Safety in your home – Winter 2025
Our first priority as a landlord is to keep residents safe in your homes. Each year, we carry out essential safety checks to help protect you and your household. These include things like gas and electrical safety checks.
In order to remain 100% compliant with all of our safety checks, it is vital that we get access to your home to carry out these checks. Thank you to all residents who support us with this.
We send notification to residents with upcoming appointments. If you need to rearrange these, please let our heating partners at Oakray know by calling 0330 343 0016 and pressing 1 to go straight through to the team. Where we cannot gain access to a property, we will follow agreed procedures – including legal action where necessary. These checks are vital for everyone’s safety, so we will always take the steps needed to complete them.
Fire Safety
We carry out regular fire risk assessments to our blocks of flats to ensure we keep your home safe. Each building is different, and we display the relevant instructions for your building in the entrance hallway.
Please take the time to review the procedures for your building and ensure that all household members are familiar with them. More information on your responsibilities can be found in our update – Fire safety reminder for blocks of flats.
If you have mobility issues or require assistance in the event of a fire, ;please let us know so that we can assist in planning an appropriate evacuation strategy.
You can find out more on our Fire safety management web page.
Check alarms
We work with our teams and partners to make sure each home has a smoke alarm on every habitable floor and a carbon-monoxide alarm in any room with a fuel-burning appliance such as a gas or oil boiler.
Any alarms that are missing, faulty or expired are replaced with hard wired detectors where possible which have a 10-year life expectancy.
If you think your home is not protected with a working smoke or carbon-monoxide alarm, please let us know as soon as possible so we can fit the required alarms as a priority. You can log-in to My Settle Portal – your online account and use the ‘report a repair’ option or get in touch with us.
Things you can do to keep your home safe
During the last year, three fires were reported in residents’ homes or gardens. Thankfully no lives were lost, but the distress and disruption has had a big impact on the households and neighbours involved. Greasy cookers, overloaded electric sockets and electrical gadgets that may not be from reputable manufacturers are quite often the main causes of fire. We’re also reminding residents to take extra care with BBQs, cigarettes and open flames – especially during warmer weather when the risk of fire increases.
Remember:
• Check your smoke alarms weekly – report any problems to us
• Take the home fire safety check – get a personalised action plan: www.safelincs.co.uk/hfsc
• Sign up for home contents insurance – from 40p a week. Get in touch with us to find out more
• Check electrical products have one or more safety certifications on their label and they have been made by a legitimate manufacturer. More information can be found on the electrical safety website: www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk
• Avoid overloading sockets and use one plug per socket. Don’t ‘daisy chain’ extension sockets.
• Never charge scooters in communal areas. Charging in hallways, landings, or lobbies is a fire hazard and must be avoided.
• Use only the manufacturer-approved charger and avoid charging overnight and unattended.
Avoid obstructions in public areas
- Keep corridors, stairwells, and walkways clear at all times – Items such as bags, deliveries, bins, bicycles, and furniture must not be left in shared or public spaces.
- Do not block fire exits or escape routes – Even temporary obstructions can create serious safety risks during emergencies.
- Ensure doors, lifts, and access points remain unobstructed – This includes entrances used by people with wheelchairs, buggies, or mobility aids.
Support
If you have any concerns about the safety of your home, please get in contact with us – our teams will be happy to help.
