The tenants helping to elevate services

That is why members of the Tenant Repairs Panel are working with us to address lift breakdowns and minimise future inconvenience for residents.

Following issues with lifts at several tower blocks in recent months, the Repairs Panel have been scrutinising how faults are dealt with and how the council works with its contractor to reinstate lift services as soon as possible.

Brenda is one of the volunteers who sit on the Repairs Panel. She said: “The number of lift breakdowns recently has been unprecedented and so we have been scrutinising the situation as we know it affects a lot of tenants. The council told us that all lifts are inspected monthly to ensure they are working well and that common parts are held in stock so repairs can be made quickly. However, some parts aren’t readily available and unfortunately this can cause delays in lifts being reinstated. Plus, the ongoing lift replacement programme means disruption while work is being carried out – this is currently taking place at Albion, Shirley and Redbridge Towers.

“We feel that tenants and leaseholders need to be better informed as to how to report problems with lifts so that faults can be identified and resolved faster. As a result, information on how to report a lift breakdown will now be advertised on the Housing Service Facebook page, in tower block noticeboards and digital display boards. Text messaging was used recently when the Rotterdam lifts were out of action, and this is something that could be used again in the future. Hopefully this will all help to have an impact on minimising inconvenience for residents.”

To tell us about a breakdown or problem with a lift or communal area simply report a repair online 24/7. If you can’t go online call 023 8083 3006.

If you are interested in being involved in the Tenant Repairs Panel to provide a customer focus on the repairs service, please get in touch. The panel meets every two months on a Monday morning. It doesn’t matter if you have never been involved in a tenant group before, all you need is a genuine interest in helping to improve council services for everyone.