Information for Refugees and Migrants

You can download this section as a pdf for printing if you need to.

This section covers:

• Housing Problems
• Gas 
• Electricity 
• Water 
• Telephones 
• Council Tax
• TV Licence
• Environment on Call
• Pest Control

If you want to get more about advice on finding somewhere to live please see Section 4 - Getting Advice.

Problems with Your Housing

Council Housing

If you live in a house owned by Manchester City Council (a council house), it will probably be managed by a separate management company such as Northwards in North Manchester . If you have a problem with your council house or you need someone to carry out repairs, you should report the problem to Housing Repair for Council Tenants  or phone 0161 953 2525. More help with your council house .

Social Housing

Many people live in homes that used to be "council houses" and are now owned and run by Registered Social Landlords (RSLs). If you live in a property run by an RSL like Mosscare, Parkway Green, Eastlands Homes or Willow Park you should talk to them if you have a problem with your house.

The Manchester Housing Website has information about how to find and contact your RSL and how to organise a repair.

Housing Advice and Support

Housing Support for Black Minority and Ethnic People (BME)

Provides housing-related support for BME people and refugees. The service helps people to apply for benefits, find employment, link with other agencies and set up home. It can also help with Racial Harassment problems. It cannot help you find a home. Please call 0161 276 2984/2988.

Asylum Accommodation

If you are an asylum seeker and have been dispersed by the Home Office (in what is often referred to as NASS accommodation), most household services will be provided by your landlord, and the landlord is responsible if something in the property breaks or needs repairing. If your landlord does not fix the problem you can report it to your Home Office Caseworker or to the Home Office's Regional Asylum Team (0161 261 1300).

Private Rented Accommodation

If you are renting your own (private) accommodation, you will have to make your own arrangements, though your landlord should still be responsible for repairs to and maintenance of gas, electricity and water appliances.

When you are moving into new property, make sure that the person who shows the property to you, tells you where the gas, electricity and water supply connections are, so that you can switch them off quickly in case of an emergency.

Reading the Meters

When you move into new accommodation always inform the people who provide services (also called utilities), such as gas, electricity, water, telephone and council tax straight away before you use them. This is to make sure that you only pay for these services from when you moved in. You should take a note of what the reading is with your landlord when you move in. When your first bills arrive, check that the reading starts from when you moved in.

The water, gas and electricity providers should also check the meters to find out how much had been used before you moved in.  You need to get in touch with your gas, electricity and water suppliers and inform them that you have moved in. If you are not sure who supplies your utilities, check with your landlord or phone for:

• Gas - the Enquiry Helpline number on 0870 608 1524
• Electricity - United Utilities on 0800 195 1452
• Water - United Utilities on 0845 746 2200

Gas

A Gas Leak Emergency

If you smell gas at home: 

• Find the main gas tap and turn it off. 
• Phone the gas emergency service on 0800 111 999. 
• Do not light any flames and put out cigarettes/candles etc. 
• Do not switch electrical appliances or lights off or on.
• Open windows and doors. 
• Check whether the gas cooker has been left turned on but unlit and check other sources of gas, such as the pilot light on hot water or central heating boilers.

Electricity

What to Do About an Electricity Problem

If you think there is a problem with your electricity supply: 

• Turn off the main electricity switch. 
• Phone your electricity supplier. 

Contact your landlord or housing association to report the problem.

Water Leak

If you find a water leak in your home turn of the mains water tap immediately. If you are a tenant please contact the landlord of the property immediately. If you own your property contact a plumber. You can find local plumbers listed in Yellow Pages, the Thompson Directory and on the internet.

If you find a water leak on the street please call Leakline on 0800 33 00 33.

Heating Your Home 

Most houses in Manchester have gas or electric central heating which gives hot water and warmth through radiators in the rooms. 

Some homes may have gas or electric fires, with water being heated by gas or electric boilers. 

If you are renting private accommodation, check whether you have to pay the heating bills yourself or if they are included in the rent. 

