Odu-Dua Housing Association

Odu-Dua is pleased to announce that it has signed up to the UK’s leading mutual exchange service – HomeSwapper.  As a valued tenant you are able to use this service for FREE to help you find a new home.

A mutual exchange or swap not only offers you a better choice for finding a new home it is a quicker option than waiting for a move on our transfer list. HomeSwapper is easy to use and automatically matches you with tenants who are interested in your home and have a home that you may be interested in.

All you need to do is register at www.homeswapper.co.uk then, once your registration has been approved by us, you will be able to access information about tenants who may wish to exchange properties with you.  HomeSwapper will also email you at regular intervals with details of suitable exchange partners.  If you do not have access to the internet, HomeSwapper will send you match alerts via your mobile phone every two weeks.

If you do not have a computer at home there are other ways for you to register and access the HomeSwapper website;

• Family or friends
• Local libraries have internet access available to the public, as well as internet cafes
• Internet access to the site is also available in our offices
• Odu-Dua office

Please be aware that in most cases, we will not accept a home swap for tenants with rent arrears. If you have any queries with HomeSwapper please feel free to contact your Housing Officer on 020 7625 1799.

Good luck in your search for a new home.

More about moving home at Odu-Dua.

Reference Number: CBM Apprenticeships

About the Apprenticeship

We are pleased to announce apprenticeships in the following trades with Camden Council working in their Building Maintenance Team (Plumbing, Electrical, Carpentry and Plastering).

These exciting opportunities are open to CAMDEN residents aged 16 – 20 with a good level of Literacy and Numeracy. Apprentices will be working on occupied and void properties both internally and externally.

The hours are Monday to Friday. Starting salary of £172.00 per week increasing to £222.00 by the end of NVQ Level 2. There will be an opportunity to go onto higher levels.

Please apply by Friday 30th May by sending your CV to kxcinfo@camden.gov.uk or call 020 7974 5161 for further information. Candidates must be available for an assessment on Friday 13th June.

Additional Info

How to apply

For more information, or for details of how to apply for this opportunity, please contact Kings Cross Construction Skills Centre on 020 7974 5161, or email kxcinfo@camden.gov.uk

Time: Friday 9 May 2014, 9am to 3pm

Location: Euston

Contact: Komal Doan

Book a place: kdoan@arhag.co.uk;  020 7424 7381

A simple way to learn basic first aid skills to help keep children and babies safe!

Arhag Housing Association organises a free training which will be run by British Red Cross.  Register your interest by simply contacting Arhag at the details above.

Places are limited, be quick!

On 7th April 2014, annual rent and service charges increases will be implemented for all tenants. This year, however, there will be no increase to the rent element of the gross accommodation charges.

“We need to develop an explicit rent plan based on the investment needs of the properties we own,” says Neil Ayre, Interim Chief Executive, “This will ensure our properties are well-maintained in respect of day-to-day repairs and that we know where the money is coming from in the future when we need to replace central heating systems, kitchens, bathrooms, and other structural components.” ”Our second largest expense is the cost of staff salaries and clearly this must provide the greatest value for money to tenants.”

However, for the tenants living on Grafton Road, Leverton Street, Malden Road or in London Borough of Hillingdon including Grasmere Court and Rydal Court, the weekly rent will increase by 3.7%. This is because the housing association which own the home is putting their charges up to Odu-Dua. The rent pays for repairs, maintenance, housing services and communal services amongst others. The remainder of the rent goes towards paying for the cost of building the home.

To understand tenants’ expectations and satisfaction with the services, we are carrying out a Satisfaction Survey in 2014 particularly focusing on rent and value for money. The information tenants provide will help us to shape our services in accordance with the priorities.

Service charges will increase by a maximum of 3.7% this year but individual tenancies may vary. This applies to all Odu-Dua tenants and tenants on on Grafton Road, Leverton Street, Malden Road or in London Borough of Hillingdon including Grasmere Court and Rydal Court.

It is crucial that the tenants always prioritise the rent payments. If there is any difficulty, contact the Housing Officer, Akima, on 0207 625 1799 immediately.

Odu-Dua Housing Association is embarking on an extensive programme of improvement and renewal following the dismissal of its Chief Executive earlier this month and a court judgement last week upholding the CEO’s removal.

In the coming weeks the Association will modernise its governance arrangements, re-focus on services to tenants and tenant involvement and embed a culture of transparency and openness.

In respect of governance reforms, Odu-Dua will upgrade its rules to the National Housing Federation Model Rules 2011 and at the same time adopt the NHF Code, Excellence in Governance undertaking a rigorous programme of compliance testing including independent external scrutiny. The Board will build-up and refresh its membership in a planned way following a Board appraisal process as longer serving Board Members retire in accordance with the NHF’s recommended nine-year limit.  There will be no repeat of the situation where the previous Chair John Oke and Board Member Efua Taylor knowingly served well in excess of the nine-year rule.

The renewed focus on tenants includes a comprehensive review of customer facing services and the establishment of a customer panel and tenants’ forum to ensure a wide range of tenant voices are heard.

“The court decision last week agreeing our claim and dismissing our former CEO’s counter claim against Odu-Dua, brings to a close a difficult and distracting episode for the Association,” said Odu-Dua Chair and tenant Board Member Sandra Brown. “We are now re-focussing our attention on our tenants and on the urgent task of ensuring the governance of Oda-Dua and the services we provide are of the highest quality.”

In a Court Judgement on February 20th Judge Nigel Gerald upheld Odu-Dua’s decision to suspend and subsequently dismiss Lara Oyedele for gross misconduct and dismissed her counterclaim for repudiatory breach of contract arising from a breach of Odu-Dua’s rules.

“The facts of this matter are that the former CEO stopped recognising the Board of Odu-Dua despite receiving legal advice which confirmed that it was legal and could act and sought to establish her own board in its place having joined the camp of the former Chair whom she thought had been done a wrong” added Leslie Laniyan, Company Secretary. “Using what are ultimately tenants’ resources was not something that the Board of Odu-Dua took lightly but we had to act to protect the interests of the association in response to what the judge termed the most serious act of gross misconduct when describing the former CEO’s actions in taking possession of the office on 14^th November.  The Judge recognised the Board was placed in an impossible position by the former CEO and her suspension and subsequent dismissal were justified and unanswerable.”

Odu-Dua was awarded damages as well as all its legal costs, in addition, both Ms Oyedele and her false board were refused Leave To Appeal.

For more information contact Odu-Dua Housing Association, 020 7625 1799.

Employment, training and opportunities fair

Date: Wednesday 19 March

Time: 9am to 11.30am

Place: Working Men’s College (Richard Cobden Learning Centre), 44 Crowndale Road, NW1 1TR.

There will be information about the opportunities available in Camden, which include jobs across a range of sectors, including administration, hospitality, retail, facilities management, and health and social care.

There is no need to make an appointment, you can go along to:

• Speak to training providers available to help you find the right job or training opportunity.
• Apply for jobs on the day and get help with preparing for interviews.
• Get information and advice from local colleges, the National Careers Service and Job Centre Plus.

Please be aware that all our offices will be closed
from 12pm, Monday 23rd December 2013 and
re-opened at 9am on Thursday 2nd January 2014.

For emergency repairs over the Christmas period, please call APM Maintenance on 020 8385 2133. When you call APM Maintenance you must quote the authorisation code GREENHOUSE 13.

Please note that the number is for emergency repairs only. Please check your Tenants’ Handbook (pages 10 & 11) for examples of those repairs which are classified as emergencies.