Issue 76 | Autumn 2022 Barnet Homes and Opendoor Homes Residents’ Magazine Fleeing
atHome war
A new home for Nina in Barnet
2 IN THIS ISSUE GET IN TOUCH envelope TALKTOUS@BARNETHOMES.ORG envelope CUSTOMERCONTACT@OPENDOORHOMES.ORG phone 020 8080 6587 (BARNET HOMES) phone 020 8080 6586 (OPENDOOR HOMES) globe BARNETHOMES.ORG | OPENDOORHOMES.ORG PAY YOUR RENT OR SERVICE CHARGE 0845 356 3456 (24 hours) or barnet.gov.uk ASSIST SERVICE 020 8359 4841 or assist@barnethomes.org OUR OFFICE 2 Bristol Avenue, Colindale, NW9 4EW COMPLAINTS Barnet Homes and Opendoor Homes are committed to continuously improving what we do and the way we do it as a result of feedback from customers. We aim to listen to and learn from our customers so that we can address any service failures and monitor services in a customer-focused Weway.welcome complaints and feedback from our customers to help us do this. Feedback can be given to us by email, by letter, through our websites and social media, by telephone, and in person. You can find our contact details above. Please visit barnethomes.org/complaints or opendoorhomes.org/ complaints to find out more about our complaints process and about the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint-Handling Code to which we work. 03 Welcome From our Chief Executive 04 Finest Flowers 2022 Barnet’s best gardeners 06 Equality, Diversity and Inclusion What it means for our customers 06 Black History Month Time for change; actions not words 07 2022 Community Awards Time to make your nominations! 08 Development Building new homes 09 Asset management Looking after our buildings 09 Fly-tipping Keeping our estates clean and tidy 10 Complaints Responding to feedback 11 Community engagement Get together, get involved 12 Customer Experience Strategy Serving our customers 14 Youth engagement Have your say 15 Mental health Championing positivity 16 Cost of living Support from The Barnet Group 18 Happy birthday Housing Options! Celebrating ten years 20 Damp prevention Looking after your home 21 Barnet Homes Resident Board An update from your Board Chair and Vice Chair 22 Resident Snapshot Settling in Barnet 24 Downsizing To more suitable accommodation 26 Sheltered Housing Older people keeping fit 27 We need your voice! Listening to Opendoor Homes residents Building new homes - page 8
Welcome to the Autumn edition of atHome magazine, we have a packed issue for you. On page 22 we learn of Nina’s story, a Ukrainian refugee who fled the bombing in Kiev. I’m pleased to say that she has been successfully housed in Barnet through the combined support of our Housing Needs Officers and our housing agency, OnLet2Barnet.page24,
3
resident Terry shares his personal experience of downsizing from a large 3 bedroom house to a one bedroom flat. He praises our dedicated Fresh Start Officer, Denise for helping him navigate his Accordingmove. to the recent Resident Voice Index Cost of Living survey, carried out on 5,200 social housing residents, nearly 7 in 10 were worrying all or most of the time about meeting normal monthly living expenses. As the Cost of Living crisis continues to worsen, Barnet Homes’ Income Collection Team can support you with maximising your income, assisting with benefit checks, exploring grants, budgeting sessions, connecting you with free impartial agencies. Find out more on page 16. This year our Housing Options Team celebrate their 10th anniversary. We have come a long way and ambitiously expanded the service since 2012. Read about our major milestones on Page 18. We have recently developed a new Customer Experience Strategy. One focus area for the next two years will be introducing online self-serve for residents to report repairs and book their appointment. We will be piloting this later this year so are looking for Barnet Homes tenants and Opendoor Homes tenants who would like to help with this. See page 12 for more details. You’ll notice that there’s a bit of change in this issue of atHome. We’ve divided it up into three sections - The Barnet Group (blue) is information for all our customers. The orange section may be more relevant for Opendoor Homes residents, and the burgundy pages are more specific to Barnet Homes residents. We hope this helps you find the information you need a bit more
TIM MULVENNA
THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE
TimAllquickly.thebest,
The winners of the categories Bestare: front/back garden Zahra from Hawker (Grahame Park)
Best balcony/display containers Mr. Hill from Booth Road Best sheltered housing garden Vale Court Garden Club Best communal garden Upper Alexandra Road Garden Club The Geoff Bedingfield award for the most outstanding garden Raju from Wellington (Grahame Park) Best new gardeners Rocklands Garden Club
4
And the Finest Flowers 2022 winners are...
The Barnet Group were delighted to hold this year’s competition in person, going out with a group of judges to look at the beautiful gardens around the borough. We are proud that through the challenges of the last two years we have continued to hold the competition virtually with residents sending in photos, but it is different from actually visiting the gardens and hearing the story behind them. One such story comes from the winners of this years ‘Best new gardeners’ which went to the Rocklands Garden Club. Like in so many other cases the Rocklands Garden Club was born during the lockdown when Claire started to do some gardening, which she had never done before. It wasn’t long until other residents in the blocks were joining in and the result is a beautiful communal garden with a new sense of Thecommunity.standard of entries was extremely high as usual, and they are all winners in our eyes!
