• Your caretaking service

• Estate Cleaning Charter

• Dog Ownership Charter

Estate lighting repairs

From now on, please report any lighting lighting problems on the estate to the housing office. Please note the number on the column in order to report it (e.g. column 057).

Your caretaking service

Your RMO caretakers provide a high quality cleaning and maintenance service to the whole of the estate. The RMO directly employs two dedicated caretakers to carry out the cleaning tasks throughout the estate. The caretakers work to an agreed specification and estate cleaning charter. The caretakers ensure that the estate is kept clean at all times.

The caretaking service operates five days a week, between 7.30am and 3.30pm each day. The caretakers also attend the estate during the weekend to rotate the communal refuse bins. Generally, the caretaker's job is to:

• Give an excellent service to our customers
• Look after our equipment and blocks through regular inspections and maintenance
• Deal with emergencies on the estate
• Clean balconies and refuse chambers
• Monitor the estate refuse and bulk rubbish collections
• Report abandoned vehicles to the estate office and arranges for their removal
• Remove graffiti
• Weed kill
• Report acts of vandalism and other examples of anti-social behaviour to the RMO and the Safer Neighbourhood Police
• Complete grounds maintenance i.e. grass cutting and shrub bed maintenance
• Request that repair orders to the estate are raised by the estate office where necessary
• Check equipment and estate facilities (stopcocks, hydrants, parking areas and so on)
• Attend to emergencies, such as burst pipes and floods, that affect residents' homes
• Deal with blocked drains and gullies
• Deal with lighting breakdowns
• Change estate light bulbs
• Clear out and clean empty properties, garages and pram sheds
• Report any faults or repairs in public areas that resident have told them about, or that they have noted on their estate inspection.
• Mark up hazardous areas

Additionally the caretakers may...

• Remove furniture from occupied properties ready for the bulk refuse collection
• Assist elderly or disabled residents with maintaining their private gardens
• Pay in residents' payments at Olive Morris House or the local Londis store
• Demonstrate how you operate your windows and central heating system

The caretakers will be called to account where service standards are not met. Instate inspections are completed on a fortnightly basis by a member of the RMO staff. Resident estate inspections (Walkabout Wednesdays) are undertaken each quarter. All residents are encouraged to participate in these walkabouts.

The estate tree surgery and pest control service is provided by Lambeth Council and these departments can be contacted on telephone 020 7926 6000.

You can help us improve our service by:

• Reporting incidents to the estate office
• Telling us your concerns regarding the estate cleaning
• Showing consideration for your neighbours when disposing of your household rubbish
• Treating employees of the RMO, and you neighbours, the same way you wish to be treated
• Participating in service reviews or estate inspections.

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Estate Cleaning Charter

Blenheim Gardens RMO is committed to providing a high-quality estate cleaning service. This charter sets out the general standards you can expect from us and how you can help us meet these standards.

• Litter and dog waste bins will be emptied at least once a week
• Bulk waste collection (bulky items dumped on the estate) will be carried out three times per week, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays
• Human excrement and dog fouling will be cleared on the same day that it is reported
• Dead animals will be collected and disposed of the same day they are reported
• Refuse bins will be rotated daily and emptied three times per week and the bin chambers will be deep-cleaned every three months
• Communal balconies will be swept at least twice a week and washed at least once every six weeks
• Window frames and LEB cupboards on balconies will be cleaned at least annually
• Communal alleyways will be swept at least twice per week
• Garage doors will be cleaned at least once per year
• Communal stairs will be swept at least twice per week and washed at least once every six weeks
• Graffiti will be removed within 24 hours of it being reported and offensive graffiti will be removed the same day it is reported. If you notice any graffiti anywhere on the estate please notify the RMO office on telephone 020 7926 0158, Email BlenheimGardens@lambeth.gov.uk or out of hours by text message to 07903 824 072. Please ensure you include the location of the graffiti in your message.
• Hazardous vehicles will be removed within 24 hours of being reported, these include vehicles that are burnt-out or in a dangerous position
• Fly tipping will be removed within 48 hours of being reported
• Trip hazards will be made safe the same day that the request is received
• Spills in communal areas will be removed the same day that they are reported
• Grassed areas will be cut at least three times between April and November
• Recycling on the estate is managed by the local authority. There are a number of recycling banks situated throughout the estate. Monitoring of service standards on estate cleaning

Monitoring of standards is carried out by the RMO staff on a monthly basis. In addition, the RMO and United Residents Housing undertake estate inspections on a quarterly basis and report the findings to their management committees routinely.

The inspection sheet separates the estate in to three areas:

• General maintenance (including roads, lighting, private gardens, dog mess and so on)
• Cleaning services (hard and soft including refuse, gutters, parking and so on)
• Gardening (including trees, garden areas, shrubs and so on)

Each inspection results in a grading 1, 2, 3 or 4 to reflect the level of cleanliness with "4" indicating the standards have been fully meet and "1" indicating the site has not been meet at all or hardly meet. The RMO completion progress against the estate cleaner charter is advertised in the estate notice boards.

You can download the Estate Inspection Grading System PDF at the bottom of this page.

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Dog Ownernship Charter

It is estimated that there are some seven million dogs in Britain, which are subject to almost 50 laws. Irresponsible dog ownership can lead to a host of problems for local authorities (and managing agents such as Blenheim Gardens RMO) including fouling, dangerous dogs and persistent barking. In response to the increasing concerns from residents regarding dogs and dog ownership on the estate, BGRMO, in consultation with residents, have launched our Dog Ownership Charter.

• The ownership of a pet requires the written permission of RMO and permission will also be required for any subsequent pets
• The dog owner will be aware that the RMO's permission to keep a pet can be withdrawn at anytime
• Dog permission will not be granted to residents in flats or where the dog does not have exclusive access to a garden
• The dog owner should obtain adequate pet insurance
• The dog will be microchipped before permission is granted
• The dog owner will be a responsible adult
• The dog walker will be a responsible adult
• The dog owner will ensure the dog is kept on a lead at all times and will not allow the dog to run free on the estate
• The dog owner will ensure the dog does not use any grassed or flowerbed area on the estate
• The dog owner will ensure the dog does not cause a nuisance to other residents or visitors to the estate (barking, fighting etc.)
• The dog owner will not allow the dog to foul anywhere on the estate, including inside your home. In case of accidental fouling, the owner will pick after the dog and place in the bins provided
• The dog owner will be responsible for ensuring all the above conditions are maintained at all times

Blenheim Gardens RMO encourages responsible pet ownership.

All residents (irrespective of tenure of property) are required to adhere to this charter. If you require our permission to keep a dog please download the application below or contact the estate office for an application. Please ensure permission is granted before you obtain a dog.

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