Published: Wednesday, 13th July 2022

On 13 May 2022, we referred ourselves voluntarily to the Regulator of Social Housing, the national body which oversees all council housing.

This was following an internal review where we found we were not fully meeting safety standards in some areas. These areas are electrical checks, asbestos checks and the actions from our fire checks.

We are now rapidly addressing this backlog and have implemented an action plan to improve our safety work, with checks in place to make sure we are effective. You may have already seen work being carried out in your home or estate. 

We take your safety extremely seriously, that’s why this is our top priority.

How do I find out more about the checks in my home?

You will have received a formal letter about this in July with your rent statement. If you have any questions about these checks, please contact us on housing-safety-questions@royalgreenwich.gov.uk. This is the quickest way to contact us.

If you are unable to email, please call us on 020 8854 8888. The lines may be quite busy at this time.

Safety checks in council homes

Electrical safety

Although not a legal requirement, it is best practice for council housing providers to complete an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICRs) within your home every five years. We are running an accelerated programme and aiming to complete all outstanding and any renewed EICRs by March 2025.

We will be contacting residents in the coming months, by telephone and in writing, to book in these checks and we ask that you allow us into your home to complete these. These appointments can last between two and three hours and will give you additional peace-of-mind regarding the safety of your home.

Fire checks

All our buildings have had a complete fire check called a fire risk assessment (FRA), which are regularly reviewed. Following separate checks, we also know that there is no combustible cladding on our council homes.

However, we have some other outstanding actions from these fire checks and will complete all high-risk actions by December 2022.

Some examples of these actions are:

  • Fire doors: we will be replacing or making repairs to fire doors in some blocks over the next 16 weeks.
  • Compartmentation: this means making sure that some individual flats have fire resistant materials repaired, so that in the unlikely event of a fire it does not spread to other homes. This is also to stop the spread of smoke throughout the building.
  • Automatic opening vents: we will be installing and repairing automatic opening vents in some buildings. These help get rid of smoke from buildings in the unlikely event of a fire, to help residents safely evacuate.
  • Servicing of fire equipment: like fire alarms and extinguishers.

Asbestos

We are currently carrying out asbestos inspections in shared areas in all our council homes. We expect these to be completed within 12 months, meaning we will be back up to 100 percent completed. Any actions resulting from these checks, like the removal of asbestos, will be completed by our certified asbestos contractors.

Finally, it is important that you always take your own safety seriously. Actions such as regularly checking your smoke alarms or keeping hallways clear, will also help us improve safety in your homes.