GARDENING THE 2022 FINEST FLOWERS WINNERS
5
Zahra from Hawker Vale Court Raju from Wellington Rocklands Garden club - Claire with Ken who planted this beautiful rose bush in honour of his late wife Olive Mr Hill, Booth Road Upper Alexandra Road Garden Club
Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion
Visit our websites to read more about our aims and commitments in our Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Strategy 2022-26, and to find out through our Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Annual Reports about how we are making progress: thebarnetgroup.org/publications
If you have an idea for a Black History Month event and would like to apply for some funding from our Covid-19 Recovery Community Fund, email us at getinvolved@barnethomes.org or get.involved@opendoorhomes.org for some advice.
6
EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY OPPORTUNITY AND FAIRNESS
Last year in our autumn edition of atHome we shared news of our Race Equality Action Plan and how we aim to improve equality of opportunity and fairness related to race for our staff and customers. Since then, we have been working behind the scenes with staff and consulting with residents in developing our new Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Strategy. We are very excited to launch our strategy, which sets out our commitment to being a more inclusive organisation by advancing equality of opportunity, tackling prejudice, and promoting understanding and accessibility. We value the diversity of the communities we serve, and we take steps to make sure that in everything we do, no one is unfairly disadvantaged or discriminated against because of their age, disability, gender, gender identity, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, or sexual orientation.
What it means for our customers
Our new EDI Strategy has three areas of focus:
People of colour are often given the double burden of experiencing racism and discrimination, and then being expected to fix it. Hopefully, by making the theme of this year’s Black History Month - Time for Change: Action Not Words we can all come together to make a change for the Webetter.are proud to support and celebrate BHM and the diversity we have within our staff and Forcommunities.moreinformation and history of BHM visit blackhistorymonth.org or Barnet Council’s website for local activities and events taking place throughout October.
1. creating a diverse workforce with fairness and equality embedded in how we support and develop our people. 2. ensuring customers have fair access to the services they need. 3. ensuring our governance structures and support services work towards the elimination of discrimination and the promotion of fairness.
Time for Change; Actions not words
1-31 October 2022 Black History Month (BHM) is a time to celebrate black history, heritage, culture, and the iconic figures that have contributed and achieved so much, not just in the UK but throughout the world.
If you have limited access to the internet and would like to make a telephone nomination, call Charmaine Carr on 020 8359 2632
7 COMMUNITY AWARDS CELEBRATING OUR LOCAL HEROES
Pictured: one of last year’s winners
This is an order made under the Anti-Social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014 that allow designated council and police officers to control activities that are deemed persistent anti-social behaviour, through issuing of advice and if necessary fixed penalty fines and more formal prosecutions for repeat offenders. The consultation covers a range of anti-social behaviour – including problem street drinking, littering, dog fouling, use of fireworks, using psychoactive substances and aggressive begging – as well as any other behaviour that could cause harassment, alarm or distress.
new powers to tackle ASB 2022 Community Awards: Time to make your nomination
2021 was another bumper year for nominations for The Barnet Group’s Annual Community Awards. We continue to be overwhelmed by the work that individuals and groups carry out in the community, they are our unsung heroes. We are excited to be able to hold our upcoming Community Awards event in person again for the first time in two years. This is scheduled for January 2023, so please, please, please if you know of a neighbour or local group or charity that goes the extra mile, take a minute to nominate them for an award by visiting the Barnet Homes or Opendoor Homes websites and completing the online nomination form. categories
are: • Good Neighbour Award • Volunteer of the Year • (underofVolunteertheYear25) • YeargroupcommunitycharityVoluntary,orofthe • COVID-19 Inspirational person of the year
Community Safety Team consult
As part of the council’s approach to community safety, a consultation has just been launched on Engage Barnet that would give boroughwide powers to enforce against a range of anti-social behaviours – from problem street drinking to dog fouling. The consultation now underway is asking residents to have their say on the introduction of a borough-wide ‘Public Space Protection Order (PSPO)’.
The award
The consultation can be accessed at engage.barnet.gov.uk and will be open until 24 October. Please make sure you have your say. on
Little Strand, NW9
Not a first, but a second. Atholl Court will be the second extra care scheme that The Barnet Group has completed, after Ansell Court in Mill Hill in 2019. Situated on Burnt Oak Broadway, the 51-home facility will provide care for Barnet’s older people, particularly those living with additional support needs and dementia. It was built on the site of the former Burnt Oak Registry Office, so keep an eye out for it next time you’re in the area; we think it’s a great addition to Burnt Oak.
Hermitage Lane, NW2
This will also be a first for us, building homes for affordable rent as well as for shared ownership and public sale. The income generated will be reinvested into public services, helping Barnet residents. The homes will have just been completed by the time you receive this, with residents soon moving. The mixture of one and twobedroom properties will also have a number of homes adapted for those in wheelchairs.
8
A season of firsts for The Barnet Group BUILDING NEW HOMES FOR BARNET RESIDENTS
Another first will be at Little Strand, just behind the Grahame Park Estate. Here, we’ll be building 35 new homes in a ‘zerocarbon’ development. This means that we’ll be using efficient building materials, electric boilers and good air-tightness levels. Heating and energy will be generated by air source heat pumps and solar panels.
Since building the first new homes in a generation at Alexandra Road (N12) in 2013, The Barnet Group has continued to build much-needed new homes for Barnet. From small beginnings, we are now targeting over 1,000 new homes across the borough, providing somewhere to live for those in most need. We have a wide range of projects on the go, and you may well see Barnet Homes or Opendoor Homes branding on sites across the borough, but we’d like to share some progress updates with you.
