Neutron Tower FAQs

If you need access to your home to collect belongings you can currently do so from 9am to 6pm at weekends and between 5 and 7pm on weekdays, this is to allow the essential works taking place in the building to progress.

You are welcome to turn up at Neutron Tower during these times but please note an on site staff member will escort you for safety reasons.

Please do not attempt to access the building outside of the agreed arrangements.

Please speak to your local officer, a member of the on-site team, or contact our customer service centre on 0203 815 0000. We are working directly with service providers and The Square to arrange accommodation on a like for like basis for residents who require support.

FirstPort have stated the works required are expected to take approximately 7 to 10 days (from 28 September). This timeframe does remain subject to change, so at this point they cannot provide a date for you to return home. We will remain in close contact with them and provide updates on this.

We are working closely with the relevant authorities to enable residents to return as soon as it is safe to do so. We will provide further updates as soon as timings become clearer.

We have worked with The Square to secure serviced apartments in the local area so you are close to local services, work and schools.

While living in the serviced apartment you will be expected to cook, clean and maintain it, similar to your own home. Please report any maintenance issues or concerns to us in the usual way. Residents will also be asked to sign a decant license outlining how you will look after the property during your stay.

Once you have moved into the serviced apartment, you will be assigned a dedicated local officer for this period to help maintain regular communication and support until you can return home.

After you have spoken with us about your move, you’ll be contacted by The Square, to agree further arrangements for you to move into your serviced apartment.

We understand you will need access to your home to collect more belongings. We will work with FirstPort to arrange access for residents to help transport your belongings, but as your serviced apartment will be fully furnished, we recommend you visit before deciding what to take with you.

FirstPort have informed us that specialist electrical contractors are carrying out temporary electrical works to safely restore power to the building while a longer-term permanent solution is developed and implemented. This includes cabling through the building and temporary distribution boards.

Once complete they will need to access your home to complete essential checks on electrics and heat units. (We are contacting all residents to agree access arrangements for this.) Once the electrical checks have been done the building will require a new fire risk assessment. We are committed to updating residents on these works and any changes to the timeframe as we know more.

All costs for the serviced apartments will be met by NHG, but you are expected to continue to pay rent in line with your tenancy agreement during this period. We will also reimburse all reasonable expenses during this time, please keep evidence of these and we will share more information about how to claim these back with you shortly.

For those who’ve moved into serviced accommodation we will no longer be making payments for food costs. Once moved from a hotel to a serviced apartment we stop paying a daily food allowance as you can now shop and prepare meals as if you were at home.

We can help you to apply to Tower Hamlets for financial support Neutron Tower fire, please talk to our team if you are struggling.

Breakfast and dinner are included within the emergency accommodation arrangements at the hotel. The food allowance stops when you move into serviced apartment accommodation as you can now prepare food and cook as you would have in your home.

If you incur additional reasonable expenses as a result of being unable to return home, such as travel or laundry costs please keep any receipts. These can be submitted to the insurer for consideration as part of the claims process.

Please contact the NHG team before committing to any significant additional expenditure so that we can advise you about what support may be available and the appropriate process for reimbursement.

We’ve had confirmation from insurers that residents are entitled to receive up to £250 emergency expenses (this does not include food payments/vouchers which are separate). As we’ve been paying expenses directly to you since the fire, on production of receipts to your local officer we need to now check the amounts paid so far. Where we have paid less than the allocated £250 for emergency funds, the balance will be payable once we have completed this reconciliation. Please bear with us while we do this work, this does not prevent you putting in claims over the coming week for any reasonable expenses.

No. NHG residents will receive reimbursements for expenses from us directly, so for anyone who has logged a form with FirstPort for this, they will share this information with us so we can progress any expenses claims for you.

We recognise that where electricity has been disconnected for a prolonged period, food stored in residents’ fridges and freezers may no longer be safe to eat.

Where this has happened, NHG will provide affected households with a one off food replacement payment when they return home. This is intended to help replace perishable food that has had to be disposed of because of the loss of electricity.

• The standard payments will be
• One person household £75
• Two person household £100
• Three person household £150
• Four person household £200
•  Five or more person household £225

You will not need to provide receipts for the standard payment. This payment is specifically intended to contribute towards replacing refrigerated and frozen food. Food normally stored in kitchen cupboards is not included as this should not generally have been affected by the loss of electricity.

Please continue to pay this as normal for the time being.

Following the evacuation of Neutron Tower, the Council has placed affected council tax accounts on hold and applied the appropriate exemption while homes remain unoccupied. As a result, residents may be eligible for a reduction in their council tax liability during this period.

When residents are able to return home, you will need to notify the Council that you have returned, either through your online council tax account or by contacting the Council directly. This notification must be made by the resident, our team can help guide you through this if you need help.

Once the Council has been notified, it will review the account and reassess any applicable discounts, exemptions, council tax support or housing benefit from the date you move back into your home.

Specialist contractors have been assessing the extent of damage and identifying the work required. We appreciate that you will have questions regarding repairs and next steps and we will provide further information as soon as we are able to do so.

The building's insurers have been notified and are actively involved. We are working closely with them and will provide you with further information as the claims process progresses. 

Additional security personnel are on site 24 hours a day to help keep the building secure and support the controlled access arrangements currently in place. 

NHG residents should contact their local officer or our customer service centre. Our teams remain available to support residents and answer any questions throughout this incident. 

We recognise that experiencing a fire, having to leave your home unexpectedly and not knowing when you can return can be extremely distressing. Please do not feel that you have to manage the emotional impact of the incident alone. If you or anyone in your household would benefit from additional support, the following services are available:

• NHS 111, for urgent health advice and support
•  Samaritans, available 24 hours a day on 116 123
• Shout, a free confidential text support service. Text SHOUT to 85258
• Tower Hamlets Crisis Support, for local mental health crisis support
• If you are in immediate danger or require urgent medical assistance, please call 999.

If you are particularly struggling following the incident, please also let your NHG officer know. We can discuss your circumstances with you and help identify any additional support or referrals that may be appropriate.

We recognise that incidents of this nature are distressing. Should you require any medical assistance or support, in line with NHS guidelines residents should:

• Call 999 for urgent medical or safety concerns
• Call 111 for health support, including access to the Tower Hamlets Crisis Support Line
• Contact the Samaritans at any time on 116 123

Tower Hamlets Council has established a dedicated webpage for residents affected by the Neutron Tower fire. The page includes information about available support and useful guidance. You can access the webpage here or via the QR code below: