work, where everyone can belong.
If you’d like to make a positive impact on the lives of our customers, while developing your career in a professional and supportive environment, we’d love to hear from you!
