Housing Safety Compliance

An important part of our role as your landlord is to complete checks on a regular basis to ensure the safety of your home.

These checks include:

• gas-safety checks
• electrical-safety checks
• fire-risk assessments
• asbestos management surveys in communal areas
• monitoring for Legionella and water hygiene risks
• lift maintenance

Our Performance - 2024

Gas Checks

Policy 

Download our Gas Safety & Heating Policy 

What is a Gas Safety check?

We are required by law to carry out a gas safety inspection every year as it is important to us to ensure you and your family are safe.  This inspection will help us to identify any potential faults which will reduce the risk of your appliances breaking in the future.

Our registered gas engineer will check:

• All WLBC gas appliances
• Radiators and pipes
• Smoke alarms and CO Alarms

What happens if an appliance is faulty?

Where possible the engineer will fix the problem straight away.  If this is not possible, they will disconnect the gas supply to that appliance and return as soon as possible to fix it.  Never reconnect an appliance that has been disconnected for safety reasons as this is dangerous. 

How you can help us

There are a number of things you can do that will help us with your gas safety:

• It is important that when you receive your gas safety appointment you must keep your appointment.  If you are unavailable, please contact our contractor, Liberty, on 03303 335 782 immediately to make a more convenient appointment.
• Look out for warning signs that your gas appliances aren’t working properly – lazy yellow flames, excessive condensation and black marks/stains.

If you don’t respond after our attempts to contact you, you will be in breach of your tenancy agreement and Court Action will be taken against you.

How do I book an appointment?

Our contractor, Liberty, will write to you before your certificate is due to expire providing you with an appointment.  If you are unable to make the appointment please call Liberty on 03303 335 782 and they will offer you a more convenient appointment.

Appointment times are between Monday – Friday 8.30am – 5pm

Morning appointments are from 8.30am–1pm, and afternoon appointments are from 1pm–5pm, but we are able to provide some flexibility for example to avoid the school run or for tenants who prefer us to arrange access for when their carer is at the property.   Tenants may also request a female operative.

What should I do if I smell gas?

If you smell gas or think that there may be a gas leak, you should:

• Call the National Gas Emergency Service immediately on 0800 111 999
• Turn off the gas supply at the meter
• Don’t use electrical switches or appliances
• Turn off all gas appliances
• Open doors and windows
• Leave the house

Electrical Checks

Policy

Download our Electrical Safety Policy 

We are required by law to carry out an Electrical inspection when we let a property.  We have introduced further checks which will be carried out on a 5 year cycle.

What happens if an appliance is faulty?

Where possible the engineer will fix the problem straight away.  If this is not possible, they will make safe and return as soon as possible to fix it.  Never reconnect an appliance that has been disconnected for safety reasons as this is dangerous. 

How you can help us

There are a number of things you can do that will help us with your electrical safety:

• It is important that when you receive your electrical safety appointment from our contractor Frontline (North West) Ltd, that you must keep your appointment.  If you are unavailable please contact Frontline (North West) Ltd on 01695 682 003 immediately to make a more convenient appointment.
• Report any problems with your electricity supply to us as soon as possible.

How do I book an appointment? 

• Frontline (North West) Ltd will write to you before your check is due to expire providing you with an appointment.  If you are unable to make the appointment please call the number on the letter (01695 682 003) and they will offer you a more convenient appointment. 

If you don’t respond after our attempts to contact you, you will be in breach of your tenancy agreement and Court Action will be taken against you

Fire Risk Assessments

Policy

Download our Fire Risk Assessment Policy

We are required to complete a fire-risk assessment for any council homes that have communal areas. The assessments identify any risks and set out any actions that need to be taken to reduce and manage fire risk.

We have completed 100% of these fire-risk assessments. We have a log of actions to work through to ensure we are reducing and managing any risks the assessments identified.

These actions range from ensuring that fire exits remain clear or that fire alarms have been tested, to maintaining our buildings to high standards.

All tenants can help reduce fire risks by keeping exits clear and making sure fire doors are closed. 

Asbestos surveys

Policy

Download our Asbestos Policy

All communal areas in council properties have had an asbestos survey completed. 

Asbestos was a commonly used building material used from the 1950s. It is around us much of the time, and is harmless if undisturbed. However, using asbestos in new buildings was banned in 1999. There is no requirement to complete asbestos surveys in buildings built from 2000 onwards.

Damaged asbestos

As a council tenant if you suspect asbestos has been damaged in your home, please contact our customer services center on 01695 577177.