Atholl Court, NW9
This is the first project where we will manage the delivery for another housing organisation. There will be 217 new homes at Fosters in Hendon; a mixture of homes for affordable rent, homes for shared ownership and an extra care scheme. A small ground-breaking event was held this summer, together with the existing Fosters residents who helped design the new homes, making sure they will be part of the existing community. The groundbreaking ceremony is pictured above.
Fosters Estate, NW4
9
Launching our Asset Management Strategies Help us to stamp out fly-tipping YOUR HOMES AND LOCAL AREA LOOKING AFTER THEM
Between Barnet Homes and Opendoor Homes, we manage almost 14,000 properties across Barnet and further afield. We recognise that the quality of homes and related services we provide, directly impact on the life experience and wellbeing of the residents in our Thecommunities.rightofour residents to live in a decent home that is safe, healthy and fit for purpose is at the heart of everything we do. Our new Asset Management Strategies set out how: • we understand the condition of our properties • continue to maintain homes to ensure they are safe, energy efficient and provide a healthy and fit-for-purpose living environment • improve our estates to make them great places to live. You can read and download the full and summary versions at barnethomes.org and opendoorhomes.org, or call us on 020 8080 6587 to receive a hard copy.
• Take items to the Reuse and Recycling Centre, Summers Lane, N12 0RF for free. Please book in advance before visiting: barnet.gov.uk/recycling • Book and pay for a bulky waste collection at barnet.gov.uk/bulkywaste - Charges start at £35 for up to three items.
There has been a sharp increase in fly-tipping on our estates and roads. This is an environmental hazard and nuisance which can ruin your Fly-tippingneighbourhood.isalso a criminal offence carrying large fines and possible prison sentences. It starts with a single item and can swiftly build into the below pile which was located in Barnet. If you witness fly-tipping, we advise you not to put yourselves at risk by challenging the offender. Do not approach the person. Please make a note of the date and time of the incident and the exact location to report it to us on 020 8080 6587. If you have large items of furniture or appliances to dispose of, please do so in one of the following •ways:You can find out how to donate furniture or have large electrical appliances collected for free at barnet.gov.uk/reducereuse
Between 1 April and 30 June, Opendoor Homes had 24 Stage 1 complaints to respond to, and two complaints were escalated to Stage 2 of our process. We answered 92% of Stage 1 complaints and 100% of Stage 2 complaints within our target of 10 working days. An example of learning from complaints is included below.
You Said… it sometimes takes too long for some areas of work to be completed
Opendoor Homes
You Said… surveyors do not always follow through on promises, leading to you having to chase us to get the works completed. We did… a roll out of a new pre-inspection process, including manager audits to ensure commitments are met.
LEARNING FROM COMPLAINTS RESPONDING TO FEEDBACK
Learning complaintsfrom
Barnet Homes
Between 1 April and 30 June, Barnet Homes had 290 Stage 1 complaints to respond to, and 27 complaints were escalated to Stage 2 of our process. We answered 94% of Stage 1 complaints and 81% of Stage 2 complaints within our target of 10 working days. Examples of learning from complaints are included below.
You Said… we were not always keeping you updated often enough about the progress of your Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) case We did… a review of our ASB officers’ casework, and managers also discussed with officers in their monthly one-to-one sessions the need to ensure timely contact with residents with an open ASB case. We appreciate that all residents who report ASB expect timely communication, and because of your feedback we are reviewing our ASB processes and are also recruiting a new ASB officer to support the team in tackling all allegations of ASB.
Learning from complaints
We did... a focused exercise on our recruitment strategy for plastering and carpentry, as we had some resourcing issues in these areas. Whilst plastering is still a challenge nationally, our waiting time for carpentry appointments has reduced significantly over the past 4 weeks
10
You Said… surveyors do not always follow through on promises, leading to you having to chase us to get the works completed. We did… a roll out of a new pre-inspection process, including manager audits to ensure commitments are met.
Resident Housing Surgery coming to East Finchley on Thursday 29th September
11
Get get
Over 90 residents attended our last surgery to meet with officers from across all of our housing services, including our BOOST Team, who were available to provide information and advice on the support available to assist with the cost of living crisis.
We received positive feedback from residents with many saying that it was good to meet staff face to face to answer their questions. We look forward to seeing you at our next Resident Housing Surgery!
HAVE YOUR SAY RESIDENT INVOLVEMENT
involved and have your say
Get Together, Get Involved virtual meeting will be held on Thursday 13 October from 6.30-7.30pm on Microsoft Teams, where we will be providing an update on our Customer Experience Strategy and action plan For more information or to book a space email getinvolved@barnethomes.org or get. involved@opendoorhomes.org
Join our next Get Together, Get Involved - Thursday 13 October
Our last resident Get Together, Get Involved virtual meeting was held on 14th July, it focused on the rising cost of living and our commitment to support residents through our new Sustainable Tenancies Strategy. Speakers from our Rental Income Team and Boost service provided an overview of the support that is available to help lessen the impact on our residents. The support on offer includes access to jobs, employability skills, training courses, community presence and wellbeing Oursupport.next
Following the success of our first housing surgery on 19 May in Burnt Oak, we are all geared up to invite you to our next surgery, to be held on Thursday 29th September at St Mary’s Parish Centre, 279, High Road, London N2 8HG between 3pm-8pm
together,
• Provide residents with the ability to: - report their repair and book a repair appointment online - check planned future works to their home or block
Our focus areas for the first year will be to:
• Whilst we regularly receive positive feedback about our people and services, sometimes our customer care falls short and we don’t always fully consider customers when providing services or when we plan and communicate changes that will affect customers.
