Public housing

Posted on 26th July at 11:23 AM, Posted by: David Newton

There appears to be a generic standard being adopted by both Local Autorities and Social Landlords to upgrade communal aerial systems only and allowing tenants with individual TV systems to do their own thing with regard to upgrades.
My questions are:
a) Are any associations / LA undertaking to upgrade these individual properties?
b) How are they dealing with the financial variations in terms of upgrade works between tenants within blocks fitted with communal systems (carried out by the Landlord) and the individual properties.
c) Where a communal system is fitted to a building and there are a mixture of tenants and owners, how are people dealing with the owners given the new planning rules regarding permitted development and the number of satellite dishes per building?
I fail to see how the planning legislation will be policed by the LA’s and whether this would be applied retrospectively to properties having 20+ dishes already fitted pre. the new legislation

Posted on 2nd August at 09:32 AM, Posted by: Digital UK

Landlords and property managers need to refer to the tenancy agreement/ leases to check what the respective roles, rights and responsibilities are. As a general rule the responsibility for upgrading the structure of a communal TV aerial system in a block of flats, and recovering the cost from the residents, lies with the landlord or managing agent. Residents in individual houses will generally be expected to maintain, replace or upgrade the aerial themselves.

a)We are not aware of any landlords who are proposing to upgrade or replace aerials where tenants are responsible for them themselves. However, there are instances where houses developed by a development corporation, were originally connected to a communal cable TV service, which will not be upgraded. In these circumstances, the landlord is going to provide the affected residents/ homes with external aerials and vary the tenancy agreement to pass the ongoing responsibility to the tenants, as a one off.
b)Mindful of the legislative requirement of the various Housing and Landlord and Tenants Acts each block and the associated work should be ring fenced in respect of cost and recovery. Although an authority / organisation wide programme and contract may be entered into, the apportionment and allocation of costs should follow normal rent/ service charge practices. Only those households receiving the service should be expected to pay for it. To do otherwise could result in a legal challenge.
c)Where works of this size and nature are being undertaken it is anticipated that extensive consultation with residents is undertaken. There can be a difference of opinion between residents in mixed tenure blocks as to the best solution. Where an IRS is fitted with a single dish supporting satellite services, the need for individual dishes is diminished and many landlords/ freeholders will require the removal of individual dishes to maintain the integrity of the fabric of the building and reduce health and safety issues. Freeholders, landlords and managing agents will often have the power to restrict or limit the erection of satellite dishes and may need to enforce lease or tenancy agreements to ensure compliance with planning guidelines which already limit aerials/ satellites to four per building.  See more on planning guidelines. http://www.digitaluk.co.uk/propertymanagers/get_informed_entry/planning_regulations_for_installation_of_satellite_dishes/

Posted on 29th January at 02:53 PM, Posted by: P.McConnon

As a Liverpool Council tenant living in a block of 32 flats (none with sat. dishes) I am uncertain of best way to upgrade to digital aerial. Our present analogue aerial is only capable of showing half of the available Freeview channels and these fade in and out from hour to hour. I am expecting a lengthy waiting period before a digital aerial might be fitted and I may proceed with getting the job done myself.Any recommendations ?
another problem is the indoor aerial sockets have begun to loosen and need replacing for starters. Please advise best way forward. p.s. we do not pay service charges.

Posted on 8th February at 01:03 PM, Posted by: Digital UK

In the first instance, we would suggest you contact the city council to find out what their plans are to check and upgrade the communal aerial system where you live. It is expected that landlords such as yours would be seeking the views of residents as to the services that you want in the future, how they are to be delivered to your home and how it will be paid for.

More and more landlords are installing an Integrated Reception System (IRS) that will provide analogue services (until switchover) Freeview and satellite services - generally those that will support Sky plus as standard (and they should be able to provide access to the new Freesat from the BBC/ITV when it is launched later on this year). Residents will be able to have both free and subscription services.

It appears that you are able to receive Freeview now, but in some areas only 22 public service channels are available on Freeview from the local relay transmitter. You can check what Freeview programmes you should be able to receive where you live by entering your postcode on our postcode checker, visit http://www.digitaluk.co.uk

Digital signals in the Granada TV region are not being transmitted on full power yet and will only increase after the analogue signal is turned off. It may be that the existing system needs to be fitted with a booster or amplifier – the councils’ technical department should be able to check this for you.

We would hope that by following up the above suggestion your digital TV reception will improve. If the council is going to be upgrading the communal aerial system they are likely to replace the aerial socket in your home. If not, or if they are of concern to you, you should report it to their repairs service.