In this newsletter
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays
 The Housing Department wishes everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
You can find the Council opening hours over the festive period by visiting the Bank holiday web page.
What to do in an emergency?
If you have an emergency housing repair when the Council Offices are closed, please call 0115 917 7777.
Please only use this service for real emergencies. Visit our website for more information on Emergency Out of Hours Repairs.
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Tenant Satisfaction Survey
 All social housing providers are required to ask their tenants a set of standard questions at least once a year that relate to their level of satisfaction, as part of the Regulator of Social Housing’s Tenant Satisfaction Measures.
Acuity Research and Practice Ltd. (known as Acuity) will be contacting our tenants over the next few weeks via letter, email or telephone for their views on the Housing services provided to them.
We received 927 responses last year, and you can view the results here.
We would love to hear your views on our current service - so however you receive the survey, please add your voice!
And like Gilly, you'll have the chance to win a £50 shopping voucher!
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Congratulations Gilly! Gilly was a winner in last year's Tenant Satisfaction Survey prize draw and won a £50 shopping voucher.
"I’ve had very positive experiences with different staff at the Council, particularly the Independent Living
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Coordinator who supported the move in and installing the Tunstall unit. Thank you for the voucher. I hope to spend it on some nice food from Marks and Spencer or Homesense.”
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Repairs Online Form
 If you require any non-emergency repairs to be made to your home, why not report your repair online?
Housing Repairs have a user friendly and accessible online form to report repairs through.
It is available on the website and we would encourage people to use this option as it will save time phoning in. The form will be picked up in a timely manner and necessary jobs booked in.
For any emergency repairs (such as loss of power, unsafe electrics, only WC not flushing or loss of heating/hot water), please telephone on 0115 917 7777.
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Rent Free Weeks
 There are two rent free weeks coming up in December!
If your rent account is up to date and you are not in arrears or have a payment plan in place, you will not need to pay rent for the following weeks:
- w/c 22nd December 2025
- w/c 29th December 2025
Please ensure that if you are in rent arrears or have a payment plan in place, you continue to make payments for these weeks.
The Housing Income Team are here to help! If you need to talk to us about your rent account, the sooner you do this, the easier it will be for us to help you.
housingincome@broxtowe.gov.uk
0115 917 3658
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Fire Safety in the Home
 Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service provide advice to help ensure you keep fire safe this winter.
Please check that cables and plugs are in good working order and that sockets are not overloaded when putting up fairy lights.
Fire safety is particularly important when using devices to keep warm:
Electric blankets – store flat, rolled up or loosely folded to prevent damaging the internal wiring. Unplug blankets before you get into bed, unless it has a thermostat control for safe all-night use. Never use an electric blanket if you have an airflow pressure relief mattress, or use emollient creams.
Wheat bags – continual heating and drying of the wheat bag may overheat it to ignition point, let the bag cool down completely before heating. Place a cup or bowl of water in the microwave with the wheat bag to reduce this risk.
Portable heaters – Switch off when not being used and before going to bed. Do not leave unattended. Make sure that they have a British or European safety mark.
Ensure all heating methods are completely cool before storing.
For more tips and advice, visit the Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue website.
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Homelessness in Broxtowe
Do you know what to do if you spot someone sleeping rough in Broxtowe this winter?
Please contact the Housing Options Team on 0115 917 3439.
The Street Outreach Team will try and positively engage with and advise rough sleepers with in the Broxtowe Borough.
Outside of office hours contact the Street Outreach Team on 0800 066 5356 select Option 2 for County, or text SOT to 80800 (followed by your message), email streetoutreach@frameworkha.org
If you are making a report for somebody else include details of their location, person description, vehicle registration number, if possible email/text a what3words code or Google map pin drop with the exact location.
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Could Mediation Work for You?
 As a Housing Department, we fund the Broxtowe Mediation Project. This is a partnership between Broxtowe Borough Council, Citizens Advice Broxtowe and Broxtowe Youth Homelessness.
Mediation is a way to resolve issues when there is a disagreement between parties. It is a voluntary process held by a neutral person (a 'mediator'). The mediator is impartial; they do not take sides. It often involves individual meetings followed by a joint session.
The types of issues they can help with are
- Neighbour disputes (e.g. noise, boundaries, trees/hedges, parking)
- Family and intergenerational conflicts
- Anti-social behaviour and community tensions
- Communication breakdowns between residents
The benefits of mediation are that it prevents escalation of conflict, reduces stress and improves wellbeing. Moreover by focussing on understanding, cooperation and practical solutions it can avoid the need for formal complaints or legal action.