• Have more Customer Service Officers and more Operatives working on gas repairs during the colder months when we have higher demand
We have developed a supporting action plan for the Customer Experience Strategy, the progress of which will be regularly reviewed by customers and senior managers. Our key focus areas and activities for the first year (September 2022 to August 2023) are outlined below under each goal.
1. Easy to access, responsive services
• Lots of customers have a ‘right first time’ experience but some customers find it difficult to get the advice and assistance they need. Issues include long wait times when calling us and delays receiving responses to emails, having calls returned or having their repair or issue fully resolved.
Our engagement with customers, colleagues and a review of insight such as complaints showed us that:
12
Goal 1. Easy to access, responsive services
3. Customer excellence central to all we do Why these goals?
• Improve our systems to minimise issues for customers such as calls not connecting or being cut off
• Introduce call recording for all customer contact teams to regularly assess our customer care and the advice we provide
• Increase our presence on estates and improve our responsiveness to estate issues including those regarding cleanliness and communal repairs
CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE SERVING OUR CUSTOMERS The Barnet Group’s new Customer Experience Strategy 2022-24
Thank you to everyone who participated in the focus groups, surveys and one-to-one interviews which have helped shape The Barnet Group’s new Customer Experience Strategy. Barnet Homes and Opendoor Homes residents played a key role in shaping the focus areas of the new strategy.
2. Compassion for vulnerable customers
• We also want to provide tenants and leaseholders with the ability to check their balance online (we used to offer this for tenants but need a new system). We will review how we can do this next spring.
• Customers who have gone through traumatic experiences may find it difficult to contact us when they need assistance so it is really important that we help in the right way when they do contact us. Some vulnerable customers that we assist need additional support to navigate our services such as completing forms and applications.
The new strategy outlines The Barnet Group’s strategic direction and priorities for customer experience over the next two years. The goals of the strategy are to have:
What will we focus on first?
• Give teams tools to resolve customer requests quickly and provide customers with updates where these will be helpful including when we know there will be a delay or other issues
•
•
Our focus areas for the first year will be to:
13
•
•
•
•
Goal 2. Compassion for vulnerable customers
• Improve our communications with vulnerable customers, including our housing advice letters and the communications that we send about rent arrears.
Less complaints about customer care
We are developing a repairs online self-serve option so that residents can diagnose their repair issue and book their repair appointment through our website, without having to call or email us. Before we launch repairs self-serve to all residents, we will run a pilot session with a group of Barnet Homes and Opendoor Homes tenants. The pilot will allow us to test whether everything works and to make any improvements using resident feedback. We are aiming to start the pilot in November 2022. To make the pilot meaningful, we would like as many tenants as possible to participate. If you are a Barnet Homes or Opendoor Homes tenant and would like to help us test our repairs self-serve option please email our Customer Contact Team at Talktous@BarnetHomes.org or customercare@opendoorhomes.org and include ‘I want to pilot repairs self-serve’ as the subject of your email. We would also like customers to help us finalise our new customer service standards (timeframes for responding to certain enquiries) and our customer care principles (our promise about how we will provide customer care). If you would like to help us shape these please contact us at TalktoUs@BarnetHomes.org or customercare@opendoorhomes.org and title your email ‘Customer Care Principles’. When emailing us, please include your name, address and your tenancy or account number. Thank you!
Our focus areas for the first year will be to:
•
Goal 3. Customer excellence will be central to all we do.
Introduce customer care principles that all teams and contractors work to, focused on what customers have told us is important
Introduce regular customer focus groups to better understand how we can improve customer experience on an ongoing basis Create opportunities to involve customers more when we are planning and communicating changes and events that will affect them Create more opportunities to hear about the experience of the people supported by Your Choice (Barnet) Address recurring issues that cause problems for customers such as rescheduled appointments for repairs. What impact will these changes have for customers? We have a suite of measures to assess the impact of the changes on customers and the people that we support. These include: An increase in overall satisfaction with our services More customers agreeing that we treat them fairly and with respect More customers satisfied that we are easy to deal with
•
•
•
• Improved call and email response wait times Would you like to help test our new online repairs service?
• Set up a specialist Domestic Abuse Team to assist people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness because of domestic abuse.
Less complaints about repair delays and other delays
• Provide training and improved guidance to teams who regularly assist vulnerable customers to improve how we engage with and support vulnerable people and people affected by trauma.
The sessions were a huge success, and some participants have since signed up to join one of the Council’s youth forums. The insights gained from the workshops will help shape the Council’s new plan to support children and young people.
14
Findings from this engagement can be found at workshopsengage.barnet.gov.uk/young-peoples-
YOUTH ENGAGEMENT YOUNG PEOPLE
Over 500 young people from across the borough shared their views through the perception survey (conducted late 2021/early 2022) and the findings show that most young people:
• Are concerned about crime (41%), litter/dirt in the streets (29%) and traffic congestion (26%) In July 2022, the Council ran six workshops with young people to unpack the recent perception survey results. 63 young people shared their views on several topics including education, housing, mental health, and community safety.
