One Housing news

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.

Learn more about the insurance

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.

The December 2022 issue of our Resident Newsletter has been sent to our residents via email. If you missed it, you can now read it here.

This issue has lots of stories and updates for you including our new Noise App, Government’s cap on social housing rents, change of our building insurance provider, one year anniversary of our partnership with Riverside and recent updates to MyOneHousing portal.

We hope you enjoy the read.

To make sure you never miss an email from us, please check your spam folder and add ask@onehousing.co.uk to your email contact list. If you use Gmail, please check the 'Promotions' tab and drag your message to the Primary tab at the top of your Gmail interface to indicate it’s important.

Are you interested in working as a Barista in a customer facing role?

We’ve partnered with Change Please Foundation to offer a 3-day barista training programme at the Arlington Conference Centre Kitchen. Upon completion you may be able to secure a 3-month paid employment.

Next cohort:

Day 1 - Monday 5 December 2022 from 10am - 2pm

Day 2 - Tuesday 6 December 2022 from 10am - 2pm

Day 3 - Thursday 8 December 2022 from 10am - 2pm

Venue: Arlington House, 220 Arlington Road, London, NW1 7HE

To sign up, please contact us via employmentandtrainingteam@onehousing.co.uk.

We're pleased to have partnered with Free2Learn to offer Nail Technology courses to our residents.

On our Level 2 Nail Technology course, you'll learn the skills to pamper your clients in a nail salon. You'll apply artificial nails, manicures and luxury/spa services. You'll also learn to promote your services and give customers a great and safe experience. At the end of the course, you'll receive a City + Guilds Level 2 Nail Technology Certificate.

Please note the course will last 9 weeks. This will include 6 weeks of face to face learning and 3 weeks of blended learning.

To learn more and to enrol, please contact Tracey Beesley at tracy.beesley@free2learn.org.uk.

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.

Find out more

We're pleased to have partnered with Learning Curve to help support you to learn new skills and improve your chances of gaining meaningful employment.

If you're unsure if the training is suitable for you, carry on reading to learn more about the free courses on offer.

Business Start-up

Starting your own business can be exciting, but it’s important to be fully aware of the initial processes and requirements of a business start-up. With this course you will learn how to properly curate a business plan and understand your target market preparing you to open a successful business.

Security

Door supervisors and security guards have a key role in protecting businesses and members of the public. It’s a growing industry, with a range of job opportunities. It’s vital that all staff within the security industry have appropriate training to meet legal requirements. To work as a door supervisor, you need to have a Security Industry Authority (SIA) licence and an emergency first aid qualification which can both be attained through our short pre-employment course.

Health & Social Care

As the need for adult social care continues to rise, it's important that care workers have up-to-date support and guidance that allows them to provide the best care possible for the people they work with. Take your first steps into the health and social care industry with our pre-employment care courses, covering topics such as personal care needs and general client care.

Hospitality

In the hospitality sector, staff are often the forefront of the business. When you're working in hospitality, it's important to make sure you give customers a great first impression. With our pre-employment course we can teach you the essential skills needed to succeed in hospitality and provide you with a guaranteed interview after course completion!

Warehousing

Warehouse work comes with a wide range of responsibilities such as restocking shelves, accepting incoming orders, processing and packing orders, counting inventory and ensuring orders are shipped in a timely manner. Our short courses can teach you these valuable skills and allow you to progress onto a guaranteed interview with our linked employer.

How to join

Register your interest by clicking on this link(External link) and attend one of our enrolment and information sessions which will take place at Arlington Conference Centre, 220 Arlington Road, London, NW1 7HE

• 22 November, 10.30am-1pm
• 24 November, 12.30pm-2.30pm

What will you get

• Courses are Government Funded, so there’s no cost to complete
• Guaranteed job interview on completion of course
• Nationally recognised qualifications
• £5 travel bursary to attend face to face sessions
• £25 reward upon completion of any course

If you have any queries or questions, please contact the Employment and Training Team at employmentandtrainingteam@onehousing.co.uk

Register your interest

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 pre-employment training which we run in partnership with Learning Curve
• 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

Find out more

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. We realise, of course, that some people may feel uncomfortable or perhaps slightly anxious about doing that. If that's the case, why not try writing to them? You can use our 'Dear Neighbour' letter or write your own version if the wording here doesn't quite fit.

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 by;

• Completing our online form
• Calling us 0300 123 9966 (Monday-Friday 8am-6pm)
• Emailing ask@onehousing.co.uk

Following your report, the Community Safety Team will review your report and make contact with you and will carefully consider any reports made in relation to noise. Actions may or may not be taken in line with the terms and conditions of our tenancy conditions and anti-social behaviour policy.

If the noise reported is anti-social behaviour, the team will ask you to use the Noise App to assist with their investigations.

What is the Noise App

The Noise App can be used to record noise nuisance up to 30 seconds every time there is a problem. It’s secure and free to use – you don’t have to leave your home to record any noise disturbances. You can then send the recordings directly to us so we can assess any reasonable steps available for us to take.

This will help us tackle the problem, particularly if we need the evidence to go to court. We can also show neighbours how they are inconveniencing other residents, which is normally all we need to do to address the problem.

Please note that the Noise App will need to be used in conjunction with a current ‘open’ case of noise nuisance that has already been reported to us.

We're pleased to have partnered with Learning Curve to help support you to learn new skills and improve your chances of gaining meaningful employment.

We offer courses in a range of areas, with a guaranteed job interview once the course is complete.

What will you get

• Courses are Government Funded, so there’s no cost to complete
• Guaranteed job interview on completion of course
• Nationally recognised qualifications
• £5 travel bursary to attend face to face sessions
• £25 reward upon completion of any course

What courses do we have available

• Health and Social Care
• Hospitality
• Warehousing
• Security
• Creating a business start-up

How to join

Register your interest by clicking on this link and attend one of our enrolment and information sessions which will take place at Arlington Conference Centre, 220 Arlington Road, London, NW1 7HE

• 22 November, 10.30am-1pm
• 24 November, 12.30pm-2.30pm

If you have any queries or questions, please contact the Employment and Training Team at employmentandtrainingteam@onehousing.co.uk

Register your interest