Using central heating and electric heaters can be expensive, so take care to control how much you use it to keep the cost down. 

Useful websites

Manchester City Council 

Direct Gov has useful information about how to keep the cost of energy down and your home warm.

The Energy Saving Trust advice centre also provides energy-saving advice.

Paying Utility Bills

There are several ways to pay for gas, electricity, water and council tax (these are often called your utility bills). Most companies will send you a bill every three months, which you pay in full (either by cheque, at a post office, or at some banks). If you have a bank account, you can arrange for a monthly payment (direct debit) to be taken straight from your account. 

If you forget to pay a bill, you will receive a reminder (usually written in red ink). If you also fail to pay this, there is a risk that your gas/electricity/water supply will be cut off.

Details of payment methods are usually written on the back of each bill: if you are not sure which is best for you, contact the company's customer services team. Some accommodation has pre-pay meters for gas and electricity. You get a plastic card, which you pay to top up (put credit on). If this is the case you will need to find the nearest place to "top up" (put more money on) your card (ask at your local newsagent or grocery shop). You will top up the card (usually with cash) when the credit on your gas/electricity meter gets low or is finished. There is usually a button on the meter, which will give you emergency gas or electricity until you can top up the card.

Choosing an Energy "Provider"

Because there are many companies (or "providers") supplying gas and electricity, you may get people coming to your door trying to get you to switch companies. They will give you information about their service but it may be best to check the prices of other companies before agreeing to change.

To find out which companies offer the best prices, find an independent price comparison website such as energy helpline. 

Appliance Testing

Things that use gas or electricity are sometimes called appliances. Bigger appliances, such as cookers, boilers and electric or gas fires must be tested regularly to make sure they are safe to use. They should be tested every year. Each appliance should have a label showing the date of the last test.  

If you think the appliance needs to be tested again, or the appliance seems not to be working correctly, contact your landlord or accommodation provider. This includes water and heating boilers, gas and electric fires, and ovens.

Water Supply

Household water in Manchester is supplied by United Utilities. Please phone 0845 746 2200. 

Some houses and flats have water meters so you pay for how much water you use. 

Others get bills based on the size of the house or flat. The cost is sometimes included in the rent, so check this with your landlord before paying any bills.

Council Tax

If you own or rent accommodation, you will be charged Council Tax. This is a local tax charged by Manchester City Council (MCC), which meets the cost of providing vital services such as the emergency services, street cleaning, rubbish collection and local policing. The amount of Council Tax you have to pay is based on the value of your house or flat, and not on the income of the people living in it. If you, or a member of your household, are unemployed, a full-time student or are on a low income, or if you are the only person living in the property, you may be able to pay a reduced rate of Council Tax.

Contact the Council Tax Unit (at the Town Hall) on 0161 907 9400 for information about applying for a reduction. Alternatively you can get help and information from advice organisations -see Section 4 - Getting Advice.

Telephones

Landline - telephone line to the house.

Many houses already have a telephone line fitted. When people move out they have the telephone disconnected, you may be able to get it reconnected free of charge when you open an account with the telephone company. If there is no telephone line in your home already, you will have to pay about £150 to have one put in. British Telecom (BT) is the largest telephone operator in Manchester . BT owns most of the telephone lines and you have to pay a fee for rental of the telephone line. You can also rent telephones from BT, but it is much cheaper to buy your own. Telephones can be bought from high street shops, local shops, markets, and catalogue shops. 

There are many companies providing telephone services and you can choose whichever one you want. You need to check the prices carefully (especially if you want to make overseas calls) as they vary a lot.

Another possibility for making cheap overseas calls is to use pre-paid phone cards which can be bought at many newsagents: see the Section 3 - information services for more details. 

Mobile Phones

If you cannot get a telephone account at home you can use a mobile phone, though you need to check the charges carefully as this can be very expensive.