Our Youth and Community Apprentice was lucky enough attend one of Barnet Council’s resident engagement workshops to better understand young people’s experiences. Barnet Council wants young people to have a say on issues that impact them and to help make a positive change in their local area.
• Think that the council is doing a good job - 90% 2021/22 compared to 92% in 2020
• Are happy with their local area as a place to live - 94% 2021/22 compared to 90% in 2020 • Think Barnet is a family-friendly place to live - 89% 2021/22 compared to 84% in 2020
• Think the council involves them when making decisions - 70% 2021/22 compared to 60% in 2020
. To request a hard copy, call Barnet Council on 020 8359 2000. For details about the Council’s youth forums, visit barnet.gov.uk/mysaymatters and you can also follow them on Instagram @BarnetYouth_
SUPPORTING
If you have an idea for a local community project, social get together event or know of a group based in Barnet that would benefit from the fund, you can apply for up to £250 to make it happen. Visit either Barnet Homes or Opendoor Homes websites to complete an online application. For more information on the criteria or assistance in completing the online form, residents or service users of Barnet Homes or Your Choice Barnet can email getinvolved@barnethomes.org.
Apply for Covid-19 Recovery Funding
15
Promoting better breathing and wellbeing for local residents HEALTH SUPPORTING RESIDENT WELLBEING
Angie’s Keep Calm and Sing (AKCAS) has recently completed its keep calm and breathe workshops in the Burnt Oak and Colindale areas of Barnet with support from our Covid-19 Recovery Community Fund. The project was successful in achieving its aims of bringing different people together who may not have met otherwise, improving wellbeing and giving an opportunity for people to re-connect with people they hadn’t seen in a long time due to lockdown. “It has been an enjoyable project in partnership with Barnet Homes that has brought people back together. This project helped improve residents’ breathing and wellbeing, whilst having FUN through singing. Thank you to everyone for supporting our efforts to reach people in the Burnt Oak/Colindale area who might have found it difficult to get out and about to meet others, particularly those with mobility issues.” Angie AKCAS group. Raquel, workshop attendee commented, “I love the workshops, I didn’t realise that I wasn’t breathing properly until I started attending. I continue to do the breathing exercises as part of my daily health and wellbeing, as they’ve helped with the terrible reflux I was getting. Thanks to the breathing and relaxation techniques you taught, I no longer require medication for this.”
AKCAS is one of many projects that has been supported by our Covid-19 Recovery Community Fund, financially sponsored by our contractors as part of their investment into our communities.
Opendoor Homes residents can email get.involved@opendoorhomes.org.
MENTAL
If you are in receipt of housing benefit or universal credit, we will be able to assist you with applying for a DHP from the local council. A DHP could assist you in clearing part or in some cases, all of your rent arrears! For more information, please ring us on 020 8610 3538 and a member of staff will offer you an appointment (telephone/home/ office). Don’t delay, contact us today!
COST OF LIVING SUPPORTING YOU
2. How much do you spend and what do you spend your money on?
3. Balance your budget. What changes could you make to make your money go further? These links may be useful: budgeting/budget-plannermoneyhelper.org.uk/en/everyday-money/
We are here to help, with lots of support options Weavailable.cansupport you with maximising your income, benefit checks, exploring grants, budgeting sessions, connecting you with free impartial agencies. Rent is a priority debt and as your landlord we understand that many customers will need help to get through these challenging times – please contact us for assistance. Budgeting Budgeting your income is a good starting point for making your money go further. The links below are helpful tips on how to budget your money.
1. Begin with your income. How much do you have coming in?
The first step of making a budget is knowing how much money you receive on a monthly basis against how much you spend and where the money goes! Consider the following:
Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP)
The government has issued funding to all local councils to support vulnerable customers who are struggling with the Cost of Living Crisis. If you are struggling with your energy or household bills, please contact us for further help. Are you an Opendoor Homes customer? If so, please note that you cannot use Barnet Council’s 24 hour automated payment line to pay your rent or the Barnet Homes/Council website. Rent can only be paid by bank transfer (you can find the details on any rent statement letter sent to you) or by telephoning us on 020 8080 6586 and by speaking directly to one of our officers.
UK Search Limited UK Search are an appointed contractor of The Barnet Group Ltd. Should you be contacted by UK Search Limited, please be assured that they are working with us to support us with income maximisation.
We’re here to help 16
a-budgetcapuk.org/money-and-debt-advice/building-
Household Support Fund
The rise in the cost of living is something that we have not seen since the 1970s, impacting gas and electric, fuel, broadband, water, food, and perhaps the ability to meet your rental obligations.
in Barnet Support Cost of Living The rising cost of living is affecting many people in the London borough of Barnet. To support residents who may be feeling the financial pressures of these rises Barnet Council and other local organisations are here to provide guidance on the financial support available to you. Finances and housing Employment services Children and adult social care Mental health and wellbeing What support is available? You’ll find information on: There are also number of other support services available to residents, including food and meal support, debt management, care services and more. www.barnet.gov.uk/costofliving If you would like to talk to someone about these services, please call us on 0208 359 2000 SPEAK TO SOMEONE ABOUT EMPLOYMENT AND BENEFIT ADVICE Boost provides personalised benefit advice, skills and employment services to Barnet residents. This support includes a team committed to helping residents get back on their feet, and includes services such as CV writing, interview workshops, and weekly updates on new jobs and apprenticeship opportunities. To learn more visit www.boostbarnet.org Or call us on 0208 359 2442 ACCESS OUR ONLINE COST OF LIVING PAGE 17
18
HOUSING OPTIONS TACKLING HOMELESSNESS IN BARNET Options is 10 years old!
