May 2021 e-Newsletter

Call to sign up for the new online residents’ portal

View your rent account balance and statements (for tenants)
View all your leasehold accounts and invoices covering the last 12 months
Pay your rent or service charge
Report a repair (for tenants)
Report a communal repair (for tenants and leaseholders)
Update your personal details

And over the next year, we’ll be rolling out more online services to simplify the way you contact us, and at a time and place convenient to you.
If you had a SeeMyData account with us, you can use the same account details (once you reset your password). For new users, you’ll need your rent account or service charge number to register for a new account.
Housing Online gives you secure access to your account 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and replaces SeeMyData. Access is available through the home page of our website.

Our Hearthstone Centre has moved

Hearthstone Domestic Abuse Advice and Support Centre have now re-located.

They can now be found at the Community Centre 52 Commerce Road, Wood Green, N22 8EP

At present Hearthstone are offering emergency face to face appointments only for victim/survivors that require a place of safety to be able to seek support.

We have a new telephone number 0208 489 3411 and ask that contact is made prior to access to the centre.
More information is available here.

Service update

As lockdown eases, Homes for Haringey will continue to take all reasonable measures to safeguard our residents and staff against covid.

To support this, we are providing a reduced repairs service in residents' homes by restricting works to emergency and urgent repairs only. We will not be undertaking routine repairs, this will include some follow-on repairs such as plastering and decorating until the guidance changes.

Any routine repairs reported will be recorded for us to attend to when national restrictions and safety allow.

Our customer service centres remain closed. Use either our online services or call us on 020 8489 5611 for queries, but please be prepared for a longer wait than usual. Register for an online account where you can report some repairs issues and pay bills.

The full update on how our services are currently running is on our website.

New building safety and compliance team

Homes for Haringey has formed a building safety and compliance team that will ensure all buildings meet the national standards.

Scott Kay has been recruited to head the team as a Director of Building Compliance and his role will be to deliver a strategy for building safety.

He will coordinate all activities and ensuring compliance with building and fire safety standards, across the property portfolio, for residential buildings.

Kay said the team will ensure that residents live in safe homes, communities, and neighbourhoods.

“We undertake to monitor our operations so that residents feel safe. After the Grenfell tragedy, many lessons have been learnt, and as a sector, we must make sure nothing like this happens again. We are improving how we engage with residents and listen to their views,” he said.

Kay noted that after the Grenfell disaster, housing associations/landlords must listen more carefully to residents’ concerns and make sure they are addressed.

More information is on our website.

Artwork for residents:

Our Project Manager, Shaynesia Byfield is a nominee for the Inspire Awards 2021. The awards celebrate diversity and inclusion in UK construction, engineering & housing. Shaynesia is a mentor to young women who want to break into the industry. More information is here.

VOLUNTEERS' WEEK 2021: June 1-7 2021

Volunteers Week takes place 1-7 June every year. It's a chance to recognise the fantastic contribution volunteers make to our communities and say thank you to them.
Please join us this year to recognise the fantastic contribution volunteers make to our services and community. You can share your stories by sending us an email to communications@homesforharingey.org

The Covid19 situation has made the role of volunteers even more important. Volunteers have played a key role in the pandemic response. During an exceptionally difficult year, people from all walks of life supported our residents to deliver prescriptions or food shopping.

If you or someone you know might need help as a result of COVID-19 – e.g. someone to talk to, get shopping, or need health and care support – phone 020 8489 4431. (Open Monday to Friday 8.30 am to 6.30 pm.).
If you are concerned about an adult who you think requires social care and support or you have a safeguarding concern, phone 020 8489 1400.
More information is available here.

Deep cleaning update:

A huge thanks to our staff and contractor for getting the 15th floor of Kenneth Robbins house flooring completed and looking fantastic. The residents on this floor are very happy with the outcome.

Our ICT deep cleaning team have also been covering other sites. They have now finished Norman close N22, residents are happy with the finish
They have also finished the fire-damaged area of Robert Burns house, jet washing scrubbing this now looks great.

Stock condition survey

Earlier this month, Homes for Haringey started a two-year project to survey the condition of all the homes we manage.

We have appointed contractors Pennington Choices to carry out a full stock condition survey to provide us with detailed information on the condition of these homes which will help us to plan future repairs and improvements.

Homes for Haringey will write to residents to let them know when their home is due to be included in the survey programme.

The survey will be a visual inspection only and will cover all internal and external parts of homes as well as the communal parts of blocks of flats. It will also look at the energy efficiency of homes and identify any health and safety concerns. If any urgent safety-related issues are identified during the survey, these will be passed on to our repairs service.

The surveyors will always adhere to the appropriate precautions for COVID19 and wear personal protective equipment (PPE) where necessary.

More information can be found on our stock condition surveys webpage.

EU Settlement Scheme
Application deadline: 30 June 2021

Due to the UK’s exit from the EU, employment rules have changed for some staff. This includes staff from the EU, EEA or Switzerland. The UK government has said it will provide these citizens, living in the UK before 31 December 2020, with the right to continue to stay in the UK and access services such as the NHS, through the EU Settlement Scheme.

Staff affected by these changes will need apply to the EU Settlement Scheme to protect your right to work in the UK.

Applications to the scheme need to be made by 30 June 2021. More detailed information is available here.

Wellbeing service activities:

The 'Tottenham Talking' exhibition opened in May at the entrance hallway of Lowry House! Tottenham Photography Club gifted x20 photos of the local area. They are really and have transformed the space!
One excited resident commented: "Keep them here forever" and "They really brighten the space. Make it homey."

Artists in Residence, Alex and Eva, commenced small socially distant workshops at Clements House and Lowry House. Lovely to see a lot of colours used and residents playing with shapes and fabrics and sewing them together to make eye-catching pieces.

Messages of Hope and Joy this Friday hanging at Clements House. The flags were designed and created by x3 residents in collaboration with artists at El Warcha. You can even see the flags from the park and the staff member on site said she enjoyed seeing them on her walk across the park to work this morning.