Providing safe, energy-efficient homes

We own and manage 43,972 homes. We saw a significant increase in demand for repairs in 2022/23. This, plus an ongoing labour shortage, meant it took us longer than usual to respond to some customers’ requests, which impacted satisfaction (76.6%, compared with 81% in 2021/22).

In response, we’ve strengthened our supply chain, are actively recruiting more trades staff and are working with local contractors to help deliver repairs.

Highlights

76.6% customer satisfaction with responsive repairs (2021/22: 81%)
98.9% Decent Homes Standard compliance (2021/22: 99.2%)
£6.7m spent on fire safety (2021/22: £16.2m)
£65.9m invested in our homes (2021/22: £55m).

Keeping customers safe in their homes

We’re committed to keeping our customers safe in their homes. We spent £6.7m (2021/22: £16.2m) on building safety in 2022/23; we’ve now spent £86.7m on removing and replacing dangerous cladding since 2017. We’re making applications to the Government’s Building Safety Fund for eligible buildings, to cover the cost of these works.

We were also awarded £10.8m by the High Court in July 2022, which confirmed Mulalley & Co fitted defective cladding, risking the safety of our customers living in four towers in Gosport. This ruling has helped other housing associations hold contractors to account for the costs of removing dangerous cladding.
Providing decent homes

Our target is for all our homes to meet the Decent Homes Standard by 2030. This year, 98.9% (2021/22: 99.2%) of our homes met the Decent Homes Standard, with 25 (2021/22: 32) having outstanding Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) repair cases and 317 (2021/22: 200) having reported disrepairs on 31 March 2023.

The number of disrepair cases has increased year-on-year because we’re reporting disrepairs as soon as we’re made aware of them, including any that haven’t been surveyed, as part of our commitment to the Regulator of Social Housing.
Tackling damp and mould

We take the issue of damp and mould extremely seriously and investigate every report thoroughly. We don’t blame customers for damp and mould appearing; our focus is on treating customers with empathy and understanding, working with them to resolve the issues. The Regulator of Social Housing has confirmed we’re complying with its expectations around tackling damp and mould.
Bringing more repairs and maintenance in-house

We brought our London repairs and maintenance services in-house in October 2022, as part of our commitment to improving our property maintenance services. The service was previously provided by contractor Mears and covers 11,000 homes in the London boroughs of Greenwich, Lambeth, Southwark, Lewisham, Camden, Islington, Harrow and Brent.
Harnessing technology to improve repairs and maintenance

Our TotalMobile Connect (TMC) system is changing the way we manage the repair and maintenance of our homes. All teams across the business are using TMC, including responsive repairs, empty homes, electrical testing, gas servicing and planned works. TMC allows us to send automatic text updates to customers to keep them informed of the progress of their repair and we’ve seen an increase in first time fixes. This year, about 91,500 jobs were raised through TMC.
Stock investment

Over the course of the year, we invested £65.9m (2021/22: £55.0m) in improving homes. Work included cyclical decorations, replacing bathrooms, kitchens, windows and doors, installing new roofs, plus electrical and ‘business as usual’ building safety works.
Successful Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund bid

We’ll be able to carry out energy-efficiency work to 950 of our homes, thanks to being part of the successful £40.4m Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund bid by the Greener Futures Partnership (GFP).

As one of five GFP partners (along with Anchor, Abri, Home Group and Sanctuary), we’ll receive about £6m (which we’ll match fund) to install external wall, cavity wall and loft insulation, and new energy-efficient double glazing, as well as replacing front and rear doors.

Heating and hot water systems will be replaced with renewable technology, such as air source heat pumps and solar panels with battery storage. Improving the energy efficiency of our homes will make a big difference to our customers’ cost of living and quality of life. It also helps us take a big step towards our ambition of becoming carbon neutral.