Salix Homes customers urged to ‘open the door’ to safer homes

Salix Homes is urging our customers to ‘Open the Door’ to safer homes.

This week (November 6-10) is National Social Housing Safety and Compliance Week – an annual campaign dedicated to shining a spotlight on the importance of safety and compliance.

As part of the campaign, we’re urging our customers to ‘Open the Door’ to ensure we can carry out regular safety checks or repairs in their homes, which includes essential gas and electrical inspections that are a legal requirement.

Every year, Salix Homes spends more than £100,000 pursuing legal action to obtain a warrant to access people’s homes who have refused to allow us to carry out gas and electrical safety checks – money that could be better spent on improving homes and communities.

Liam Turner, Executive Director of Assets, Growth and Sustainability at Salix Homes, said: “The health, safety and wellbeing of our customers and their homes really matters to us, and we’re committed to ensuring that all our properties are safe and great places to live.

“We will carry out regular checks, safety inspections and repairs in all our properties, some of which are a legal requirement, so it’s really important that people understand the significance of these inspections and allow us access into their homes when required.

“While the majority of our customers take home safety checks seriously, for the minority that ignore or delay these essential checks, it could mean potential hazards may go unnoticed.

“In addition to the safety implications, it’s also a huge burden on time and resources to pursue legal action through the courts – money that could be better spent on other services – so that’s why we’re urging our customers to ‘open the door’ to safer homes.”

We carry out gas safety inspections in all our properties with a gas boiler, fire or cooker every year, while electrical checks are required every five years.

While we always ensure we gain access into every single property, in the past three months alone (July-September), we have obtained 56 warrants through the courts to force entry into people’s homes for gas and electric checks. Gas checks only take around an hour, while electrical checks can take up to four hours.

All customers will receive a letter when your gas or electrical inspection is due to arrange an appointment. You can also find out more about information, as well as tips and advice, about how you can keep yourself and others safe in your home, in our new Home Safety Guide.