Arrangements during the coronavirus/COVID-19 period
Self-isolation
Please let us know if you are isolating yourself, for instance if you or a member of your household:
- are confirmed to have coronavirus
- suspect you may have it
- have recently been in contact with someone who has the virus
We must check this before sending a contractor to your home, for everyone’s safety.
Contacting ABC
Residents can contact the co-op by:
- phone: 020 7732 9119
- email office@abchousing.co.uk
- letters to the office – but only if necessary. There may be a delay in responding to letters.
Please do leave voicemails if you call the office. We will check phone messages remotely at least twice per week, normally on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We have remote access to our email and computer files.
We will minimise contact in person. In the rare case where an in-person meeting may be required, it will be with appropriate distancing and sanitation.
Much of our work is carried out by subgroups of members (rent, maintenance, finance etc), who will meet by video or phone as necessary.
Co-op meetings
The March general meeting agreed to cancel the April and May general meetings, and set up an urgency group of officers and group conveners to deal with any matters that would normally come to a Co-op meeting. Please email the office if you want to raise anything.
Office arrangements
Currently we are restricting ourselves to only one person in our office at a time, with appropriate sanitation, and only as strictly necessary.
Repairs and contractors
Please report repairs as normal, by phone, email (or letter if that is the only way).
During this period of distancing/lockdown, we expect to deal only with emergency works, and the legally required annual gas checks, and electrical checks.
Emergency Repairs are classed as anything causing immediate risk to health, safety and security of our residents or causing immediate damage to a property’s structure, fixtures and/or fittings. This is in line with the policies of the landlord associations.
Please report all repairs – we will log other repairs, and hold them to be done when the situation allows. Our contractors may have difficulty with both staff and materials; some suppliers (eg Travis Perkins) have closed down for the moment.
Our contractors will act with appropriate protective clothing, distancing and sanitation, to keep everyone safe.
Planned and cyclical maintenance (eg replacement of kitchens, bathrooms, windows, exterior painting) is done by the housing associations (Hexagon and Optivo). Both have paused all this work for the present.
Rent and finances
Please pay rent as normal. Contact ABC if you are having difficulties.
We can refer you for specialist advice to the Financial Inclusion teams at Hexagon or Optivo.
Two agencies you can go to that provide advice on finances and housing:
- Turn2Us – a national charity providing advice
- The Evelyn190 Centre which serves South-East London
If your income has disappeared or decreased, check what you are entitled to from the benefit system. The government has made the benefit system a bit more supportive, so the answer may have changed from a previous check.
Here are links to advice on the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) web site, which we hope will be kept reasonably up to date.
- Citizens Advice: coronovirus - what it means for you
- Citizens Advice: coronovirus - what benefits can you get
The government has announced two schemes to support people who cannot work due to COVID-19:
- employed (PAYE) people: the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme - speak to your employer about this.
- most self-employed people: Coronavirus Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (though payments are not expected to happen till June).