Housing
A lot of work has taken place to turn Housing Options into the high-performing homelessness and lettings service that it is today. We want to look back on some of the key moments of the last 10 years of Housing Options, and to reflect on where the service is currently at. Key moments so far: In April 2012, Barnet Homes takes over the Housing Needs & Resources service from London Borough of Barnet (LBB), and rebrands it as Housing Options. In October 2012, Let2Barnet is launched, our private lettings service that helps housing applicants to find suitable accommodation in the private rented sector. In the past 7 years, Let2Barnet has let 4,735 suitable, affordable homes to housing applicants,
Housing Options Head of Service Ian and Director of Customer Experience Kate
• Supporting households to move out of temporary accommodation (TA) into longer-term properties. The number of households living in TA is at its lowest level for more than 10 years.
We are doing our very best to support our residents at this difficult time, by:
• Bidding successfully for new funding. We have been awarded £7.5m to buy 55 studio properties to support residents who are sleeping rough, and awarded £250k to set up a dedicated Domestic Abuse Team.
preventing many households from needing to move into temporary accommodation.
19
In 2015, Housing Options secured funding to set up our own women’s refuge, and we launched the Domestic Violence and Abuse One Stop Shop in the same year. The One Stop Shop’s multi-agency approach helps survivors of domestic abuse to receive the support that they need all under one roof.
Where we are now?
• Through our new Customer Experience Strategy, we will focus on improving support for our more vulnerable customers – for example by helping people to engage with our services, and delivering ‘trauma-informed’ training to our frontline staff-members.
• Building and buying more suitable affordable homes - for example by delivering almost 600 homes so far through Opendoor Homes, and spending £1.3m to adapt properties to make them medically suitable for households’ needs.
From 2020, the service continued to support housing applicants during the pandemic – working from home and in the office in a Covid-secure way, and housing rough sleepers safely through the government’s ‘Everyone in’ initiative.
This is a challenging time for residents and for local authorities. We are seeing an increase in applications for housing assistance, due to the cost-of-living crisis, with the courts again processing evictions from the private rented sector, and with international conflicts leading to an increase in refugees who need our help. Additionally, private sector rents have increased by 16% this year, and the supply of properties across London has reduced by 35%, which makes it very difficult for people to afford to live in London.
In August 2013, The Welfare Reform Taskforce (WRTF) is set up. Now rebranded as BOOST, the service provides employment support, training and welfare benefits advice to Barnet residents. In the past 5 years, BOOST have supported almost 2,000 residents into work.
2018, Housing Options developed in-house services for single homeless applicants and created a Rough Sleeper Team who work with partners such as Homeless Action in Barnet and Together in Barnet to provide a range of support services to people who are sleeping rough.
From April 2018, the Homelessness Reduction Act requires local authorities to provide homelessness prevention assistance at an early stage, and to help homeless households to obtain accommodation to relieve homelessness where prevention was not possible. In mid2022, independent auditors concluded that Housing Options is compliant with the new Act, giving the service the highest grade Inpossible.
You can ventilate your home without causing •draughts.Keep a window ajar or a trickle ventilator open when possible.
Three steps to avoid condensation in your
2. Ventilate to remove moisture
If you think your home is damp and the cause is not condensation, please email our Customer Contact Team at talktous@barnethomes.org or customercare@opendoorhomes.org or call us at 020 8080 6587 to arrange an inspection. If condensation is the cause, it may be your responsibility to address it, but we’ll discuss this during the visit.
20
Condensation is the water produced when moist air, vapour or steam meets a cold surface - such as windows, walls and floors and places with little air moving around. You can see it on bathroom mirrors when you bathe or shower. Black mould spots occur on damp surfaces where there is little movement of air due to poor ventilation.
Some ordinary daily activities produce a lot of moisture very quickly.
• Cover pans and do not leave kettles boiling • Dry washing outdoors on a line if you can, or put it in the bathroom with the door closed and the window open or fan on.
For more information Download our condensation leaflet for a full list of tips on how to prevent and treat damp issues caused by condensation. The leaflet can be found on the Barnet Homes’ website, under My Home > Condensation. Contact us If you are doing everything that you can to reduce condensation but still find that you are having issues related to damp and mould, then the issue may be something beyond your control – such as a fault in a property e.g. leaky roof, burst pipe or faulty damp-proof coursing.
LOOKING AFTER YOUR HOME
• Don’t put furniture directly next to external walls
3. Heating
• Open kitchen and bathroom windows wider • Close kitchen and bathroom doors when these rooms are in use
You will get less condensation if you keep your home warm most of the time.
• Insulation and draught proofing can help keep your home warm and cut fuel bills. However:-donot draught proof a room where there is a cooker or a fuel burning heater, like a gas fire - do not draught proof windows in the bathroom or kitchen.
• In cold weather, keep low background heating on all day, even when no one is home. Most houses take quite a long time to warm up, and may cost more to heat it up quickly in the evening.
