Winter Weather Advice for Council Tenants

Heating or hot water problems

Although we all require heating and hot water during the winter months, the elderly can be particularly at risk from cold conditions.

If you live in a council house and have a problem with your central heating, hot water or boiler please contact  Aaron Services on 0300 175 7497.

Some of our larger blocks of flats and sheltered housing schemes have communal boilers which are serviced and maintained by Gas Way. If you have an issue with your heating and are on a communal system, call Gas Way on 01206 237480.

Reporting burst pipes

You can report a burst pipe by contacting our Customer Service Centre on 01438 242666. 

Sometimes pipes freezing and thawing can cause them to burst. If this happens, turn off the mains water supply immediately by using the stopcock. This will stop any more water getting into the water pipes. If the burst pipe is on the main water system, the rush of water will stop after a short while.

If there is any chance of water getting into electrical fittings, switch off the electricity supply at the mains.

Turn on all cold water taps to drain the system but do not turn on the hot taps as your hot water cylinder may collapse if the pipes leading to it are frozen.

Reporting frozen pipes

Thaw out pipes slowly by using a hairdryer on its lowest setting, hot water bottles or towels soaked in warm water. Do not use direct heat as this may cause permanent damage to the pipes and could also lead to a fire in the home.

Reporting flooding

If you are a council tenant and are experiencing flooding due to heavy rain, please call our Customer Service Centre on 01438 242666.

We will try to provide sand bags to prevent further water getting into your home and we will check electrical supplies to ensure that these are safe.

Out of hours emergencies

For out-of-hours heating, hot water, frozen/burst pipes and flooding emergencies, please call 01438 314963.

Home contents insurance

We advise all our tenants to take out Home Contents Insurance as the replacement of your belongings can be very costly.