Pay as you go - you purchase the phone and pay to top up the phone in £10 amounts. Most newsagents and local shops have this facility.

Contract phone - There are a variety of contracts available - you can often get the phone for free but you sign up to a contract for 12-18 months. They often offer free calls and texts each month as part of the contract. Sometimes some suppliers offer free calls between people who have the same supplier. T-mobile and O2 for example.

Shop around carefully as the offers vary greatly between suppliers.

The OfCOM website  has information on how to choose which company to get your telephone service from and how to make complaints about service.

Environment on Call

Environment on Call  is a department of Manchester City Council. They can be contacted for any problems relating to your environment (surroundings), in the area that you live.

• emptying of your wheeled bin on a weekly basis (the bin has to be left out at the collection point).
• rubbish in the street or around your house.
• moving large things like old furniture or large amounts of rubbish which will not fit in your bin.
• blocked drains
• faulty street lights
• flooding
• broken glass

You should report these things to Environment on Call by phoning 0161 234 5004, Monday - Friday 8:00am to 8:00pm.

Pest Control 

Contact Pest Control if you have a problem with pests. Please phone 0161 234 5004. Pests include:  

• Ants 
• Cockroaches 
• Earwigs
• Fleas
• House Mice 
• Rats 
• Silverfish
• Slugs  
• Wasps
• Woodlice 
• Other Pests 

Using a Television

In the UK you must buy a licence if you have a television (TV) in your home.

You can be fined £1000 for not having a TV licence and this could result in you having a criminal record.

T.V. Licence 

A licence for one year costs around £145.50 for a colour TV and £49.00 for a black-and-white TV.  You can buy a licence at the Post Office, either paying the full amount at once or in monthly instalments through your bank.

You must be covered by a valid TV licence if you watch or record television programmes as they're being shown on TV. It makes no difference what equipment you use - whether it's a laptop, PC, mobile phone, digital box, DVD recorder or a TV set - you still need a licence.

If you live in NASS accommodation or in rented accommodation and you have a TV, you are responsible for buying your own TV licence. This is not the responsibility of your landlord.

For more information on TV and TV channels see Section 3 - Information Services. 

Keeping Your Home Safe 

You may wish to give yourself added security in your home by putting extra locks and chains on the main doors and locks on the windows. Make sure you close every window, including those upstairs, when you go out of the house for any length of time, and if you go out at night, leave one or two lights switched on. 

You can insure your belongings so that if they are stolen or damaged you can claim money back from the insurance company. This kind of insurance is called house contents insurance. 

The cost varies, depending on which insurance company you choose, how much you have in your home and which area you live in. 

It is best to ask anyone who calls at your house to show you some kind of identification before you let them inside. Genuine callers (health visitors, electricity men, Social Services staff) will always carry identity cards and will not mind if you call to check that they have been sent to visit you. If you are at all suspicious about a person who has knocked at your door, or they do not have an identity card, do not let them inside. Check their details by phoning the organisation they represent. If you are still not sure, ask them to make another appointment to visit you and check with your housing provider. If you are expecting a visit from a person you have never met before, you could always ask a friend or neighbour to be in the house with you at the time of the visit.

Furniture

Buying furniture can be quite expensive. If you are renting an unfurnished house or flat, or if you need a few extra pieces of furniture, you can buy second-hand furniture and household items cheaply from markets, charity shops, church missions, second-hand shops and furniture projects for reasonable prices. Many also supply clothing, bedding, curtains, baby equipment and toys. To find out more about buying furniture see Section 6 Money, Debt and Shopping.

If you would like help with some of these items and cannot afford to buy them, organisations such as the British Red Cross may be able to write to one of the missions on your behalf. A parcel will then be prepared with the items you have requested and you will need to go and collect it.

Children's Safety Equipment

If you have young children at home, you can make your house safer by adding stair gates and cupboard locks. These items are sometimes available free of charge for low-income families. Contact your nearest SureStart Children's Centre for further details. These things are also available from local shops and on the high street.