News

Power outages can be frustrating and even dangerous if not properly prepared for. But, with a bit of planning, you can ready for the next time the lights go out.

Here are 20 tips. We've included advice from Electricity North West and information about their Extra Care Register, which provides free advice and support in the event of a power cut.

If you think you’ve got a frozen pipe, don’t panic. There are a few things you can do to keep it from bursting and save yourself the hassle of a leak or flood.

Read on for a range of advice and how we can support you.

From Thursday 16 January, general customer and visitor parking at our Valley House office will be unavailable until Monday 3 February 2025. Disabled parking spaces will remain accessible.  

During this time, more of our team will be working at Valley House to support each other as we introduce a new IT housing management system. Being together will help us make this change as smooth as possible.

Read on for full details.

Some of our valued Careline customers have reported receiving phone calls from someone claiming to be from Careline, asking for bank/payment details over the phone.

If you’re a Careline customer, or know someone who is, please know that our Careline staff would NEVER ask for your bank details over the phone, and they’ll NEVER threaten to ‘cut off’ any Careline services you receive.

If you receive such a call, please do NOT share any personal or payment information and report the incident to us immediately. Many thanks to those who have.

Read on for two further updates on Careline.

As we step into the new year, it’s the perfect time to take stock and ensure you’re receiving all the support you’re eligible for. Checking your eligibility for Pension Credit could be a simple yet powerful way to boost your income and ease financial pressures in 2025. Read on for details.

We’re highlighting upcoming webinars hosted by Four Million Homes. If you’re a social housing resident, these sessions are designed to help you know your rights to safe and well-maintained homes. Read on for details.

In this short video, Katie (from our Health and Safety Team) talks about the importance of Fire Doors and provides a five-step guide on how you can check they’re safe (call us on 01204 328000 if you think there’s something wrong with a Fire Door). 

Katie also talks about how we’ll inspect your Fire Doors regularly – and why it’s crucial you grant us access into your home for these checks to take place.

Unsure on how you’d check Fire Doors are safe? Stay safe by giving our short video a watch.

Residents have now moved into the newly built Neighbourhood Moor Lane development, which has revitalised the site of the former bus station. The flagship scheme plays a key part in Bolton Council’s wider regeneration plans to establish a more vibrant and diverse town centre. 

We want to give you an important update about our Deane UCAN Centre and how our UCAN services in the area are changing.

Our Deane UCAN Centre, based at 2 Oriel Street, will close permanently on 23 December. Deane residents can now access a wide range of UCAN services from our recently opened Bolton UCAN Centre in the town centre. We're also introducing a new Deane Pop-Up UCAN centre at Willows Community Centre. Read on for more details.

Next in our series of quick home safety tips: smoke alarms. Remember: they can only save lives if they're working, so test them regularly.

Taking a moment to test your smoke alarm can provide immense peace of mind – and it could be crucial in protecting you and/or your family in an emergency.

You should check your smoke alarm at least once a month by pressing the test button until the alarm sounds.

For more home and building safety advice, tap: www.boltonathome.org.uk/building-safety to visit our Home and Building Safety Hub.

Next in our series of quick home safety tips: extension leads (or power strips). These can be handy, but you should always avoid overloading sockets or linking power strips together.

Signs of an overloaded socket include sparks, scorch marks, or a smell of hot plastic.

Remember: distribute your electrical load evenly across sockets to prevent overheating and minimise the risk of fire.

For more home and building safety advice, tap: www.boltonathome.org.uk/building-safety to visit our Home and Building Safety Hub.

We’ll be working with our partners to deliver three sessions in Gorton and Bolton as part of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence starting this Wednesday, 4 December. Keen to be involved? Read on for details of awareness-raising events we’ve planned this year.

Want plans for you and yours in the lead-up to Christmas? Here’s a round-up of all the events and activities we’ve got coming up. 

We may add to this list as more events are confirmed. Check back for updates.

Please note that our two activities in Farnworth are only available to Farnworth residents. We’ve marked these events with asterisk symbols (**).

As mentioned previously, tap here for details, we’re upgrading our IT systems to better serve you. One of these changes will take place from Friday 29 November to Wednesday 4 December. During this time, we’ll continue to provide our normal repairs service, but there may be some repair requests we can’t handle right away. Read on for details.

