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Message from Michael Kelleher - Director of Housing Services

As the new Director of Housing Services, I want to begin by thanking everyone for the warm welcome I have received since joining Newham. I have been genuinely impressed by the commitment and determination of colleagues across the Housing Service to improve the services we provide to residents.

My priority is simple: to make sure your home is safe, in good condition, and a place where you feel comfortable and proud to live. Over the coming weeks and months, I will be out and about visiting estates and meeting residents across our communities. I want to hear directly from you about what is working, what isn’t, and where we must do better.

We will continue to focus on the things that matter most: fixing issues quickly, maintaining estates to a high standard, and ensuring that all tenants and leaseholders receive the support they need. This can only be achieved by listening to your views and working closely with you to shape a better Housing Service.

I look forward to working with you to deliver lasting improvements for everyone who lives in Newham.

As a first step, I will be launching a new initiative called Ask Michael. This is your opportunity to send me your questions about our housing services, the challenges we face, or the improvements you want to see. In each future edition of Improving Your Homes, I will answer a selection of these questions so that we can build greater openness, transparency, and dialogue. More details on how you can send in your question will be shared in the March edition of Improving Your Homes.

Together, I am confident that we can deliver a Housing Service that truly meets your needs and expectations.

You said, we did! 

We’ve listened — and we’ve taken action. Thank you for sharing your views with us through surveys, group meetings and conversations. You’ve told us what works well and what needs to improve, and we’ve used your feedback to make real changes to our housing services. 

Resident Engagement

You said:

You want us to spend more time in your neighbourhoods, talking to residents and working with local partners to fix issues more quickly.

We did:

We have launched regular estate walkabouts with residents, Newham colleagues and local partners such as the Police. These visits help us see problems first‑hand, agree actions on the spot, and make your neighbourhoods cleaner, safer and better maintained.
Because the feedback has been so positive, we are now rolling out walkabouts across every estate in the borough.

You’ll start seeing posters and letters letting you know when we’re coming to your area — and we hope you’ll join us.


Reporting Repairs

You said: 

You want an easier way to report repairs online, at any time that suits you. 

We did:

We’ve created a new online repairs reporting form, along with a dedicated damp and mould reporting form. You can now tell us about issues quickly and easily, 24 hours a day, without needing to call or wait for office hours.

To report a repair online, visit the Newham Repairs Portal on the council website (or go to newham.gov.uk and search “report a repair”).

Your housing liaison team is here to help you

Our Housing Liaison Officers support thousands of households across our estates and neighbourhoods. They regularly visit blocks and communities to check on residents, raise concerns, and report issues they see straightaway, including fly tipping, safety concerns, and repairs that need attention.

We have already completed around 8,000 tenancy audits, with a further 6,000 planned over the coming months. These tenancy audits are important. They help us understand who lives in our homes and ensure we can provide the right support when it’s needed. During each visit, officers also check for damp, mould and any other risks in the home so that we can take prompt action.

We always take the time to speak with you and listen. If you need extra support, our officers can connect you to services that help you live more comfortably and safely in your home and community.

From the 8,000 audits completed so far, we have made nearly 3,000 referrals to ensure residents receive the help they need. This includes support from Adult Social Care, help with damp and mould or repairs, safeguarding, housing solutions, rent support and many other vital services.

All of this work is about making sure the right support is in place for everyone who needs it.

If you have a tenancy or leasehold query, please contact your local Housing Liaison Officer:

• Visit: Housing Liaison Officers - Housing liaison team - Newham Council
• Email: HLOTeam@newham.gov.uk; and an officer for your area will respond.
• Call the Contact Centre: 020 8430 2000.

How is the Housing Service performing?

We know how important it is for you to understand how well your Housing Service is performing. As part of our commitment to improve your homes, we promised to be more open and transparent about our progress and the areas where we need to continue improving.

We now provide a monthly performance snapshot so you can see, at a glance, how we are doing across the things that matter most to you. This snapshot highlights where performance is improving, where further work is needed, and the actions we are taking.

Here is a summary of our latest performance:

We continue to improve our service to ensure your homes remain safe and well-maintained. We have improved processes that help us identify issues early and take swift action where needed.

• Gas Safety (99.90%)
  Almost all homes have had their required gas safety checks completed.
  
  
• Electrical Safety (96.62%)
  Over 96% of homes now have an electrical safety certificate that's less than 10 years old.
  
  
• Fire Risk Assessments (99.85%)
  Nearly all required fire risk assessments for housing blocks have been carried out.
  
  
• Smoke Detection (99.07%)
  More than 99% of homes are confirmed to have adequate smoke detection installed.
  
  
• Carbon Monoxide Detection (99.99%)
  Almost every home has a working carbon monoxide detector in place. 
  
  
• Legionella Risk Assessments (99.87%)
  We’ve completed the required legionella risk assessments across the vast majority of relevant buildings.
  
  
• Asbestos Management Surveys (99.90%)
  Almost all housing blocks needing an asbestos survey have had it completed within the required timeframe.
  
  
• Lift Safety (100%)
  All lifts have received their required passenger lift safety checks—100% compliance.

We also publish the full set of monthly figures on our website, where you can explore the detail and compare our performance over time. You can find more information about the wider improvements we are making on our Improving Your Homes website, including our Housing Services Improvement Plan and the steps we are taking to deliver a safer, more reliable and higher quality service for all residents.

Share your stories with us

We know that Newham is full of strong communities, inspiring residents and local projects that make a real difference. As part of Improving Your Homes, we want to celebrate these stories and shine a light on the people and groups who help strengthen our neighbourhoods.

If you, your family, your neighbours or your community organisation are involved in something you are proud of — whether it’s a local cleanup, a community garden, a residents’ group, support for vulnerable neighbours, or simply a positive experience you want to share — we would love to hear from you.

We will feature a selection of resident and community stories in future editions of Improving Your Homes. These stories help us recognise the great work happening across Newham, highlight positive change, and share ideas that others might find useful.

If you have a story to tell or would like to nominate someone in your community, please get in touch by emailing getinvolved.housing@newham.gov.uk. Your experiences matter, and they help us build a stronger, more connected Housing Service for everyone.

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