We have re-opened today after our Christmas break. We wish you all a Happy New Year, and hope you and your loved ones are keeping safe and well.
We know the COVID-19 situation in Northampton, and across the country is changing quickly, so we wanted to update you with the latest information. Please get in touch with us if you, or another NPH resident you know, need support at this time.
Northampton has now been moved into lockdown along with the rest of the country with "stay at home" restrictions.
This means that you cannot leave or be outside of the place you are living unless you have a reasonable excuse. A reasonable excuse includes leaving your home for work (where you cannot work from home), essential activities such as shopping in businesses that are able to open, exercising, for medical appointments or if you are in danger.
You cannot meet other people indoors, unless you live with them, or they are part of your support bubble. Outdoors, you can only meet one person from another household.
Go to the government guidance for more information on the rules under lockdown restrictions.
Advice for the clinically extremely vulnerable
Currently, those who are clinically extremely vulnerable living under lockdown restrictions areas are advised to shield. Read the guidance for those who have been advised to shield by the NHS: Guidance on shielding and protecting people who are clinically extremely vulnerable from COVID-19
Keep reading for information about each of our services.
Property maintenance
Our teams are able to continue working in your homes where necessary, and we need to carefully consider the safety of our tenants and employees.
If we need to visit your home, we will call you in advance to:
- Ask about your current situation;
- Ask whether anyone in your household has recently tested positive for COVID-19, is experiencing symptons or is self-isolating;
- Check that you are comfortable with us coming into your home; and
- Explain the pracautions we will take to keep you safe. This includes wearing PPE and carefully following the 'hands, face, space' guidance at all times, and asking you to open windows during our visit.
This video tells you what you can expect from us to keep you safe. It also tells you what we need you to do to keep our teams safe. Please make sure you follow the necessary guidance. If you don't, we will leave your property.
As a result of the restrictions imposed on us during both national lockdowns, we've been working hard to get through the backlog of repairs that built up when we were unable to carry out routine repairs in your homes. We've been making good progress and will continue to prioritise repairs that have already been reported to us. Unfortunately, we are still unable to log routine repairs until we have caught up with this backlog. We're sorry for the inconvenience this causes and will be doing everything we can to resume normal service.
If you have an urgent repair or an emergency, please report it by calling us on 0300 330 703.
Housing management
Housing officers will continue to visit your neighbourhood to identify any issues and will be able to speak to you at a safe distance outside of your home.
Unfortunately, Daphne the NPH bus will not be returning to neighbourhoods yet. Please get in touch if there's anything you need to speak to us about.
Support and welfare
We will continue to speak to you over the phone if you are receiving support or have regular welfare visits. Members of the team may carry out doorstep visits if needed.
Rent collection
If your income has been affected by the coronavirus outbreak, we do understand the financial pressure you may be dealing with. If you are struggling to keep up with rent payments, we want to reassure you that we are here to help. We urge you to get in touch as soon as possible to discuss your situation. We have team members who are specially trained to support you with financial issues. Call us on 0300 330 7003 and our team will be able to help.
Rehousing and allocations
We will continue to turn around empty properties as soon as possible to make sure that we can keep allocating homes. If you are offered a home, a member of the NPH team will take you to view the property, help you sign your tenancy agreement and will remain at a safe distance outside the property.
Anti-social behaviour
Please continue to report anti-social behaviour by telephone or online. Our dedicated team will investigate and advise as much as possible by phone.
Mutual exchange
It may be difficult to progress mutual exchanges at present. If you are in the process of exchanging your property, one of our team will contact you to discuss your situaton.
New build
We know how much Northampton needs more council housing, so we're keeping our construction sites open and we will carry on building.
Planned works
External works will continue as usual. We will also carry out planned internal works where it is safe to do so.
The Paint Shop
The Paint Shop will be closed until further notice. We'll let you know when we're able to open again. Keep an eye on our Facebook and Twitter pages for updates.