digital switchover

The switchover to digital television is taking place in two stages:

• On 4 April, BBC2 analogue is switched off. You need to re-tune your digital equipment to pick up the available channels.
• On 18 April, the remaining analogue channels are switched off. You will need to re-tune your digital equipment again to pick up additional channels.

For more information about the switchover scheme and re-tuning your TV, go to the Digital UK website at: www.digitaluk.co.uk

I live in a block with a communal aerial system

We are upgrading all the communal aerial systems in blocks that have them. Following consultation with residents, we are installing either one of the following Integrated Reception Service options:

• Option 1: Sky, Sky+/Freesat and terrestrial aerial, Freeview television, FM & DAB radio, Hotbird and Turksat; or
• Option 2: Sky, Sky+/Freesat and terrestrial aerial, Freeview television, FM & DAB radio

You will have received a letter from us telling you which option is being installed in your block. The system our contractor is installing in each block is based on the majority choice of the residents who submitted completed selection forms.

• Where no residents in a block made a choice Option 1 will be installed
• If an equal number of choices was made for both options, Option 1 will be installed.
• If blocks are 'linked' - that is they share the same system - then the option installed is based on the majority choice of the residents who made a choice.
• If you live in a Sheltered or Good Neighbour scheme, all dwellings will have Option 1 installed.
• If you are interested in being able to receive a language channel that is not covered by Options 1 or 2, please contact your Tenancy Management Officer on 0800 195 3404 or 020 8489 5611 (cheaper from mobiles) and select menu option 3. Your Tenancy Management Officer will advice you on options.
• If you live in a block where Option 2 is installed and you want to upgrade to Option one, please register your interest with our Property Management team on 020 8489 1778 or email them at: decenthomes@homesforharingey.org

If you are resident in a property with:

• A single digital aerial on the building; or
• A communal digital aerial system that connects a number of different properties.

then you would have received a letter from us telling you that you are receiving digital TV only. This means you will be able to have access to Freeview but no works need to be done in your home.

Getting a TV socket installed in your home

We have appointed SCCI Ltd to carry out the digital aerial upgrade works which involves upgrading the communal aerial system and installing a new TV socket in your home. If you have received a letter from SCCI Ltd about making an appointment with them to have a TV socket installed in your home, please respond to the letter by contacting them.

Digital aerial works service charge increase

Following consultation both at a borough and block level, the Council has introduced a weekly charge of £0.77 for Digital TV. This will take effect from 23 April 2012, following digital switchover in the borough. If your home is part of the digital aerial upgrade programme, you should have received a letter notifying of the increase.

This service charge has been assessed on a flat rate basis and you pay the same wherever you live in the borough as long as you receive the service. If you receive Housing Benefit to pay for other service charges you will continue to receive benefit to cover the new charges.

I do not have a communal aerial system. What should I do?

In your tenancy or lease, it states that you cannot place a satellite or external aerial on the outside of your property but you will be able to receive digital TV through:

• Freeview and Top up TV through an internal aerial.
• Freeview and broadband with BT Vision.
• Cable TV (Virgin Media) through an external provider.

Digital boxes start from as little as £20. Depending on your circumstances you could get support from the governments ‘Switch over help scheme’. They are writing to all households in the UK that are eligible for help.

Digital UK have lots of helpful advice of how to get ready for Digital TV. Why not visit their website at www.digitaluk.co.uk or call them on 08456 50 50 50.

Satellite dishes

As part of the communal digital aerial upgrade works, we are taking down individual satellite dishes. Please allow SCCI Ltd access to remove any individual satellite dishes to avoid a charge. If SCCI Ltd have not been able to remove your satellite dish by the end of March, we will charge £65 to have it removed.

But if we do not plan to install a new communal TV system in your building, we may allow you to install your own dish. If you wish to put one up you must first obtain our permission (Landlord's consent) and also planning permission.

Landlord's consent:

A tenant or leaseholder must always apply to us to get permission to install a satellite dish if they have no communal system. You will need to speak to the Tenancy Management Officer for your area. The following rules apply:

• Tenants and leaseholders must get our permission in writing before putting up anything on the outside of the building, including TV aerials, satellite dishes and so on.
• Both the tenancy agreement and the lease state that you must get the Council's permission (through us) before you put anything on the outside of the building.

Planning permission: If we agree to you putting up a dish outside your flat you must contact Haringey Council's Planning Department to find out if you need planning permission. If you do, get a letter from the Planning Department to confirm that you don't need planning permission.

You normally need planning permission for a medium or high-rise building and certainly if your home is in a conservation area. To find out more about how the planning rules apply to your building, contact Haringey Council's Planning Department on 020 8489 0000 or visit www.haringey.gov.uk/planning

Retrospective permission

If there is no communal aerial system in the building and a resident has installed their own aerial or dish, we may still be prepared to grant permission. But you will need to find out from the Council's Planning Department if planning permission is required.

We will not allow a resident to put up a dish just because they want to have additional channels which are not provided by the communal aerial system. Please consider this carefully when you make your preferred choice of aerial system.

Useful External Links

The following links are not part of the Homes for Haringey website. Please read our legal notice before using these links.

• Digital UK