Resident's Handbook
Williams Close
RESIDENTS’ HANDBOOK
December 2018
This Handbook will be updated every year or so. If your handbook is dated more than 15 months ago, there might be a newer version and you can check the website or ask one of the Directors
Williams Close is an estate built in the 1940s. Most residents who live here have
been here for some time. We tend to know each other, without being intrusive, and
are polite, respectful and neighbourly. There are many activities on the estate that
some residents choose to share with their neighbours, others prefer to live quietly.
The rules that we outline below are designed to help us all ensure that we can live
on a clean, safe and well managed estate with continued good neighbourliness. The
legal details of these rules are contained in your lease or rental contract. What we do
here is outline the most important ones in plain English.
The estate is managed by a company called Williams Close Ltd. - wholly owned by
leaseholders. The company does not manage any other property and our Members
have a vested interest in making sure that the estate is well run. We do not seek to
make a profit and the Directors, who are Members of the company, are not paid for
their work. Our aim is simply to ensure the good maintenance of the buildings and
gardens, at a cost-effective price, and to carry out improvements where that is
agreed by most of the residents.
We will provide similar services to those you are used to, including buildings insurance cover.
The gardens will be maintained by a local charity that “aims to provide young people who have learning difficulties or disabilities with life skills and vocational training that will enable them to participate more fully in living and working in the community”. They have a reputation as a reliable, professional and friendly company The cleaning of the halls and stairs will be provided by another small local firm, also well-known and used by other local estates and comes with a high recommendation
The building emergency and repairs service will be run by a third local firm, again
with a good track record and whose current clients include several Housing
Associations.
We look to develop a trustworthy working relationship with each of these local companies, who will get to know the needs on our estate and serve it well. If you want to report a problem or find out more information, comment, or complain -the contact details about these services are on the last page of this handbook.
Safety
Being safe in your home is our first concern.
1. Problems that occur inside your flat are usually the responsibility of the
leaseholder, or your landlord if you rent the property.
But some problems concern us all and may be the responsibility of Williams
Close Ltd. Please report these kinds of problems. They might include:
a. damage to the structure of the building, outer walls, roofs, or windows
b. problems in the hallway, sheds or stairs, or in the gardens
c. dampness that you think might be coming from the roof or windows
d. leaking or blocked guttering, or a burst external water pipe
e. rubbish left on the estate.
1. Problems that occur inside your flat are usually the responsibility of the
leaseholder, or your landlord if you rent the property.
But some problems concern us all and may be the responsibility of Williams Close Ltd. Please report these kinds of problems. They might include:
a. damage to the structure of the building, outer walls, roofs, or windows
b. problems in the hallway, sheds or stairs, or in the gardens
c. dampness that you think might be coming from the roof or windows
d. leaking or blocked guttering, or a burst external water pipe
e. rubbish left on the estate.
If you want to report a building repair, including emergencies, please telephone: 07973-318797 (alternative numbers are available on the contacts page at the end of the Handbook)
If you want to report any other kind of problem you can email us at
info@williamsclose.com or telephone us on 078 8581 8007, where
someone will get back to you within 24 hours.
2. Please don’t leave any rubbish in the stairways. We have bins (including for
any recyclable or garden waste) provided close to the two entrances to the
estate. Equally, please don’t leave any large items in the stairways that may
block the exits during an emergency. If you have large items that you need to
dispose of, see the later sections below.
3. Please take care about what you put into the sink, toilet, or any waste or soil
pipe. Blockages are expensive to remove, particularly in a multi-storey
building such as ours, and we all must pay for that.
4. Please don’t store any inflammable materials in your home, except what you
reasonably need for domestic use. This also applies to the
store rooms or the entrances to the store rooms or the areas around them.
5. You need to make sure that any gas appliance or pipework is safe. For your
own benefit you should get your boiler or heating, for example, serviced each
year; but we also require that you obtain a gas safety certificate and update it
each year so that you always have a current certificate. You will need to
provide that to us, within 14 days of our request to do so. If you rent the
property, your landlord should provide the gas safety certificate for you.
If you smell gas-call 0800 111 999
To report a gas or carbon monoxide emergency, or if a pipeline is
struck (even if no gas leak has occurred) call 0800 111 999. You can call
anytime, 24 hours a day.
6. You should always ensure that any electrical circuit, wire, fixture or fitting, and
any electrical appliance, are in a safe and serviceable condition. Again, if you
rent your home, your landlord should ensure that the wiring and fittings are
safe.
7. You must not undertake any alterations in the flat, or to the windows or the
roof or to the common parts, without our written permission obtained in
advance.
8. If you are a leaseholder and you rent your flat out to someone else, you must
let us know.
