Safety in Shared Spaces

We want you to be proud of where you live, your immediate community but also the wider areas and Darlington as a whole. 

Shared spaces are not only areas such as communal hallways, communal gardens but also include areas that Housing Services may not have specific responsibility for such as the road, traffic lights or verges. 

It’s important that we all look after these areas and report any issues quickly so they can be resolved. 

Housing Officers visit your neighbourhood as part of our regular bi-monthly neighbourhood inspections. 

We have installed noticeboards in shared spaces which contain useful information, including how to contact us, estate inspection timetables and details on how to be more involved. 

We work in partnership and make referrals to several internal departments such as StreetScene, Environmental Health and Highways as well as working with agencies such as Police to help keep you safe in shared spaces. 

Communal areas within Housing owned buildings 

Some of your council homes (mainly flats and shared accommodation) have shared communal areas such as: 

We make sure that these areas are in good working order. 

Depending on the layout of your estate and home, the following services may be provided by us: 

We test and service fire alarms and emergency lighting. We'll also look after lifts, communal door entry systems and gates in car parks, where fitted. 

Some repairs and tests are completed by our Housing Repairs team, or we may contract this work out where specialist repairs and tests are needed. 

We generally carry out painting and decorating in communal areas every 5 years. 

You can see how we're performing on safety in communal areas by reviewing our latest Health & Safety in Council Housing Compliance Reports. 

Estate Inspections 

We carry out walkarounds as part of our regular bi-monthly estate inspections. These inspections are attended by Housing Officers and when possible, representatives from your Tenants Panel, StreetScene, your Ward Councillors and Police.  

We welcome all residents to come along on these walkarounds and promote dates and times of these via our Housing Connect magazine and via our Facebook and web pages.  

You should not wait for an estate inspection to report an issue, especially if it is an emergency and you can find details below on how to report any issues you see.  

Storing Items 

We ask that you do not leave, store or dispose of any items in shared areas including mobility scooters, bikes, buggies and prams. These can cause hazards and make your shared area unsafe for you, your household members and anyone visiting your home. 

If items are found in the communal areas, that in our opinion pose an immediate danger, we may remove these without warning, otherwise we will write to all tenants, leaseholders or residents and give you a period to remove them. If they are not removed, we will remove and dispose of them and recharge everyone. 

Fire safety doors 

Our flat blocks are fitted with fire safety doors, which are engineered safety devices and should never be tampered with. If you have any concerns about your fire safety door, contact us. 

For your safety and security, it is important to make sure that external doors and internal fire doors are kept closed. They should never be wedged open. You should not tamper with the door closing equipment on them. 

Cleaning in shared areas 

Shared areas are cleaned regularly by one of our contractors. However, please keep these areas tidy and clean up after yourself if you spill something. 

Shared gardens 

We keep shared outdoor areas tidy and safe for our tenants by: 

For more information on specification for Grounds Maintenance, please see leaflet Specification for Grounds Maintenance [pdf document] 

Bin stores 

The storage areas provided for bins should be kept clear for all residents. If the bins have not been emptied, you can report a missed bin collection online. 

You should not use bin store areas to store large amounts of rubbish or household items; this can cause a fire risk.  

You can find out more about recycling, bin collection and order a bulky waste collection at Darlington BC - Bins waste and recycling 

How do I report a problem in a communal area? 

If you spot an emergency problem in your communal area such as no light working or a problem with the fire alarm, please call us on 01325 405333. We answer the phone 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and will make sure it's dealt with promptly. 

If you spot a non-urgent repair, such as a door sticking you can report this via your Darlington Home Online [external link] account, by emailing us at [email protected] or calling us on 01325 405333. 

How do I report an issue that is not located in my home, communal area or garden? 

You can report a number of issues to other Council departments through the Council Report It scheme or you can call us on the following numbers: 

You can find numbers for other Council departments on the Contact Us page.