Keep people away from the damaged material until we can assess and repair the damage. Do not attempt to repair damaged asbestos yourself, sweep up, or use a vacuum cleaner to remove the debris.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) advises that asbestos is only a risk when disturbed or damaged. If the fibres are inhaled and remain in the lungs, they can lead to an asbestos-related disease developing.

Firmly bonded and hard-wearing materials are less of a risk than softer materials that are vulnerable to damage. Asbestos that is in good condition and not worn or damaged is not a risk to health.

Alterations to your home

If you want to make alterations to your council home, you must get permission from us first. You must inform us of any intended work, whether or not you are planning to hire someone to do it.

• Making alterations to your council house

Part of this procedure will involve us checking to see if we have any information about asbestos in your home. If we do, we will tell you where the asbestos is located. It’s your responsibility to pass the information on to anyone in your home who might come into contact with asbestos.

If we have no information, you must tell the builder this – it is then their responsibility to check for asbestos.

Decorating

Painting using a brush or roller won’t damage asbestos or release any fibres from materials in a good condition. You shouldn’t sand or scrape materials containing asbestos, or anything that you don’t know what it is made of.

Disposal of asbestos

We encourage you to hire a specialist licensed contractor to remove asbestos, as recommended by the Health and Safety Executive.

Asbestos is always there for a purpose – it was used to make materials durable, weatherproof, or heat-resistant. If it is removed, it needs to be replaced by a suitable non-asbestos product.

Water hygiene

Policy

Download our Water Hygiene Policy

Water safety is important to avoid illness from Legionella and damage to your home. We must ensure that all communal water tanks have a Legionella Risk Assessment and the equipment supplying water is tested and inspected often.

Legionellosis is a collective term for diseases caused by legionella bacteria including the most serious Legionnaires' Disease, as well as the similar but less serious conditions of Pontiac fever and Lochgoilhead fever. Legionnaires' Disease is a potentially fatal form of Pneumonia and everyone is susceptible to infection. The risk increases with age but some people are at higher risk including:

• people over 45 years of age
• smokers and heavy drinkers
• people suffering from chronic respiratory or kidney disease
• diabetes, lung and heart disease
• anyone with an impaired immune system.

If conditions are favourable, the bacteria may grow increasing the risks of Legionnaires' Disease and it is therefore important to control the risks and this can be done by:

• Keep stored hot water in hot water tanks/cylinders at a minimum temperature of 60°C. This does not apply to combi boiler systems that provide instant hot water.
• Run all unused taps (inside and outdoor) for at least two minutes weekly.
• Keep all shower heads and taps clean and free from a build-up of lime scale, mould or algae growth. Descale taps and shower heads at east every three months. Please note that shower heads are your responsibility and we will not clean or replace these for you. Clean the showerhead and taps in your bath, basin and sink by brushing the scale off with a nylon brush or wiping them with a diluted bleach solution. You can also use any de-scaling solution that you can buy from hardware shops.
• Report any deposits such as rust or any unusual matter flowing from you water outlets. Report any concerns about low hot water temperatures, low water flow, defective taps, boiler issues.
• Flush through showers and taps for 10 minutes following a period of non-use (i.e. after you have been on holiday or if a room is not in regular use or you have just moved into a new home). Remember that when flushing taps or other outlets to open them slowly so you don’t splash water or release water droplets in the air. When flushing the shower, try not to create any spray, either by removing the shower head or by catching the water in a plastic bag/running the shower head into a bucket and disposing of it carefully.
• Flush toilet/s with the lid down following a period of non-use.
• Drain hosepipes after use and keep out of direct sunlight. Flush through for a couple of minutes before filling paddling pools etc.
• Water from hot taps should be at a minimum temperature of 50°C. Please be aware of the risk of scalding.

To help avoid accidents and prevent damage caused by flooding, here are some handy tips:

• Make sure washing machines or dishwashers are plumbed in properly.
• Make sure your bath doesn’t overflow – this is a common cause of flooding which can damage your home and your neighbours homes and belongings.
• Be careful with hot water – check the heat of the water before getting into a bath or shower.
• Take extra care when stepping out of a bath or shower onto a wet floor.

Lift Maintenance

Policy

Download our Lift Safety Policy

We have a duty under LOLER regulations to ensure passenger lifts in our properties are operating safely. To ensure we are fully compliant with  regulatory requirements, they must be thoroughly examined by professionally qualified engineer surveyors every 6 months and any defects found must be reported to us and dealt with. In addition, our lifts are serviced often by our specialist lift contractor.