9. Crouch End is not usually an area of high crime, and with both a building
entrance door and a door to your own home, each flat is relatively safe too.
But we need to take reasonable care. Please do not, for any reason, prop
open the front door to your building, and make sure that any visitors in your
flat, including workmen, don’t do so either. Propping the door open may
damage the entry phone system but more importantly make it easier for
someone, who we don’t want, to get into the building. For the same reason,
you should not buzz in anyone without checking who they are first. We have
several old people on the estate who may be particularly vulnerable to
someone who has gained entry for the wrong reasons.
Rubbish
1. We all have rubbish to dispose of and bins are provided near the entrances to
the estate. Please use them. If you’re not sure which one to use, your
neighbour will probably know, or ask one of the Directors.
2. Please do not leave large items by these bins in the hope that they will be
collected. They will not and all you are doing is adding to the costs of removal
to which all your neighbours will have to contribute.
3. If you have large items to dispose of, you will need to contact the Council.
They provide a reasonably priced service. They may be contacted at
https://www.haringey.gov.uk/environment-and-waste/refuse-andrecycling/refuse/bulky-items-collection-... or on Tel : 020 8885 7700
4. Haringey and Islington Councils also have recycling centres (at Wood Green
and Holloway) where you can take a wide range of items. You can find details
on each Council’s website.
5. For large items that are recyclable, such as furniture, you may also consider
some local charities that may collect such items; or websites where you can
post your items for other people to collect and use.
6. Each flat can use a store room on the estate, where you can leave items
small and large as you choose. Each of these store room areas have an outer
door that is locked, and you can also fit your own lock to the door to your
individual space.
7. All these options mean that you don’t have to, and should not, leave rubbish
randomly on the estate.
The Gardens
1. The gardens are large for an estate of this size and they provide a space
where your children can play, and you can meet your neighbours (and hang
your washing if you wish).
2. The gardens are reserved for people on the estate and their visitors; so, if you
wish to hold a garden party or barbecue for your friends or neighbours, feel
free. Be respectful though; it’s best to let your neighbours know in advance,
loud music into the night is not likely to be appreciated - and please clean up
afterwards.
3. But if you see anyone who is not from the estate, or isn’t invited by someone
on the estate, and especially if they are behaving suspiciously, let us know.
4. The gardens are well maintained by a local firm with whom we have a
contract, and many residents on the estate also do a lot of work to look after
and improve this space - if you are a gardener and want to join in, you are
more than welcome. But their work is made easier by you being respectful.
a. Please don’t leave rubbish or litter on the estate, someone is going to have to pick it up.
b. Some of the residents here keep pets. That is fine, so long as they are kept under control. If they use the garden, please make sure you clean up any mess. Remember that it is a space that children use.
c. Many of the residents have provided amenities in the garden, for
example slides or trampolines for children, or the barbecue area and
tables. Typically, they are shared amenities (you will probably know
soon enough if they are not). But usually, feel free to use these, or add
to them, but again please do so respectfully, not damaging them and
using them as they were intended.
5. If you want to make any alterations to, or put up, any permanent structure on
the estate, whether or not it’s attached to your flat, you must ask first. We will
not unreasonably refuse any request, but we will take into account any safety considerations and whether any change is in keeping with the general
character of the estate and its environment. And if we require any professional
advice in order to make our decision, you will have to pay for that.
6. Please don’t park any vehicle on the estate, including the entrances, for more
than a few hours. You will block someone else’s access, and you won’t be
thanked if it means that the bins don’t get emptied.
Please note that this handbook is designed only to help you quickly understand how
the estate works. The terms of your lease formally describe the legal terms of your
contract with the freeholders, so please read it.
We have the right, and will from time to time exercise that right, to add further rules
and regulations, provided they are not unusual or give each resident an
unreasonable burden. If issues arise on the estate that will be helped by
amendments to this handbook, we will let you know and issue and publish a revised
handbook.
Meanwhile it may be helpful to have a single list of all the important contact details
and these are included below. If any of these change in-between the publication of a
revised handbook, they will be amended on our website, so please check there first
for the most up to date information.
For building repairs that are the responsibility of Williams Close Ltd, including any emergency repairs, telephone 07973-318797. Use this number first, but the contractor [DBK Builders] has provided two alternative numbers to ensure that you can speak to someone quickly. They are: 020 8348 8881 & 07973- 890718
If you want to make a claim on the building’s insurance, contact Covea Claims Department on 0330 024 2266
If you want to report any other concern either email us at info@williamsclose.com; or telephone 078 8581 8007. We will get back to you within 24 hours
The current Directors are Alon Bader, Paul Boroughs and David Ward The registered address of Williams Close Ltd is
21 Goodwyns Vale, Muswell Hill, London, N10 2HA