If you would like to make a referral (including self referral) contact Broxtowe Mediation Partnership via 01773 768363 or mediation@ca-centralnotts.org.uk.
Did you know that you can report Anti-Social Behaviour to us in various ways, including an online form, over the phone (0115 917 3400), in-person or by email tenancy@broxtowe.gov.uk.
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Housing at Cedars Community Hub
 Broxtowe Borough Council Housing Team will be attending Cedars (47 Nottingham Road, Eastwood) every Tuesday from 9am - 12:30pm
- Booked appointments between 9am – 11am
- Drop In from 11am – 12:30pm
December's Schedule
Please email the relevant team to book an appointment or just turn up after 11am.
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Where are Housing this December?
 Housing Influence Panel
Join us on Wednesday 10 December from 10:30 - 13:30pm at the Council Offices, Beeston for the next Housing Influence Panel.
We will be discussing the topic for our next Scrutiny project where a group reviews a particular area of Housing service. The last project focused on the Voids process (empty homes waiting for some work to be done so someone can move in). For more information see Housing Scrutiny
If you are a Broxtowe Borough Council tenant, leaseholder or shared owner, and would like to come along to future meetings please do call 0115 917 3935 or email housingengagement@broxtowe.gov.uk for more information.
Neighbourhood Inspections
Housing Officers conduct regular inspections of the estates and communal areas.
We encourage tenants, shared owners and leaseholders to attend. It is your estate, and nobody knows it better than you.
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Lower Orchard Street, Stapleford at 10am on
Wednesday 10 December
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Plumptre Way, Newthorpe at 10:30am on
Wednesday 10 December
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Bedale Court, Chilwell at 10am on Thursday 11 December
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Priory Road, Newthorpe at 10:30am on Thursday 18 December
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Kirkbride Court, Chilwell at 10am on Tuesday 23 December
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Fund a Community Project
Did you know we have a Community Fund of up to £1000 that our Housing customers can apply for?
For more information, guidelines and the application form, see the link below.
If you have not applied for something like this before and would like to discuss it, please contact Housing Engagement on 0115 917 3935 or housingengagement@broxtowe.gov.uk
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Energy Saving Tips
 There are things we can all do to be more energy efficient. Many are completely free and can save you money too!
Follow these helpful energy saving tips to see where you can make savings:
- Turning your thermostat down by just 1°C can save you as much as £80 per year.
- Layer up. Wearing more jumpers, socks and slippers around the house and putting an extra blanket on the bed means you won’t be tempted to turn the heating up.
- Take it slow. To save energy try using a slow cooker to cook throughout the day – they only use about as much energy as a light bulb.
- Only fill your kettle up with the water that you need
- Ninety per cent of a washing machine’s energy expenditure is spent heating the water, so if you wash your clothes at 30°C, you can save a third on your washing bills.
Visit our website for more energy saving tips around the home.
Struggling to pay your bills?
Visit our cost of living webpage to see what assistance may be available to you.
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Recycling this Festive Season
 With Christmas approaching, many households have more waste to dispose of. Do you know what can be recycled in your green-lidded recycling bin and glass bag or red-lidded bin?
Ensuring the permitted items are only disposed of, will ensure that waste collected can go be recycled. Wrong items can mean that a whole lorry load is un-recyclable. The most common items that make a load un-recyclable are:
- Glass
- Tetra paks (or cardboard cartons)
- Incorrect plastics (anything other than bottles, yoghurt pots or butter/margarine tubs)
- Pizza boxes
- Bagged waste - keep your recycling loose, clean and dry
If you live in an area where you have communal bins, please ensure you are using the correct bin for the waste being disposed of and the areas are kept clean and tidy.
Did you know that the Environment Team are running bulky waste collection days?
The next one is in Eastwood on Wednesday 17th December at the following locations:
- Princes Street 8am - 9:30am
- South Street 10am - 11:30am
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Stop Social Housing Stigma
 The Stop Social Housing Stigma campaign have launched a national tenant survey to find out what social housing tenants think about stigma and what is being done to address it.
Tenants sometimes feel that they are treated as second class citizens by their landlords, by politicians and by the general public. So, 8 years after the Grenfell Tower tragedy, they want to know if tenants still feel the same.
Have the Government and landlords done enough yet to tackle social housing stigma? What would you like to see happening?
The survey will only take a few minutes to complete and is available at:
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