One Housing news

To help ease the financial pressures during the rising cost of living, millions of households across the UK will receive further support from the Government in the form of Cost of Living Payments worth £900 which will be made over 2023/2024.

This will apply to people on means-tested benefits: Universal Credit, Pension Credit, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), Income Support, and tax credits: Child Tax Credit, and Working Tax Credit.

The Cost of Living Payment will be issued automatically, meaning those eligible do not need to apply. It will be paid separately to benefit payments and will appear in accounts with the account holder’s National Insurance number and DWP COLP. For if you claim tax credit, the reference will appear in accounts as 'HMRC COLS', referencing Cost of Living Support.

To be eligible for the first payment, families must have been entitled to a payment (or later found to be entitled to a payment) of either:

• Universal Credit for an assessment period that ended in the period 26 January to 25 February
• income based JSA, income related ESA, Income Support or Pension Credit for any day in the period 26 January 2023 to 25 February 2023.

For tax credit-only customers, you must have received a payment of tax credits any day in the period 26 January to 25 February 2023.

Please don’t contact DWP or HMRC or apply for the payment – it will be made automatically into the accounts of those eligible.

For more information, please go to the Cost of Living Payment page on gov.uk.

Payment schedule:

• First payment of £301 made between 25 April and 17 May 2023
• Second payment of £300 will be made in the Autumn of 2023
• Third payment of £299 will be made in the Spring of 2024

Our recently launched Noise App is having a positive effect on tackling noise nuisance. The smart phone-based App allows our Community Safety Team to easily review and manage ASB noise cases. Residents can use the App to submit noise recordings to us, enabling us to review the recordings and take the required actions.

Our Community Safety Manager, Lee Andrews says: “Since the launch of the Noise App we are already noticing a much more streamlined approach in respect of our noise related ASB investigations. We are in a position to resolve noise issues faced by our residents more quickly than before, and we are confident that the App will continue to help us deliver a better ASB noise service to our residents.”

Please note that as part of our commitment to tackle anti-social behaviour, we will be hosting a series of events for residents during the National ASB Awareness Week between 3-9 July 2023. Please follow us on Twitter and Facebook to learn more.

More on how to report noise nuisance

We are committed to providing safe homes in safe communities.

To help us achieve this, we have recruited Tenancy Intervention Officers who joined our Community Safety Team to help residents with additional needs and those struggling to sustain their tenancies.

If you have any concerns and would like to speak to a member of the team, please contact us via ask@onehousing.co.uk.

E-bikes and e-scooters are becoming increasingly popular. Most are powered by lithium-ion batteries which can be charged in the home.

It is important when charging e-bikes and e-scooters, you do so safely to avoid a risk of a fire starting and putting your families and homes at risk. The London Fire Brigade has warned that they have seen a spike in fires as a result of electric bikes and e-scooters.

When charging your e-bike or e-scooter, it is important to:

• Follow the manufacturer’s instructions and always unplug your charger when its finished charging.
• Ensure you have a working smoke alarm where you charge your e-bike or e-scooter.
• Charge batteries whilst you are awake and alert. Do not charge batteries overnight while you are asleep or away from home.
• Always use the approved manufacturers charger for the e-bike or e-scooter. Buy an official replacement charger from a reputable seller.
• Do not cover chargers or battery packs when charging as this could lead to overheating.
• Do not charge batteries or store your e-bike or e-scooter near combustible or flammable materials.
• Do not over charge the battery.
• Do not overload socket outlets or use inappropriate extension leads.

Please note residents aren’t permitted to store or charge e-bike and e-scooters in communal areas as any items left there can block emergency exit routes and create a fire risk.

For more information on how to safely charge your e-bike or e-scooter, please visit https://www.london-fire.gov.uk/safety/the-home/e-scooters-and-e-bikes/

We know it can be distressing to see pests in your home.

Although you might be able to get rid of some pests on your own, we urge you to be vigilant when buying pest control products.

You should buy your products from a physical store, rather than online. A reputable store will have products that are safe for you to use, not just professionals.

If you are unable to visit a store and need to shop online, choose products from brands you recognise and order directly from those websites.

If you prefer to buy from online marketplaces, please research the individual seller to check that they are a UK based company and that the products are not industrial-grade strength. Pest control products sold in the UK go through rigorous testing to make sure they are safe for households to use.

Before you use any of the products, always make sure you read and understand the instructions on the label.

If you have any concerns about pests, please visit the British Pest Control Association (BPCA)’s website where you can find information on common pests in the UK along with pest advice sheets.

Please note we treat pests that are a communal problem and carry out pest proofing so if you notice anything, please contact us via ask@onehousing.co.uk or call 0300 123 9966. You can also report the issues via your MyOneHousing account.

We know that when you step out of your front door, you want to see that the building you live in, and the surrounding estate, are well looked after.

When bulky rubbish gets dumped down your street, it is ugly, can be dangerous and is expensive to clear.

Unfortunately, it’s not our responsibility to remove fly-tipping as a service. Therefore, we charge this to you and your service charge increases for that year. We provide adequate waste and recycling bins across our schemes, so fly tipping is avoidable.

If you see that your bin area has black bags on the floor or fly-tipping occurring, please don’t do so yourself. Just because someone else is doing it, it doesn’t make it okay. The more fly-tipping, the greater the cost to remove it and the bigger the increase in service charge.

Help us fight fly-tipping

Wet wipes are everywhere these days. We use them in the kitchen and in the bathroom as well as when changing nappies and to remove makeup. What we often don’t realise is that they pose a threat to the environment, especially if we don’t dispose of them properly.

Many problems with drains begin in the home. Water UK, the charity that launched “Bin the wipe” campaign, says as many as 75% of drain blockages are caused by people flushing wet wipes down the toilet.

Flushed wipes will eventually gather in your pipes which will stop your toilet from flushing correctly, potentially resulting in sewage backing up into your home through your toilet.

These wipes don’t break down in the sewer, like toilet paper. Instead, they congeal with other “unflushables” and cause so called “fatbergs”– a rock-like mass of waste matter made up of a combination of flushed non-biodegradable solids, such as wet wipes, and fat, oil and grease deposits. Fatbergs are costly and time-consuming to remove, and cause blockages in our sewers.

Please remember, it is just as important to avoid disposing of nappies in toilets, and also fats, oils and grease down kitchen sinks. These too will, over time, cause damaging blockages.

If the blockage occurs on a section of pipe you are responsible for, it can leave you with an expensive mess to get fixed. But it doesn’t necessarily stop there.

In some blocks, we share plumbing stack pipes, and this means blocked drains can affect neighbouring homes and communal areas as well as the environment.

Please help us prevent any blockages by doing the right thing – Bin it, don’t flush it!

Do you run a TRA, community group or any small organisation that supports our residents? If so, this Fund could be for you!

We have made £250,000 available to help fund projects that promote opportunities and wellbeing and tackle poverty in our communities.

If you have an idea that could make a difference, we want to hear from you. There is no closing date and will come back to you as soon as we have assessed your application.

We are looking for residents to join our West and Island Resident Panels.

With meetings four times a year, and with the support of our teams, this is your chance to scrutinise our services in detail, suggest improvements and tackle local issues.

Interested? Read more about the roles on our website.

To apply, please submit your CV and cover letter to residentengagement@onehousing.co.uk. Please put 'RP Member' in the subject line.