Coronavirus (Covid-19)
Govanhill Housing Association Service Update: Tuesday April 21st.
The UK Government has extended the period of lockdown until at least May 7th and as such the Association’s Offices remain closed until further notice.
Our staff and contractors are working hard to deliver vital health and safety services during this time. Please read the following update on the services we are able to deliver and details of how to contact the Association during lockdown.
Repairs
At this time, during the “lockdown” only Health and Safety Emergency Repairs will be provided.
Please consider if your repair can wait before contacting us.
Emergency Heating Repairs – City Technical Services on 0333 202 0708
Health & Safety Emergencies during working hours please call 0141 636 3634, 0141 636 3669 or 0141 636 3654
Out of Hours Health and Safety Emergency Internal Repairs –call MEARS on 02035893140
Other Out of Hours Emergency Repairs – Pointer Call Handling Service, 0141 552 8647
For any other urgent enquiries, please contact us at checkin@govanhillha.org and we will arrange for a member of staff to contact you. This email will be checked regularly through the working day.
Health and Safety
We are continuing to deliver gas safety checks in order to keep tenants safe.
Health and safety inspections are being carried out on a weekly basis which includes sanitising touch surfaces in closes (banisters, common door handles, lift controls and door entry buttons) as part of these inspections.
Close Cleaning
Close cleaning was initially suspended at the start of lockdown due to social distancing and the limited availability of protective equipment for operatives. Normal close cleaning services will resume at the start of May. In the interim, closes which receive close cleaning services are having all touch areas sanitised on a weekly basis. This includes banisters, all door handles, and door entry buttons.
Backcourt maintenance
Backcourt maintenance was initially suspended at the start of lockdown due to social distancing and the limited availability of protective equipment for operatives. To keep our backcourts safe, our winter maintenance programme has been continued which will ensure that bin stores are kept safe along with other hard surfaces. The City Council bulk collection service continues to be suspended. This means that we cannot present any bulk waste to the pavement for their collection. We are monitoring the backcourts we manage and have arrangements in place to move any large build ups of bulk waste to the council’s depots for disposal to reduce health and safety risks during the lockdown. We hope to start summer soft landscaping maintenance including grass cutting as soon as it is safe to do so.
Garden Assistance
Due to social distancing and the vulnerability of tenants who receive our garden assistance from the Association this service is currently suspended.
Govanhill Housing Association Service Update:Tuesday 24th March
We have closed our offices to the public from Tuesday the 24th March 2020 until further notice. This is in line with recent UK and Scottish Government advice on the COVID-19 outbreak.
We aim to provide our customers with the best service possible, however this is a difficult, and rapidly changing situation for all of us. Please only contact us by phone if you really need to.
For up to date information please refer to our website and Facebook page.
At this time, during the “lockdown” only Health and Safety Emergency Repairs will be provided.
Please consider if your repair can wait before contacting us.
Emergency Heating Repairs – City Technical Services on 0333 202 0708
Health & Safety Emergencies during working hours please call 0141 636 3634, 0141 636 3669 or 0141 636 3654
Out of Hours Health and Safety Emergency Internal Repairs –call MEARS on 02035893140
Other Out of Hours Emergency Repairs – Pointer Call Handling Service, 0141 552 8647
For any other urgent enquiries, please contact us at checkin@govanhillha.org and we will arrange for a member of staff to contact you. This email will be checked regularly through the working day.
During this time, you can still pay your rent in the normal ways through the following methods:
Allpay card at premises not closed due to Covid-19 or visit Allpay where you can pay online
Direct Debit – please email us at checkin@govanhillha.org and we will call you back to set this up with your bank
Debit or Credit Card – contact us, we can take a payment over the phone
Direct Payments – if you are receiving Housing Benefits, your rent can be paid directly to the Association
Factoring payments can still be taken by debit/credit card over the phone or by BACS transfer.
Please remember that it is still important to pay your rent. If you are facing any difficulties, please contact us at checkin@govanhillha.org and we will do our best to assist you.
It is important that you let us know if you or a member of your household is self-isolating or has been diagnosed with COVID-19.
We appreciate that this is a very difficult time. Everyone in our community is affected by the impact of this virus and efforts to keep each other safe.
It is very important that we follow the advice outlined here, in order to stay safe and protect one another.
Stay at home to stop coronavirus spreading
Everyone must stay at home to help stop the spread of coronavirus.
This includes people of all ages – even if you do not have any symptoms or other health conditions.
You can only leave your home:
to shop for basic essentials – only when you really need to
to do one form of exercise a day – such as a run, walk or cycle, alone or with other people you live with
for any medical need – for example, to visit a pharmacy or deliver essential supplies to a vulnerable person
to travel to and from work – but only where this is absolutely necessary