Preventing damp and mould in your home
• Regularly wipe down surfaces such as windows which attract moisture.
DAMP PREVENTION
Damp inside a property is either caused by structural defects (for example a leaking pipe), or by condensation. If damp is not caused by a structural defect, then condensation is the issue, and the only lasting way to avoid severe mould is to reduce or eliminate the source of condensation.
1.homeProduce less moisture
Hello, after joining the new Board in December 2020, I became the Vice Chair in September 2021. This role has allowed me to work with an excellent and knowledgeable team and together we liaise with Barnet Homes to voice our concerns as residents on behalf of all of you.
Summary of June Board meeting
The Board queried progress on improving satisfaction and safety concerns related to communal doors
Tatiana (pictured, right)
• The Board expressed concerns on the ongoing long waiting times, as performance has got worse since their last meeting • Concerns were raised on loss of income and increased waiting times for those most in need of housing due to long periods of re-let times of vacant properties • There was positive improvement with Gas services since the previous report and the Board commended them on achieving 100% performance on gas safety checks
The subgroup of the Resident Board met in April to monitor progress of the Community Engagement Strategy action plan. An annual review of 2021/22 will be available soon. We were pleased to hear judging for the Finest Flowers competition took place in person this year. We’d like to thank all residents who entered. Stay safe and take care, Aruna Bhatt, Chair and Tatiana Jose, Vice Chair of the Resident Board
•
A new Leasehold Alterations Policy
21
Dear fellow resident, I hope you are all keeping well. I am joined by the Vice Chair of the Resident Board, Tatiana Jose, who has a few words to share before we provide our Autumn update.
Where Barnet Homes’ leaseholders want to make a material change to the layout, services or interior of their property, they must first obtain written consent from Barnet Homes.
RESIDENT BOARD YOUR REPRESENTATIVES
An update from the Chair and Vice Chair of the Barnet Homes Resident Board
A Leasehold Alterations Policy has now been published, to give residents more clarity on our alterations process. The policy outlines how we will handle leaseholders’ alteration requests. It shows the types of requests that may be permitted, and those that cannot be permitted. It also explains what leaseholders should do in emergency situations, for example to replace a broken boiler. The policy does not apply to Open Door Homes’ residents. The full policy can be found at barnethomes.org/ about-us/our-policies/
Ukrainian mother flees war to settle in Barnet Nina in her new studio flat
RESIDENT SNAPSHOT HELPING UKRAINIANS SETTLE
22 Lara, tell us about what happened? Me and my husband have been living and working in North London for six years. My mother, Nina, sister and her husband have lived in Kiev all their lives, then when the war broke out in Ukraine in February this year everything changed. On the fourth day of Russian bombing, my family fled their home with just 20 minutes notice, only taking their documents with them. They got to the railway station and took a train to Poland. The journey was terrible with so many people trying to escape. It was very sad and upsetting. They stayed for a month with their family in the capital, Warsaw, and then decided to come to the UK on 20th March this year. My mother came to stay with me in Barnet. My sister and her husband went to stay with his family who live in Sheffield.
How did you manage accommodation and finances for your mother?
We live in a small one-bedroom flat that we rent in the private sector. When my mother arrived, she slept on a mattress in our kitchen-diner. There was no privacy and living together was very tight. After one month, I Ukrainian refugee Nina P, aged 66, fled the bombing in Kiev. Nina is now safely settled in Barnet. Her daughter Lara is a resident of Barnet, she tells us about Nina’s experience.
I’m so happy because she’s happy.
Esther, Housing Needs Officer from Barnet Homes, said, “It’s a pleasure to work with customers to prevent or relieve their homelessness. And when customers like Lara and Nina express their appreciation, it makes my role more gratifying. I was very happy when Nina’s wishes for accommodation within walking distance to Lara’s flat became a reality. Due to the high demand for housing in Barnet, we always try to manage customers’ expectations. I was concerned when she and Lara expressed her wish and thought it might be extremely difficult to make it happen. I’m glad I nominated her for the property that led to her being offered her current accommodation, and I hope she remains settled.”
23 applied for pension credit for my mother as she is retired. When did you get in touch with Barnet Homes? After we were told she is eligible for pension credit, I asked Barnet Council if they could help us house my mother. They put us in touch with Esther, Housing Needs Officer at Barnet Homes. Esther asked us for paperwork, I completed the forms for my mother, as she can’t speak any English. Within a week, they said that my mother is eligible for housing benefit and so we could start looking for a small private studio flat in Barnet near our apartment.
Let2Barnet is Barnet’s social agency and strives to procure good quality, sustainable housing to meet the demand of residents and landlords, both in and outside the Borough of Barnet. Let2 Barnet builds relationships with landlords and estate agents to help house those in need.
Our Housing Needs Officer, Esther is a very nice lady, she was very friendly and very understanding and helpful to my mother.
Let2Barnet assist you?
Let2Barnet have a list of agents and landlords and we were taken on some viewings by an agent. The first property was over half an hour away, we were told we’d be lucky to find something in London, as most properties in our budget are outside London. We told the agent that because of the language difficulties for my mother she would really struggle being so far away. He asked where we lived and by some miracle, they said they had a suitable studio flat right next to our flat! Esther helped us with the affordability and suitability information and then we signed the contract. Now my mother lives very close to me in her own small place, and she can visit us whenever she wants, and when I’m at work she goes for a stroll to the local park.
