As part of this, it's our responsibility as your landlord to ensure periodic maintenance is carried out to your heating and hot water systems. This will make sure your heating and hot water systems are working safely and efficiently. This is our legal responsibility.

It’s crucial you allow our contractors access to your home so we can carry out the necessary maintenance.

Under the terms of your tenancy agreement you’re also obliged to provide us access (when it’s necessary) for us to carry out this work within your home .

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Problem with your heating and hot water system?

If you're having problems with your heating or hot water system, or you would like to discuss or rearrange your maintenance visits, then the details on who you need to contact are listed on this page.

Please note: Optivo and Southern Housing Group (SHG) have just merged to form a new housing provider, Southern Housing. The contact details for where you need to report heating and hot water problems will be different depending on whether you are living in a home that was previously managed by Optivo or a home previously managed by SHG.

Please select the appropriate box below to find out who to contact. If you’re not sure who used to manage your home please use our postcode lookup tool on this page. 

Who to contact?

If you are living a home previously managed by Optivo you will need to contact the gas contractor that covers your area. These details can be found below.

KENT:

Sureserve Compliance South (formally Swale Heating)

 

LONDON & SURREY:

We use different contractors across London and Surrey. The contractor you need to contact will depend on your address.

You will have been told the name of the contractor you need to contact for gas servicing and heating repairs when you first became an resident with Optivo or Southern Housing. From 1 November 2024, K&T Heating changed its name to Sureserve Compliance South.


Sureserve Compliance South (formally K&T Heating)

Sureserve Compliance South (formally Swale Heating)

 

SUSSEX:

BSW Heating

 

MIDLANDS:

Direct Heating Solutions

If you are living a home previously managed by Southern Housing Group (SHG) you will need to contact our Customer Service Centre using your local number.

Find your local number
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Gas service and safety checks

It’s a legal requirement that Southern Housing service and safety check the gas appliances in your home, every year. This is to make sure they're safe and working correctly.

It's essential for your own safety to allow us and our contractors access to your home so we can carry out this work.

We'll write to you to confirm your gas service and safety check appointment. If the appointment date and time isn’t convenient for yourself, please contact your local contractor to rebook (contact details above). Flexible appointments are available to make sure we complete the service on time, and at a time which is convenient for you.

Find out more about our gas safety checks

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Just moved in ?

When moving into a home, with a gas supply, you will need to contact your local gas contractor and arrange for your gas supply to be turned on and tested.

This will enable your heating and hot water to function.

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Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms

The law about smoke and carbon monoxide alarms within your home changed in October 2022.

Checking Smoke Alarms and Carbon Monoxide Detectors regularly is part of our resident responsibilities. For guidance on how to check this as well as further fire safety advice, find out more here.

We are in the process of checking that all our homes have the necessary smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. We are aiming to complete this by July 2023 This may be done as part of your annual gas service and safety check. Or we may arrange for other contractors to come and check your alarms. 

If you have a faulty smoke or carbon monoxide alarm, please report this to us.

 

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Our performance

We believe in being open and transparent about how we're doing when delivering key services to our residents. That's why we report on the percentage of homes that achieved a gas safety record.

Find out about our quarterly performance and also what our residents and homeowners told us about the services we provide when surveyed as part of the Tenant Satisfaction Measures.

More information

Do you have electric storage, panel, or immersion heaters?
Check if you have an older 'RTS electricity meter,' which uses a radio signal to switch between peak and off-peak rates. This service will end on June 30 across the UK, and affected systems may stop working. All RTS meters must be replaced. Your electricity supplier should contact you, or you can reach out to them. Learn more on the Ofgem website.