Now that summers are warmer in the UK here are some tips on how to stay safe in the sun.

Feels like sunshine

You may think the energy cap is the maximum you could spend on energy bills per year, but this isn’t the case.

Watt's happening with the energy price cap?

Take a look at some our low cost day out ideas for the Easter holidays

Free and low cost days out for the Easter holidays 

Our financial inclusion team have partnered with the Department for Work and Pensions and Jobcentres in the North West of England to provide advice and support.

Providing financial support out in the community

Our Home Group processes and policies are effective because we involve customers in every step. Find out more about how customers shape the work we do.

Being influenced by our customers is key to our success

We are continuously looking to invest in the work we deliver to improve our customers' homes, spending £150m last year in improvement works.

Investing for our futures

Home Group supports its customers with key learning courses through its Home Achievement Programme (HAP), a scheme which close to 750 customers take part in each year.

How the Home Achievement Programme is helping customers

Each year Home Group supports around 120 apprentices with many being customers or those who have previously received support or housing from the housing association.

Supporting customers and colleagues through apprenticeships

Our customer service centre (CSC) has worked closely with customers to improve the way we handle calls about anti-social behaviour to improve the experience and outcomes our customers have.

Improving how we handle anti-social behaviour calls

We ensure our customers are involved in the decisions we make at Home Group by providing opportunities to be involved in all aspects of our business, from recruitment and procurement through to visiting estates and services with us.

How we involve our customers in what we do

Home Group seeks to improve the places our customers live by investing in our communities. In Hartlepool, our placemaking work has seen really positive outcomes, benefitting our customers, colleagues and the wider community alike.

Investing in our communities

We work to support our customers and make sure they receive the money they are entitled to. One of the key ways we do this is through our Financial Inclusion team.

Supporting our customers financially

Providing support for our customers is a key activity within Home Group and takes many forms.

Offering support where it’s needed most

Fuel poverty is a situation where people struggle to pay basic utilities, and can leave them unable to keep their homes warm and safe. We are playing an active role in trying to prevent this for our customers.

Doing our bit to help tackle fuel poverty

Within Home Group we support customers into employment and some, like Scott, even go full circle now working to support new customers at Tyneside Foyer. 

Going from customer to colleague

One of our customers, Sam, is a perfect example of how they can thrive when they receive the right support and can get involved with volunteering and local services.

How getting involved helped our customer change their life

Here's how you can stay fit and healthy this winter

Stay fit and healthy this winter

Top tips on looking after your health and wellbeing.

10 ways to improve your wellbeing

We keep hearing about EPC ratings in the news and when we talk about retrofitting homes, but what do they mean and why do they matter to our customers

What are EPC ratings and why do we keep hearing about them?

Winter is a time when the number of fire hazards in your homes can increase and we want to share with you some tips to help keep you, your family, and neighbours safe.


Winter fire safety

We saved over 4.3 million litres of water last year - but what does that mean and why is it important?

 How using less water helps protect our natural environment

Extreme weather can bring power failures and damage to your home. Stay safe and warm during cold weather or storms with our tips.

Dealing with extreme weather

Food banks rely on food donations to supply food to people who need it. Find how you can donate and what kind of food they need.

How can I donate to food banks?

Many people might find themselves needing to use a food bank, especially in the winter. If you are one of these people, then there's nothing to be ashamed of. Read our blog to learn how it works. 

How do I use food banks?

Learn more about some free activities you can do this December 

Free things to do this December

Stay safe using fireworks

Highlights from our customer involvement activities from July to September

Customer involvement highlights

Here are some useful tips for gardening during the winter months

Winter gardening made simple

We know staying safe online is important to you, so we've put together a guide to spotting scams and how to avoid them.

How to spot a scam

Energy theft and how to report it

Outside lighting is a crucial aspect of your home safety, deterring intruders and preventing accidents.

Illuminating advice for outside lighting upkeep

Taking a well-earned break in the warmer months is something many of us look forward to, so the last thing you want on your return is to find that your home has been broken into, or damaged by a leaky pipe or faulty appliance.



Preparing your home for a stress-free getaway

At Home Group, we do not tolerate hate and violence in any form in our communities.  We are sharing some advice and useful links for our customers, partners and communities that may have been affected by this week’s violence.

Recent events

Gracie Clark is a housing Manager in Essex. She spoke to us about her journey through our apprenticeship programme, where she was able to train and study on the job to secure her dream role.

From customer to colleague

Read about our customer network group working hard to create the colleague pledge allowing colleagues to show their commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion.

Disability ally pledge

Are you claiming tax credits? Read this blog to see if you should be claiming universal credits instead and how to do so.

Managed Migration: moving from Tax Credits to Universal Credit

Read more about what our colleagues and customers have been up to in the community during February. 

In the communities: February 2024

Wallet friendly fun

Meet Debbie, a Home Group customer who has been working with our financial support team to improve her wellbeing and finances. 

Debbie's journey with our financial inclusion team 

How to prevent an incident involving lithium-ion batteries.

Lithium batteries and how to keep you and your home safe

Learn all about the Tenant Satisfaction Measures, what we're doing and what that means for Home Group customers.

Understanding the Tenant Satisfaction Measures and what they mean

See how easy it is to reset your My Home Account password.

Resetting your My Home Account password

Meet Sofia (she/her), our level six digital marketing apprentice, this is her advice for future and aspiring apprentices.

My advice for apprentices

Meet Sofia (she/her), our level six digital marketing apprentice, these are her tips for aspiring apprentices.

How to standout when applying for our apprenticeships

Hear from Andy, our customer apprentice. Read about his journey to becoming an apprentice.