My mother is praying for Ukraine. Of course, she’s missing the country where she has lived all her life. It is a difficult situation, and she feels awkward about this.
I would like to thank everybody in Barnet Homes for helping us. They have been so wonderful!
How did Barnet Homes’ lettings service,
24
ACCOMMODATION
MORE
Terry said, “My partner’s mum passed away at Christmas in 2020 and then five months later my mum passed away, so it was a horrible time. And then on top of that, you find out that you have to move! And I’ve been there as long as I can remember, basically my lifetime. I think my biggest challenge was going from a three-bedroom house to a one-bedroom flat.
Terry had lived with his mother in his childhood home in Barnet for 36 years. The 3 bedroom council house belonging to Barnet Council and managed by Barnet Homes was the place Terry grew up in, together with his family of 8. Growing up, his siblings moved away and he remained living in the house with his mother, along with his partner and their pets.
Denise was honest and did her best to deliver. She showed us a one-bedroom flat TO SUITABLE
Terry with his partner Lee, in their new apartment
Sadly, last May, Terry’s mum passed away and he succeeded to the tenancy but had to downsize to a property according to his housing need – a 1 bedroom property.
YOUR HOME MOVING
Downsizing - Terry’s story
When I spoke to Denise, Fresh Start Officer at Barnet Homes, it was a breath of fresh air! She was understanding, she told me what was happening. But that’s what you need, someone who can guide you and help you navigate this difficult situation.
The other side to this good news story is that the 3 bedroom house that Terry vacated is now being used to provide much needed housing for a large family in Barnet who have been waiting on our housing register for a rare property like this to come up. If you are under-occupying your home, our dedicated Fresh Start Officer, Denise Bracken, can make the moving process as stress-free as possible and can help you find a new home which meets your needs. You may even qualify for up to £4,000 to help your move! You will receive a choice of council and housing association properties in Barnet, help with choosing and viewing the properties, help and advice with removal arrangements. For more information, contact Denise Bracken on 020 8359 4695, email Denise.Bracken@barnethomes.org or visit barnethomes.org.
near to my work, and when we got the keys to this place we were over the moon! We had two weeks to move in which was useful because we used that time to really prepare ourselves for the move. So, when it came to the actual move, we knew what colour scheme we wanted, and how we were going to decorate. My partner Lee and I have been here a month now and this place is perfect. There’s enough space for our pets, two cats and one dog. The neighbours are lovely and that’s probably half the battle won of living somewhere. The property is a one-bedroom flat. But Barnet Homes actually made it really nice! We are on the ground floor, and we are lucky to have a garden with very nice views.”
Doubly good news!
25
. SUPPORTING OUR ELDERLY COMMUNITY WG Wigginton
Keep Fit Programme 26
Barnet Homes’ partner, WG Wigginton, has stepped up to the challenge with their ongoing commitment to social value by investing £5000 into a pilot keep fit programme for residents living in Barnet Homes sheltered schemes. The joint project with Age UK Barnet provides residents with the opportunity to take part in light/seated exercise classes including Tai Chi and yoga. The classes are free of charge for Barnet Homes’ residents and non-residents up until September 2022 when this will be reviewed.
For more information on the classes and where they are held call Wendy at Age UK Barnet on 020 8432 1421 helps to kickstart
Danielle Richardson, Compliance and Safety Manager from WG Wigginton said, “We are extremely proud to be investing in this programme, especially as it will include Sheltered Housing properties we have worked at multiple times. After getting to know many residents during various electrical upgrade and fire safety works post-Covid, we believe it is vital to encourage neighbours to socialise again, for the benefit of mental health and wellbeing.”
Wendy Nutman, exercise co-ordinator at Age UK Barnet said, “Regular physical activity in later life is important for so many reasons, and gentle chair-based exercises are great for improving your posture and balance, especially suitable for people with reduced Shelteredmobility.”scheme resident, Shirlie said, ‘I look forward to the exercises every week, and I feel so good afterwards!”
OPENDOOR HOMES GET INVOLVED Residents, we need your voice! When you do nothing you feel overwhelmed and powerless. But when you get involved you feel the sense of hope and accomplishment that comes from knowing you are working to make things better. Maya Angelou
As a resident of Opendoor Homes (ODH), you have the right to be involved in the management of your home and be provided with every opportunity to have your say on how we can improve the services you receive from us. Your involvement and feedback helps us to better understand what you expect from us, so that we can shape services that best meet your needs. We currently hold Get Together, Get Involved virtual meetings for ODH residents but want to work with you on so much more. Opendoor Homes is still very young and we want to involve residents from the start. We encourage and invite you to get in touch to help us shape what the future of involvement could look like. For more information, visit our Get Involved page at opendoorhomes.org and complete a short online form or email us at get. involved@opendoorhomes.org for more information. Alternatively you can contact us for further information on by calling 020 8080 6586. Don’t delay, join our Opendoor Involvement Group, get involved and have your say!
2727
Did you know? All these items from your home are recyclable. Just use your communal recycling bins For more information, visit www.barnet.gov.uk/flatsrecycling Only place items listed above into the recycling bins loose. No black bags or carrier bags. andnewneedreducesRecyclingthetomakematerialsreducesyourenvironmentalimpact.
