Balconies are a great place to relax and enjoy, but it's really important to think about the safety of you, your family (especially young children) and neighouring residents. 

Below are some of the tips to help ensure you and your family use your balcony safely. 

Balcony Safety Top Tips 

• Make sure the balcony door is locked and the keys are hidden when not in use.
• Make use of window opening restrictors if you have them.
• Make sure children are supervised when they are near or on your balcony.
• Don't allow anyone to lean over, sit or climb on the balcony wall or railing.
• Never stand on balcony furniture, or try to climb onto another balcony from your balcony.

Preventing balcony fires - know the risks

• Keep your balcony free from clutter, ensure your exit is clear in case of a fire. 
• Never use barbecues (including disposables) on your balcony or store anything  flammable, e.g. gas cannisters.             
• Always ensure cigarettes are put out properly, and never throw ash or cigarette butts over the side.

Check your balcony regularly to make sure it's safe, and report any damage as soon as possible.

Tenant satisfaction measures (TSMs) help show how well social housing landlords are doing at providing good quality homes and services. TSMs help tenants hold their landlords to account.  

As a requirement, all results from TSMs should be made accessible to residents.

Tenant perception measures survey 2023/2024

The 2023/2024 survey was carried out as part of our regulatory requirements. This was our first tenant perception survey, results can be found here  .

What are we doing with the results?

It is important that we use what you tell us to make improvements to the services that we deliver.  We will be working with residents through focus groups, our estate days and during our Local Housing Forums to further explore these areas. 

Look out for events near you on our Lets Talk Redbridge engagement hub.

We would like you to share your views on the proposed revision of the housing allocation scheme. This scheme informs how we allocate housing both in and out of the borough and prioritise the people on the housing register. We anticipate that the revised scheme will launch in 2024 following this consultation.

In revising the housing allocations scheme we seek to:

• Set out clearly how we allocate and let social housing in the borough
• Ensure decisions are made fairly and with clear reasons
• Make it easier to understand
• Make it easier to understand the eligibility criteria, who qualifies, and who we cannot house
• Improve the way we prioritise people. This is especially important given the high demand for the few properties that are available to let each year
• Make sure we comply with recent legislation and good practice

The consultation survey is anonymous, and the names or details of any individuals will not be identified and will not be shared.    Complete our Survey

We recently  launched the consultation for our Homelessness and Rough Sleeping strategy this week. The strategy will set out our priorities for the prevention and reduction of homelessness over the next five years. 

We have identified four draft priorities for a new strategy that would help deliver outcomes to prevent and reduce homelessness in Redbridge, these include: 

• Deliver affordable and sustainable housing 
• Early intervention and prevention 
• Preventing/minimising rough sleeping 
• Partnership working with third sector 

There are two surveys inviting feedback from both residents, communities, partners, and stakeholders. To take part in either one of the surveys visit our page here

In order for us to comply with health and safety regulations required by law it is important that we have access to your home in order to carry out essential safety checks such as gas and electrical safety.

To help us to achieve full compliance  please ensure you are available to let our operatives into your home on the appointed day, and/or please notify us in advance if we need to change the appointment date or time. You will receive a text message confirming your appointment.Missed appointments impact on efficiency and our ability to conduct these checks for all residents.

Our operatives will always carry ID and will be polite and courteous to you during their visit which should take less than an hour to complete. 

We are delighted to announce the launch of our new Resident Influence and Scrutiny Panel. Following a review of our resident engagement we will be working with the Panel to look at our performance information and discuss housing services. We look forward to hearing their views and implementing service improvement recommendations. 

We are looking for more tenants to join the Panel, if you would like to find out more about this opportunity get in touch with the Resident Engagement Team on resident.engagement@redbridge.gov.uk

We will also be hosting quarterly Local Housing Forums across the borough for residents to meet with housing staff and give us feedback on housing services. Look out for events near you on Let's Talk Redbridge

Redbridge Council has launched an innovative app called Love Clean Streets for quick and easy reporting of fly tips and other local issues, to keep our streets clean, green and beautiful. 

You can use the app to report an issue such as a pothole on the road, rubbish that has been dumped or if we have missed a bin collection.  The app will allow you to tell us exactly where the issue is – so you can use it anywhere! You can upload photos which is helpful for us to quickly assess what needs to be done. Another clever feature is you can choose to receive notifications on the status of your report.

You can download the app from Google Play store or Apple App store

Co-creation is Housing’s new approach to engagement, where residents are part of the service improvement projects from start to finish. Our first co-creation project has started with a focus on how we can improve the way we handle Anti-Social Behaviour as a landlord.

The project is still underway but it is in its final stages. The recommendations from staff and residents were approved by Housing Senior Management Team so now we are working on an action plan to ensure these are implemented.

If you are interested in participating in a co-creation project in the future, please contact our Co-Creation Officer on lorna.biddell@redbridge.gov.uk or 0208 708 2532.

We've recently handed over new homes. We have a total of of 26 new homes at Shakespeare Square and Parson Mews as part of our Affordable Homes Programme. We have also had the first batch of new homes at Little Gearies

The homes include one, two, and three bedroom flats, and will be allocated to to support those who are most in need in our borough.

We are expecting more homes at Little Gearies to be handed over during the next few months as well as more homes at Heathcote and Glade Court and Budoch Court by the end of 2024. Visit Let's Talk Redbridge for further information and updates on our Affordable Homes Programme.

What to do if you are unhappy with our service

If you wish to talk about a problem with your housing you can speak to one of our friendly housing officers. We will try and resolve matters promptly.  You can do this by telephoning our duty line on 020 8518 2400. 

If you wish to make a complaint about your housing or repairs services, you can inform one of our team, although the quickest and easiest way to make a complaint is by completing the online complaints form.  

Did you know you can contact the Housing Ombudsman at any time for support in helping to resolve a complaint?  The Housing Ombudsman Service is set up by law and is free, independent and impartial. More information about the Housing Ombudsman, including their contact details can be found on the Ombudsman Website.