Keeping Homes Safe

We have a statutory obligation to ensure our housing stock has regular safety checks for a number of things, so when you receive an appointment letter you must ensure you allow access for this essential service.  This page details the various checks we undertake and answers frequently asked questions.

Our Performance

Our performance on health and safety compliance is reported to Councillors as part of regular meetings.  We also report to the Regulator of Social Housing as part of the Tenant Satisfaction Measures.  You can find more information on our Fareham Housing Performance and News webpages.

Heating

We currently aim to service all gas heating appliances every 10 months. Liberty Group are currently appointed as our heating servicing and repairs contractor.

Service appointments are made via letter direct to you the tenant, Liberty Group will offer you an appointment date and offer a morning or afternoon time slot. If the appointment on the letter is not suitable it is up to you to contact Liberty Group on freephone 0800 9702 512 to re arrange.

You can call Liberty Group between the hours of 8am to 5pm Monday to Friday to make or re-arrange a servicing appointment.

Why is gas safety important?

• Gas safety is important because if gas appliances are not checked regularly and become faulty, carbon monoxide (CO) can be produced and potentially lead to carbon monoxide poisoning or an explosion.
• Carbon monoxide is a deadly, poisonous gas which cannot be detected by smell, taste or sight.
• Failing to have gas appliances checked leaves you and your family and your neighbours at risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.
• Annual gas safety checks are a legal requirement, as set by The Gas Safety Installation & Use Regulations 1998.  We will carry out a test on the carbon monoxide alarm at the same time.

What to do if you smell fumes or smoke/carbon detectors are activated?

• Turn off the gas supply at the meter.
• Open windows and doors to ventilate the rooms.
• Turn off all sources of ignition.
• Put out naked flames, including cigarettes.
• Leave the property if you do not feel safe and call the National Gas Emergency Number: 0800 111999.
• Contact your landlord to inform them of your concerns.
• Your landlord will arrange for the gas maintenance contractor to inspect the gas appliances for any defects.

Useful tips

Don't:

• Don't block air vents - air vents are positioned for air to circulate, which mean that oxygen allows appliances to burn correctly. Carbon monoxide poisoning may occur if air vents are blocked.

• Don't sleep overnight in a room containing a gas fire or back boiler.
• Don't use a gas fire and/or a back boiler at the same time as an extractor or decorative fan - fans can interfere with the safe operation of some gas appliances.
• This will be identified during your annual gas safety check, and may result in the fan or appliance being disconnected.
• Don't remove smoke and carbon monoxide detectors or batteries from detectors

Do:

• Do allow the engineer access to your home – it could save your life.

• Do report any faults or problems immediately to your local repair team.
   

Electrical safety checks

We aim to undertake a periodic electric test every 5 years to our council homes.

How long will the electric safety check take?

The electrical safety checks take on average,  2 hours to complete and involves checking the electrical sockets, switches, light fittings and the fuse board.

Test instruments are used to check the electrical safety of the concealed wiring.

The electrician will need access to all rooms within your home to test all electrical fittings where practical.

How will I know if my home is due to be tested?

You will receive a works order via the post, Service appointments are made direct with you the tenant, i.e phone or card through the post if no response via the phone, our contractor will offer you an appointment date and offer a morning or afternoon time slot. If the appointment is not suitable please advise the contractor and they will re arrange.

Carrying out electrical work in your home

If you are planning to carry out any electrical work in your home, no matter how minor, i.e. change a light fitting, add extra sockets, install a shower, you must first obtain written permission from your Housing Neighbourhood Officer.

All electrical work must be carried out by a certified and approved electrical contractor.

All alterations must be supported by an appropriate electrical test certificate. A part 'P' Compliance Certificate may be required in some instances depending what type of electrical work is carried out.

Damp and Mould

The Council takes its responsibilities seriously and recognises the impact that damp and mould growth can have on the health and welfare of its tenants. An interim process for dealing with damp and mould (198 KB) is in effect until we have completed our revisions on timescales for repairs and other obligations following new legislation coming into effect.

If you have, or think you have, damp and mould in your Council home it is important that you contact us immediately. Please ring our Responsive Repairs telephone number on 01329 824771 or through one of the other ways of reporting a repair.

Fire Safety

Fire safety is of key importance to Fareham Borough Council. Full details on our approach is available on our Fire Safety in Council Building webpage.

Lifts and Lifting Equipment

We carry out monthly checks on our passenger lifts, these are only located in our Later Living schemes.

Lifting equipment such as personal hoists and through floor lifts must be inspected and serviced every six months.  Hampshire County Council is responsible for hoists, Fareham Borough Council is responsible for through floor lifts.  However, equipment put in by tenants themselves remains their responsibility.

Asbestos Checks

As part of Fareham Housing's duties, regular asbestos surveys are carried out and a register must be kept of all the communal areas of residential buildings.

As part of wider due diligence, asbestos management surveys are carried out on all void social housing properties prior to any maintenance work commencing where a relevant asbestos management survey is not already in place and the survey is necessary. A similar approach is taken for on properties, such as kitchen or bathroom replacements.  If we need to undertake a survey as part of your works, we will let you know.

Asbestos management surveys are initially undertaken by a consultant and are managed thereafter internally by an appropriately qualified surveyor.

Legionella Safety

The Council is required to carry out weekly legionella checks and flushing on communal bathrooms and kitchens.  This mostly affects our Later Living Properties and so the Later Living Officers will carry these out.  We also carry out risk assessments throughout the year to make sure we are still compliant. 

Lightning Protection

While there are no specific duties to have lightning protection installed, Fareham has taken a 'best practice' approach and had this installed for some of our more vulnerable buildings. Once installed, they are subject to regular testing. Lightning protection is in place at six properties for which Fareham Housing is responsible. These properties are Barnfield Court, Crofton Court, Downing Court, Collingwood Court, Stephenson Court, and Sylvan Court.