Meet Andy - our newest customer apprentice

Here's our latest tips on how to reach your savings goals for the year. 

Smart saving for the New Year

Hear from Dee, Ella, Dee and Angela about their experience with our customer service team.

Customer service centre: behind the scenes 

Read about how the improvements to our phone lines will create a better customer experience. 

We’re improving our phone lines 

Meet the customers and colleagues we're honouring in our 2023 Customer and Volunteer Awards.

Customer and Volunteer Awards 2023

Tips and tricks to get the most out of your money.

Budgeting for beginners

Our annual Customer and Volunteer Awards are a series of celebrations across the UK to recognise our customers and volunteers.

Customer and Volunteer Awards 2022

Despite the cold weather, customers and colleagues across Home Group have been working hard to make a difference. Read some of October's highlights.  

In our communities: October 2023

How many of these tips will you start doing?

Customer top tips: smart savings

We have been reflecting on how we handle customer complaints. Read how we are planning on staying accountable and improving the complaints journey for our customers. 

Learning from complaints October 2023

Are you a Home Group customer looking for a unique opportunity to make a difference in your community? Then learn about our new customer role on the Home in Scotland board.

Scotland customer ‘On Board’ training

Read how the new Tenant satisfaction Measures and how your feedback can improve our services. 

What are Tenant Satisfaction Measures and how can they help improve our service?

Preparing for the school year can be daunting. Here are some top tips on how to keep the cost down this school year.

Save money on back to school costs

We are all starting to think about our winter bills. See if you are eligible for any of the government's cost of living and winter support schemes. 

Cost of living support this winter

Read how our in-house repairs team has improved colleague and customer experiences. 

Empowering customers and colleagues through our in-house repairs

Here's a round up of what some of our communitie have been up to.

Keeping up with your communities

Read how we worked with customers to tackle anti-social behaviour and brought their community's spark back to life.

Tackling anti-social behaviour

Ever wondered what we really should and shouldn't be recycling? Read top recycling tips from our sustainability manager.

Beyond the bin

Read how we have been improving our website and my home account based on your feedback.

Getting digital

Read Brian's recipe for his easy-to-cook tex mex veggie burgers.

Brian’s budget bites: tex mex veggie burgers

Read what our colleagues and customers think makes a good ally.

Being an active ally

Read tips from our cyber team on how to stay safe online. 

How to stay safe online

Hear from Karen, one of our customers on her involvement with customer recruitment.

 How involving customers in recruitment boosts customer confidence, understanding, and voice

Hear from Matt on our insight team on how we use your comments to improve as a business. 

How customer comments help us improve

A podcast about mental health by our customers, for our customers.

Mind over chatter

Hear from our CEO on how we're improving to make things right. 

We’re getting closer to customers, listening, and making things right

Home Group customer, and board member, Indra Mudie shares her views on the Government’s new social housing campaign.

To ‘Make Things Right’ customers need to be heard more for things to get better, writes Indra Mudie

Read Brian's recipe for his affordable and easy-to-cook sponge pudding.

Brian’s budget bites: microwave sponge pudding

The government are introducing emergency alerts where a message will appear on the home screen of your mobile phone.

Everything you need to know about the government emergency alerts

An update about tenant satisfaction measures

Your home and our services: an update

Meet the team who is helping us drive our sustainability goals. 

Meet our sustainability team

Hear from Drew, one of our colleagues and customers, about tackling the stigma in social housing.

Tackling social housing stigma

Meet Ruth, one of our customers and colleagues. Read her advice for those looking to apply for a role with us.

Meet our customer apprentice Ruth

You may have received a letter from us about changes to your rent and service charges. Here’s an explanation of why rent and service charges have increased.

Changes to your rent and service charges

We are looking at how we can give our customers the best experiences. From how we do things, seasonal repairs and, most importantly, hearing from our customers.

Learning from complaints Winter 2023

Make sure it’s just Santa coming down the chimney this Christmas

Watch out for cyber crime this holiday season.

It's fraudmass

The current economic situation is affecting everyone, including Home Group.

Talking about costs

We're always trying to improve your homes, meet the team helping us do that.

Meet our home condition survey team

Find out more about tenant satisfaction measures

Your home and our services

We all love a bargain but remember to stay safe when buying online. Read our top tips to get started.

Online shopping safety: tips to keep you safe

Customers share some of their energy efficiency tips

Customer top tips: being energy efficient

Enjoy your bonfire night while staying safe

Bonfire safety

Candles can turn our house into a home, but like any other flame, they must be treated carefully. Read our safety tips to stay safe.

Candle safety: how to keep your home safe from fire

Read how to protect yourself against loan fee fraud.

Loan fee fraud is hurting people most in need

Our customer report shines a light on our performance from our customer's perspective.

Our customer report: by customers, for customers

Looking after your boiler is good for your pocket and is important for your safety at home.

Boiler maintenance and why it is so important

Some cost saving tips to help you get ready for the festive season

Getting your money in shape for Winter

Meet Danny, one of our customers and a keen cook excited to share his budget recipes.

Danny’s budget recipes

See how much money you can save and still eat well

Customer top tips: eat well for less

Money saving tips to see you through Summer

Summer guide to entertaining kids on a budget

Street parties aren't just for the Jubilee. They are a great way of bringing communities together whatever the occassion.

Celebrate with your community

Home Group customer Freda tells her story about overcoming loneliness during Covid.

How getting online helped my loneliness

We are looking at the best way to handle complaints to improve the experience for our customers. This includes looking at new resources and new systems, training colleagues, and asking you what recommendations you have.

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