Just in case you haven’t heard: yesterday marked the start of a campaign called the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence. Read on for an overview of the campaign (and how we’re supporting it) if you’re unfamiliar with it and/or would like to learn more.

First in our series of quick home safety tips: know your exit and stay safe.

Please take a moment to find your nearest fire exit, as being prepared can make all the difference. 

And remember: always keep pathways and exits clear of obstacles.

For more home and building safety advice, tap: www.boltonathome.org.uk/building-safety to visit our Home and Building Safety Hub.

The She Inspires Awards was an evening of celebration, inspiration, and recognition of outstanding achievements by women making waves in their communities and industries, locally, nationally and globally.

This year, colleagues from our social enterprise subsidiary, Starts with you had the incredible honour of seeing three of its senior managers as finalists. Read on to learn more.

Have you put your Christmas decorations up yet, or reckon it’s *still* too early? 

Regardless of which side of the debate you’re on – tap for some quick tips from us on using your Christmas lights (and similar electronic decorations) safely.

No one should have to put up with antisocial behaviour, which is why we’ll always take your report seriously.

As it’s Antisocial Behaviour Awareness Week, and following a suggestion from our Group Customer Scrutiny Panel, here’s a short video from John Molloy (Head of our Neighbourhood Safety and Enforcement Service) to talk through examples of things we class as antisocial behaviour or tenancy breaches, how and when you should report antisocial behaviour to us, what happens after you’ve reported something to us, and more.

Using funding from our friends at Bolton Council, colleagues in our Neighbourhood Services Team delivered sessions at Bolton St Catherine's Academy (pictured), Firwood High School, and Waggon Road Play Centre, each aimed at raising young people’s awareness and appreciation of their local natural environment and the woodlands and wildlife next to their schools.

Read on for the full story and photos.

Have you heard? We've just opened our brand new Bolton UCAN Centre in The Market Place Shopping Centre, Bolton Town Centre, meaning there's another space for you (or someone you care about) to get help with housing issues, money matters, health and wellbeing, employment support, personal development, community activities, and more.

Read on for full details, including opening times.

We want to alert you to a scam targeting our valued Careline users. Some of our customers have reported receiving phone calls from someone claiming to be from Careline, asking for bank details to upgrade equipment. Please know that our Careline colleagues would NEVER ask for your bank details over the phone.

Staff in our Building Safety Team are dedicated to ensuring your safety at home - and part of our commitment involves keeping you up to date with important safety information relating to your building.

You can now access key safety and building information about your high-rise block on our website, such as a summary of its latest Fire Risk Assessment (FRA), regular safety checks carried out at your building, and more. Read on for the link.

We understand there are questions about our approach to managing empty homes and the circumstances under which we might choose to dispose of a property. We recognise your concerns and would like to provide some clarity. Please read on for details.

For more information on these properties, please tap here: www.boltonathome.org.uk/properties-for-sale.

If you'd like to learn more about why we sell some of our properties, and how we're working to reduce the overall number of empty homes we have, tap here: www.boltonathome.org.uk/empty-properties.

Knowing the risks associated with opening windows is crucial. If the window safety devices in your home aren't used correctly, people can fall from them - and the risks are especially high if you have young children at home.

To minimise the risks, please watch our short video to familiarise yourself with how your windows operate, and how to use them safely. This article also includes a text version of the video.

As part of our efforts to ensure transparency and compliance, we publish our Group Annual Report and Financial Statements documents on our website each year. They provide an overview of our financial performance during the last financial year and chart how we've performed against our objectives.

Tap for summary of the main themes and a link to the latest document if you'd like to read it.

Read on for an update from our Group Chief Executive Officer, Noel Sharpe, on our progress in dealing with damp, condensation, and mould related issues.

Please remember that no one will know your home better than you, and we’re here to help if you have any concerns or a situation that needs attention. This update includes details on what to do if you need to report an issue to us.

We’re pleased to present our Annual Report 2023/2024 to you: https://bah.max-mediagroup.co.uk/annualreport2023-24.

Please read on for more information.

We’re making some changes to our IT systems including putting much of the information about your home and tenancy in one place, so we can assist you more quickly.

While we get ready for this upgrade, you might notice some delays when you contact us. We’re working hard to keep any delays short, and we’ll still be here to help with any urgent issues. We appreciate your patience as we make these improvements.