Latest news

Annual Gas servicing Update

From 13^th April, working with GasSure, Atrium have recommenced our programme of annual gas servicing. Gas services with imminent deadline dates are being prioritised therefore if your service is due within the next 2 months we will be in contact to arrange a suitable date and time to have the safety checks carried out. Before arranging your gas service we will ask you some questions about your current situation and whether you are self-isolating. This is required to protect the health and wellbeing of you, and our contractors, and to allow us to maintain services. If you are self-isolating due to Covid-19 we will stay in touch with you and arrange for your gas service to be carried out as soon as it is safe and reasonable to do so.

Please note that we continue to carry out emergency repairs only until further notice. Emergency repairs are those that if left unattended would constitute a danger to life or limb or property. If you have a repair to report which is not an emergency, then you can still contact us regarding this and it will be logged. We will monitor government advice closely and seek to resume normal service as quickly as possible.

Further information on our legal duty to undertake gas servicing can be found here:https://www.gassaferegister.co.uk/help-and-advice/covid-19-advice-and-guidance/landlords

Revised times for telephone contact

In light of the ongoing lockdown, we are making some further changes to our frontline services. From Tuesday 21 April 2020, our phone lines will be manned between 10am and 3.00pm, Monday to Friday to allow tenants and other customers to contact us. Outwith these times, tenants with emergencies can still contact our emergency repairs service. We are making these changes because of a marked reduction in calls coming into the office overall.

We still have the vast majority of our staff team working from home. By focussing calls coming in, we can make best use of our available staff.

Aside from contact by phone, we are still available via email (info@atrium-homes.co.uk ) or by using our website contact form (https://www.atrium-homes.co.uk/contact/). We will respond as quickly as we can.

Stay home; Stay safe

New contractors welcomed on board

Following a competitive tender exercise Atrium Homes have appointed a new landscape maintenance contractor,John O'Conner Ltd and a new gas maintenance contractor, James Frew Ltd ( trading as GasSure) from 1st April 2020.

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis John O'Conner Ltd will be proving a reduced service and carrying out open space maintenance only. This service includes grass cutting, weed control, shrub bed maintenance and litter picking in open spaces and will be carried out in line with government guidance on social distancing.

There will be no garden maintenance service at this time however both Atrium and John O'Conner will monitor government advice closely and seek to resume normal service when it is safe to do so.

In line with government advice in relation to the COVID-19 virus Atrium's programme of gas servicing is currently suspended. Working with GasSure, Atrium Homes will monitor all relevant safety advice and recommence the programme of landlord safety checks when it is appropriate to do so. Emergency gas repairs should still be reported.

A message from the Chair and Chief Executive of Atrium Homes

This is a very worrying time for everyone in the country. Customers and staff alike are being directly or indirectly affected by the Covid-19 crisis. We wanted to make sure that our tenants know that their home is safe so that they have one less thing to worry about over the coming months.

Atrium is still open for business, and we would stress that we need tenants to continue to make rent payments as they normally would, so that we can continue to deliver our core services.

However, we also know that some people won’t be able to do this. Our Money Advice and Debt Management Teams are continuing to engage with tenants in arrears and have been offering support, assistance and advice to those who need it. We know that some tenants, for the first time, are facing a situation where they are unable to make a rent payment and will be concerned about what might happen.

If you are in this this situation you should make early contact with Atrium’s Debt Management and Money Advice teams. Atrium’s staff are continuing to work, mainly from home. They have remote access to our office systems, including phone and email. If you want or need to contact us you can do so either by phoning the office on 01563 528816 or emailing us at info@atrium-homes.co.uk. We will respond.

Our staff are experienced and empathetic and will help you through this. They will help direct and signpost you through the benefits system and towards help from other local organisations.

You should also be reassured that while our staff will continue to make contact with tenants in arrears our standard approach is that we will never evict a tenant who is actively engaging with us to address their arrears. We would also emphasise that

NO ONE WILL BE EVICTED FROM THEIR HOME BECAUSE OF RENT ARREARS WHICH HAVE OCCURED AS A DIRECT OR INDIRECT RESULT OF THE CURRENT CORONA VIRUS SITUATION

Lastly, If you want us to contact you, make sure we have your up to date contact details. To do this:

1. Private message us on Facebook. Please follow our Facebook page by giving us a like to keep you up to date with any information we share.
2. Call - 01563 528816
3. Email – info@atrium-homes.co.uk
4. Atrium website via our contact form - https://www.atrium-homes.co.uk/contact/

Stay Home and Stay Safe