More than 1600 older tenants have now signed up for a winter home check as part of GHA’s campaign to help vulnerable tenants beat the freezing temperatures.

And with Glasgow shivering its way through a January cold snap, tenants are being reminded they still have until the end of the month to register.

The WinterReady campaign, launched by GHA in November, offers tenants who are over 60 or disabled a free home check to make sure their house is fully geared up to deal with the worst of the weather.

Tenants are visited by a plumber who checks the boiler, pipes and taps and bleeds the radiators. They are also shown how to set their heating, turn off the water in an emergency and where to find their stop cock.

Older and vulnerable GHA tenants have until Tuesday 31 January to register for a home check.

Fanchea Kelly, GHA’s Executive Director of Housing and Support Services, said: "The winter home checks have been a great success and have proved really popular with our older and vulnerable tenants.


"It has been a relatively mild winter so far but we expect more cold weather to come. I’d urge everyone who is eligible to make an appointment before the end of January."

Susan Fellerman from Knightswood booked an appointment after receiving a letter from GHA through her door.

Susan, 66, said: "I wanted to be ready for the winter. I was concerned that if the weather got any worse then my pipes or radiators wouldn’t work properly.

"The plumber told me I have nothing to worry about now. He looked at my boiler and heaters. He’s even arranged to get me a bigger handle so I can turn the water off if I have to. I’d recommend the service to everyone who can get it."

Jean McKenzie from Knightswood was one of the first tenants to book an appointment.

She said: "My home check was quick and easy. It was well worth it as I wanted to make sure the house was ready for the ice and snow. It’s also a free service. The plumber even checked the windows for draughts.

"The men checked everything for me – and it only took 15 minutes. They were really nice."

Milton tenant Martha Knight, 67, said: "I thought the scheme was a good idea. I realised I didn’t know where to find my stop cock or how to use my heating properly.

"The plumbers were helpful. They showed me what to do if I needed to turn off the water. My heating is on most of the time at the moment as it’s so cold. The plumbers showed me a better way to use my heating to keep warm."

(GK/DW)