Our staff work together to make sure you love where you live. These are the services we offer and the standards you can expect from our environment team.
Cleaning inside blocks
Sweeping and litter picking outside blocks
Collecting and disposing of our residents’ bulky household items
Responding to fly-tipping
Improving and maintaining shared green spaces
Caretaking
Our caretakers clean and maintain the shared areas on your estates.
Every day our caretakers will:
- Sweep and wash lifts and lobby areas and spot mop other areas
- Check rubbish chutes and clear blockages if they can
- Replace broken light bulbs and tube lights in some shared areas
- Report repairs needed in shared areas
- Remove all offensive internal graffiti, if they can
- Litter-pick around the blocks’ entrances
- Report emergency repairs to communal areas
- Carry out health and safety checks for spillages and hazards in lobbies, lifts and stairways and remove or report items dumped in communal areas
- Report tenancy breaches and anti-social behaviour, such as rubbish left in corridors
Our caretakers carry out these tasks on daily basis but also as and when required meaning they are sometimes done several times a day. These frequencies refer to all large and medium-sized blocks. Some smaller blocks will not receive daily visits. We will normally visit these at least three times per week.
Every week our caretakers will:
- Sweep estate roads, paths and car parks
- Sweep and wash shared areas, stairways, landings and corridors
- Dust ledges and railings
- Carry out a full clean of the block, this includes:
Sweep and mop floors
Dust accessible ledges
Clean accessible glass
Dusting and cleaning of lights - Wipe down railings and ledges in communal areas
We aim to stick to these frequencies under normal circumstances including planned leave. However, we cannot always cover long-term sickness or other unplanned absences. We aim to achieve these frequencies 85% of the year, always prioritising the most urgent and health & safety related tasks.
Bulk waste collection
Our caretakers also provide a regular service to collect large or bulky household items such as furniture on most estates. Collection dates are different for each estate. You can check your bulk collection day by visiting this web page, contacting our team on 0800 028 2 028, or emailing environment@lewishamhomes.org.uk.
Residents can help us keep their estate clean and tidy by putting items out for collection no more than one day before the scheduled collection. This helps deter fly-tipping.
Please remember, the service is only for people who live in our flats.
You can find out what the service does and does not include by visiting our large items page.
Responding to illegally dumped waste (fly-tipping)
Any waste left in the open air other than for a bulk collection is considered illegal dumping of waste. This includes leaving items at bulk points which are not part of the bulk service. Anyone illegally dumping waste could face criminal prosecution, as well as further action under their tenancy agreement.
We share information on fly-tipping with Lewisham Council and support prosecution whenever we have sufficient evidence. If you have information to share please contact our anti-social behaviour team by emailing asb@lewishamhomes.org.uk or calling 0800 028 2 028 or by completing this form online.
We aim to remove any illegally dumped waste on our estates within 5 working days of a resident’s report.
Deep clean
Deep cleans will be carried out periodically. We will notify residents of upcoming deep cleans by putting temporary posters in communal areas. Caretakers will:
- Wash light shades, walls and bannisters
- Jet-wash bin chambers
Further information
You can find out more about our caretaking standards by reading our Caretaking Standards Guide.
View our caretaking frequencies for high-rise blocks here.
Fire safety
We work to keep shared areas in your buildings, such as corridors and walkways are kept clear and free from obstruction because items kept there are a major fire risk.
Our caretakers carry out fire safety checks and report items which could prevent you and your neighbours from leaving a building quickly and safely in the event of a fire.
We operate a Clear Corridors policy, which means residents must not store anything in shared walkways and common parts, although there are some exceptions such as non-flammable doormats and, for open access balconies, small plants in ceramic or metal containers. For full details see our Clear Corridors policy.
You can also visit our fire safety page to see
what we’re doing to keep you safe from fire – and steps you can take in an emergency.
Green services
Our gardeners look after the shared green areas, shrubs and flower beds on your estates.
Our gardeners look after the shared green areas, shrubs and flower beds on your estates. They visit every estate at least once every two weeks, to do programmed maintenance. Their tasks depend on the time of the year. Our gardeners prioritise grass cutting during the growing season and pruning and improvements in colder weather.
We’re contributing to the Lewisham mayor’s target to achieve zero net carbon emissions by creating more wildflower meadows and sustainable planting. Find out more about green services.
Estate walkabouts
If you have any questions or concerns about the upkeep of your estate, contact us. Our staff are available to carry out an estate walkabout with you.
Pest control
We carry out an annual pest control programme to buildings that have current or historical issues with most pests.
To report pest control for a single home, please contact Lewisham Council. Please note, the council may charge for these services.
Lewisham Homes uses Lewisham Council’s specialist pest control team to deliver any pest control treatments inside people’s homes and communal areas. We only use pest control treatments which are safe and approved for use in domestic situations by the Health and Safety Executive.
If you choose to use a private pest control provider in your home, please ensure they are professionally trained and the products they use are approved by the Health and Safety Executive.
Window cleaning
We run a window cleaning service to the shared areas in some buildings on your estates.
Reporting communal repairs
Although our caretakers report emergency communal repairs, residents can also request them by calling 0800 028 2028.