Newsletter Vesteda
In this newsletter
Dear tenants,
It is my great pleasure to send you the attached new edition of our tenant newsletter. At the request of several tenants, from now on the newsletter will also be available in English. In August, I took over the reins from Astrid Schlüter and I am now responsible for all operational matters at Vesteda. After my first month at Vesteda, I already feel very much at home.
As a landlord, we are working hard to renovate our older homes and make them more sustainable to reduce their energy consumption. In this newsletter, we take you through our Tuindorp renovation project in Utrecht, show you the progress we have made in our free solar panel campaign in collaboration with Zonneplan and, last but not least, give you some handy energy-saving tips! In addition, our colleagues from the Customer Service department would like to introduce themselves and share some valuable advice with you.
In addition, our colleagues from the Customer Service department would like to introduce themselves and share some valuable advice with you.
I wish you much reading pleasure
and a happy post-summer period.
Michiel de Bruine
Vesteda COO
Who am I talking to? An introduction to the people working in Vesteda’s Customer Service department Always wanted to know who is on the phone when you call Vesteda? At our Customer Service department, we have an enthusiastic group of colleagues more than happy to talk to you. They answer your questions by phone and e-mail and provide you, other tenants and people looking for a home with immediate answers or solutions. The people in this department see good accessibility and high customer satisfaction as their highest priority.
On working days, our colleagues are available from 8.30 to 17.00 to answer your questions and help you with other issues in or around your home.
Tip from the Customer Service Department
We don’t really want to think about it as summer draws to a close, but before we know it the weather will get colder again. Do you want to make sure you’ll be warm this winter? If so, please bleed your central heating boiler at least once a year and immediately check the water pressure of your boiler. Watch our instruction video (in Dutch only)
My Vesteda - your online customer portal
Did you know that you can submit your repair request online via My Vesteda 24 hours a day?
Urgent notification?
Do you have a serious leak, is your heating not working or is the lift broken? For emergencies, we are available 24 hours a day by phone on our general phone number:
088-456 16 56.
My Vesteda - your online customer portal
Change or terminate your lease?
Change or terminate your lease?
Submitting a repair request?
Submitting a repair request?
In the event of an emergency, you can of course reach us by phone via 088-456 16 56, but reporting via My Vesteda is the most efficient way to submit all other repair requests. When you submit your repair request via My Vesteda, in most cases it will be forwarded directly to the right maintenance company, without the intervention of one of our colleagues.
My Vesteda - your online customer portal
Change or terminate your lease?
Submitting a repair request?
Vesteda completes Tuindorp Utrecht renovation project
We recently celebrated the successful delivery of 87 renovated 1930s houses in Utrecht with a festive get-together for residents and everyone else involved.
Maintenance and improved sustainability
The work in this project included the replacement of roofs and gutters, the insulation of roofs from outside and the installation of solar panels. Other energy-saving measures included the installation of so-called HR++ double glazing, the insulation of both cavity walls and crawl spaces, and the installation of mechanical ventilation. These measures improved the insulation of the houses, made them more energy efficient and, above all, made them more comfortable for residents to live in. The project also included maintenance work on dormer windows, balconies and on the brickwork of the facades.
Preservation of existing greenery
Vesteda and the Struikroven foundation have teamed up to make the preservation and reuse of existing greenery the norm in construction projects. During the work on this project, scaffolding had to be erected in the gardens, which meant some shrubs and plants had to be removed. Volunteers from Struikroven, also known as Struikrovers (shrub bandits), helped residents to temporarily remove plants and shrubs from their gardens so they could be put back later.
We organised a residents’ committee especially for this renovation and the consultations were amicable. The aim was to listen to the residents and minimise any inconvenience, to achieve a great end result. And we succeeded!
Take a look at the video on the next slide.
Energy saving tips
Five energy-saving tips for your home
We have noted that the energy consumption of our homes has fallen by more than 15% in recent years. Statistics Netherlands (CBS) also reports a similar nationwide drop in annual energy consumption. This is a wonderful result of our sustainability measures combined with your help being more conscious of the energy you consume. Of course, part of this significant drop in energy consumption was due to the dramatic rise in energy prices in recent years. Now that energy prices have fallen again, it is important to maintain the reduction in energy consumption and turn it into structurally low consumption. This would be good for both the planet and your wallet.
We would like to give you five simple tips for a structurally more sustainable home and lower energy consumption.
Tip 1
Do not leave appliances on standby unnecessarily, as this consumes a lot of energy.
Devices that are often on standby include: televisions, electric toothbrushes, extension power sockets with on/off switches, stereos or radios. Chargers for the likes of laptops, cameras or mobile phones can also consume power when no device is attached. So always unplug these when not in use.
Tip 2
Try to shower less often, shower a minute less and use a water-saving shower head. This could easily cut your water consumption by 50%.
Tip 3
Do your laundry at 30 or 40 degrees Celsius rather than 50 or 60 degrees. Your laundry will be just as clean and you will save a lot of energy.
Tip 4
In good weather, hang washing outside or inside on a drying rack instead of drying it in a tumble dryer. A tumble dryer uses a lot of energy.
Tip 5
Use LED bulbs instead of energy-saving and standard light bulbs. Walk around the house and check how many light bulbs you still have in your home. An LED bulb is 85% more efficient than a light bulb.
Tenants enjoy Haven dinner
The Havenstraat foundation, established in 2015, organises the Haven dinner every Monday with the support of companies and institutions from Amsterdam and many other places. Every week, an average of 80 refugees and 20 donors eat together on these evenings. Vesteda has supported this initiative since its inception.
Following the appeal in our previous newsletter, 20 tenants signed up to join a dinner. While enjoying a delicious meal, they spoke with Ukrainian refugees. There was also lots of dancing and laughter and the attendees shared many personal stories during this special evening.
Vesteda and solar panels
The roll-out of solar panels is also in full swing in 2024. Last year, Vesteda installed no less than 10,521 free solar panels in cooperation with our partner Zonneplan. The planning for 2024 is well on schedule, resulting in the installation of 7,884 solar panels as of 1 September. Vesteda’s ambition is to install a total of around 11,000 solar panels in 2024.
Fee for feeding back energy
Although it will no longer be possible to net power generated in the future and an increasing number of energy suppliers are demanding a fee for feeding energy back into the grid, free solar panels are still advantageous. Having solar panels installed is a good way to help prevent climate change and to save on your energy bills. A tip: if your energy contract is due to expire, do check the grid feed-back rules of the various energy suppliers.
Planning
Which homes qualify for solar panels depends on the suitability and accessibility of their roofs, the location of the building in relation to the sun and the logistical possibilities. We will inform the tenants of the selected residential buildings well in advance.
Would you like more information?
Visit the page on our website for more information on solar panels and about the projects Vesteda has planned for 2024.
