Thank you for your views

We recently sent a copy of our draft building safety resident engagement strategy to residents who live in the high rise blocks of flats that we manage.

The document explains how we make sure residents are aware of what we’re doing to keep their building safe from fire and other structural incidents and how we ensure people can ask questions, raise concerns and be included in decision-making about their building.  

We wanted to find out what residents think about our strategy and if this covers everything we should be doing so thank you to everyone who responded to our survey. 

Visit Building Safety Resident Engagement Strategy | Your Homes Newcastle (yhn.org.uk) to read our strategy.  If you have any questions, please email buildingsafety@yhn.org.uk or call 0191 278 8600.

Survey responses frequently asked questions 

What do you mean by ‘building safety’ in the resident engagement strategy?

This strategy is all about the building safety measures we put in place to protect high rise buildings from fire and other structural incidents:

• a block of flats is classed as ‘high rise’ if it is over 18m, or seven storeys, high
• building safety measures include the health and safety features we install in buildings (such as smoke alarms and fire doors) and the processes we carry out (such as maintenance and inspections). 

Our Building Safety team was set up to focus on these areas and is specifically responsible for these types of safety measures in these types of buildings. 

Anti-social behaviour (ASB) and outstanding repairs affect how safe I feel in my building.  Why does the building safety resident engagement strategy not include information about ASB and repairs?

This strategy is specifically about fire and structural safety in high rise buildings but we understand that ASB and repairs are also key parts of how safe and satisfied residents feel in their homes so we have teams that are dedicated to handling enquiries about these:

• to report or get advice about ASB, visit Anti-social behaviour | Your Homes Newcastle (yhn.org.uk).
• to report or follow up a repair, visit Repairs and alterations | Your Homes Newcastle (yhn.org.uk).

The strategy is long and some people might not want to read it or be able to understand it. Why is it like this?

We have kept the strategy as short as possible but also wanted to include all of the information that we need to do our jobs properly.  Our building safety customer group gave us some feedback on the first draft of the strategy and suggested not everyone would want to read the full document which is why we created summary sheets to share the main points.  The strategy also includes our language straplines so people who would prefer an alternative format such as Easy Read or a different language can request one. 

What are residents’ responsibilities around building safety?

Our strategy makes sure we provide residents with the information they need to understand the role they play in keeping themselves and their neighbours safe.  For example, the strategy includes information about our programme of building safety engagement visits that means we carry out regular visits to every building to talk to residents and hand out information that helps them understand their responsibilities.  For more information about what the Government advises residents should do to help keep their building safe visit  Residents and owners of residential units: actions to keep your building safe - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

What about people who would need extra help in an emergency? 

The strategy explains how we get the information we need from residents so that we can keep them safe in their homes.  If you feel you would need extra help to evacuate your property in an emergency, please contact us by emailing buildingsafety@yhn.org.uk or calling 0191 278 8600 so we can discuss this with you. 

Staff should be trained to help with stairs in an emergency – does this happen?

We have many processes in place that would be followed by our teams and by Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service in the event of an emergency situation. If you think you would need extra help to evacuate your property in an emergency, please contact us by emailing buildingsafety@yhn.org.uk or calling 0191 278 8600 so we can discuss this with you. 

How often do you check the structural safety of blocks?

We have a programme of regular reviews and inspections that we carry out to monitor the safety of the high rise buildings we manage which includes carrying out structural surveys on our buildings. Some of these reviews and inspections are required by law, such as the Building Safety Act, while some are additional measures that we take to ensure we have the highest standards of safety for our residents.  Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service also carry out their own checks on our buildings so we can be confident we are doing everything we can to keep our buildings safe.  .

For more information about building safety at YHN, visit Multi-storey building safety | Your Homes Newcastle (yhn.org.uk).  If you are interested in becoming more involved in our building safety work, please consider joining our building safety customer group.  Find out more at Join our Building Safety Group | Your Homes Newcastle (yhn.org.uk).