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Looking after your home in winter


If you are having problems in your home such as burst pipes, electrical failure or a broken heating system as a result of current extreme weather conditions, please see the information below for advice on what to do next.

Are you a tenant?

If you are a tenant of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive or a Housing Association, a burst pipe, frozen pipe or no heat in extreme weather is an emergency situation. Contact the relevant organisation, each of whom will have an out-of-hours emergency number.

Are you a private tenant?

If a you are a private tenant, contact your landlord or agent as appropriate right away as heating and plumbing are landlord repair responsibilities. 

If an owner occupier, are you insured?

Call your insurer right away and check if they can provide an emergency contractor such as a plumber or heating engineer. If they cannot you should call for an appropriate contractor right away as a matter of urgency.
 
It is up to you to choose an appropriate contractor and you should always take care in your choices. Trustmark, the Government-endorsed website can suggest trusted contractors. Age NI does not have the expertise to recommend or monitor the performance of the industry and thus cannot recommend a contractor. Visit opens link in new window www.trustmark.org.uk for information.
 
Please note that the availability of contractors may be stretched due to the extreme weather placing increased demands on their services.

Your Age NI

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Age NI Advice:
0808 808 7575

Home & care publications

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      Downloads

      What is a download?

      A download is a document (like a research report, a leaflet, or an application form) that can be transferred from our website to your computer. You can download a file, view it on your screen, print it, or save it to your computer.

      What is a PDF?

      PDF stands for ‘portable document format’.

      Most downloads on this website are PDFs. We use this format to ensure that the document looks the same on everyone’s computer (website pages, by contrast, appear differently depending on how people have got their computer set up).

      How do I download a PDF?

      Computers use a program called Adobe Acrobat Reader to download PDFs. If you try clicking on a link to download a PDF and it doesn’t work, you will need to install Adobe Acrobat Reader onto your computer.

      How do I install Adobe Acrobat Reader?

      The process is quite straightforward and is free.

      1. Go to opens link in new window http://get.adobe.com/uk/reader/
      2. Click ‘Download’.
      3. Wait for the window to offer you the option to ‘Run’, then choose this option.
      4. Click ‘Next’.
      5. Click ‘Install’
      6. Wait for the window to offer you the option to ‘Finish’, then choose this option.

      How do I change a download?

      PDFs cannot be changed. If you need to be able to type into a downloaded document (for example, if we are offering a letter template that you need to put your name on) we will provide it as a Microsoft Word document rather than a PDF. You can then download it, type into it and save it to your computer.

      How do I print or save a download?

      Downloads will open on your computer in a new browser window.

      Inside this window (below all your web browser menus), there will be a toolbar with options for you to print or save the document.

      Close the browser window to return to the Age UK website.

      Can my screen reader read PDF downloads?

      We have made every effort to make our PDFs accessible to screen readers. Here is an overview of your accessibility options available in Acrobat Reader. Please ensure that you have downloaded the latest version of Acrobat Reader from the Adobe Reader website to ensure that they are included in your version of the programme.

      You can use Adobe Reader to read a PDF out loud with the following shortcut keys:

      • Read the document: Shift +Ctrl+Y
      • Read the open page only: Shift +Ctrl+V
      • Read to the end of the document: Shift+Ctrl+B
      • Pause: Shift+Ctrl+C
      • Stop Shift+Ctrl+E


      You can also convert a PDF into a web page by following these steps:

      • Copy the URL (web address) of the document (right-click on the link and select ‘Save target as’ or ‘Copy link’).
      • Open the Adobe online conversion tool in your browser and paste the URL into the URL box.
      • Tick the HTML box on the Format option and click ‘Convert’.


      You can convert a PDF document into a text file for use with other software and hardware such as Braille printers by opening the PDF and choosing ‘Save as text’ from the File menu.

    Useful websites

    • Advice from NI Direct government services on support and safety in your home.

    • The Warm Homes scheme is funded by the Department for Social Development, to make your home warmer, healthier and more energy efficient.

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