General Information
Please click on any of the headings below for more information.
Gas
Electricity
Fire
Burst pipes
Smoke alarms
Keys
To deter burglars
Condensation
Pets
Car parking
Noise and nuisance
Neighbour disputes
Do not tamper with your gas supply. If you do smell gas you must put out cigarettes and do not use matches or naked flames. Open doors and windows to get rid of the gas. Make sure the mains gas tap is turned off. Make sure that you have not left a gas tap on or a pilot light has blown out. Contact your gas supplier immediately.
Do not carry out your own electrical repairs. Remove plugs from sockets of any appliances not in use. Regularly check that your plugs are in good order and are wired and fused. Do not run more than one appliance from the same socket and never run electrical fittings from a light fitting. Check the condition of flexes regularly. Follow the makers’ instructions when using appliances.
Make sure that open or radiant fires are properly guarded. Make sure cigarettes and matches are out before emptying ashtrays. Keep all matches, candles and lighters away from children. Do not dry clothes over heaters, cookers or fires. Close windows and internal doors at night to prevent spread of fire. If you use solid fuel, have your chimney swept at least twice a year.
During winter months take precautions to prevent burst pipes. Make sure that your home is heated. If you go away, leave the heating on where you can, but turn the thermostat down to 10C. If you are unable to leave heating on, make sure that your water is turned off at the stop tap and the hot water, cold water and heating systems are drained down. Damage caused to your contents and belongings will be your responsibility.
It is in your interest to ensure that you have satisfactory alarms fitted. Where there is a battery alarm, ensure that you check the battery regularly, change the battery at least once a year and renew it immediately the low battery ‘beep’ sounds. Smoke alarms should not be covered.
Always keep your keys in a safe place. Do not keep them with anything that has your address on it when you are out of the home.
In blocks of flats, keys are often part of a suited system. For security reasons you cannot get these cut without our written permission. If you lose your keys, you must pay for any replacements. If you lose some of your keys then you should change the locks as someone could use the keys to enter your home.
- Make sure you have secured all windows and locked doors whenever you go out
- At night, make sure ground floor windows and the windows near to drainpipes and flat roofs are all secured
- Do not leave keys under a mat or on a string behind the door
- Do not leave notes outside your home for callers when you are out
- Ask strangers for proof of identity before letting them into your home or your building if you share an entrance with others
- If you have suspicions about a caller, telephone the police
In new properties, especially, condensation is a common problem. Air tight windows and doors increase the problem. You can combat condensation problems by keeping rooms warm and properly aired.
When cooking, washing, bathing and drying clothes keep the door shut and a window open. Avoid using paraffin heaters and bottled gas. Leave trickle vents open and regularly air all rooms by opening windows for a short period. Wipe away mould growth by using diluted solution of household bleach, (always wear rubber gloves when doing so).
Check the terms of your lease carefully before obtaining any pet. If your lease allows you to keep pets, it is usually with previous permission and it is your responsibility to keep them under control. Dogs and cats are not normally permitted in schemes that have communal entrances and communal gardens.
You are asked to be considerate of others when parking in communal car parking areas and to ensure that your visitors are also considerate. It is not the Trust’s policy to designate car parking spaces for individual users within shared parking areas. If you have concerns that unauthorised users are using parking areas, please notify your Housing Manager or on-site representative.
It is a condition of your lease that you should keep noise from your property to a reasonable level and not cause nuisance or annoyance to neighbours. This condition is intended to protect all leaseholders’ enjoyment of their home and therefore, we ask that you observe this requirement.
We have limited powers to intervene in neighbour disputes between leaseholders. It is important, therefore, that the parties concerned make every effort themselves to resolve the problem. By being considerate to your neighbours disputes need never arise.
