Maintaining standards

Launched in February 1999, West Devon Homes(WDH) is well ahead of the game when it comes to the condition of its housing stock and is working hard to achieve its mission statement of “supporting local communities through the provision of affordable homes and services”

Keeping properties well-maintained is a mammoth task and WDH is certainly kept busy as the largest landlord in the district. Its stock of 1,572 homes includes flats, bungalows, maisonettes and familysized houses, ranging from one to four bedrooms.

The organisation is on target to meet the Decent Homes Standard by March 2011 and is now concentrating on its long-term planned maintenance programme, with a current annual spend of approximately £2 million a year.

The programme for 2009-2010 included 324 properties repaired and painted, new “warm” roofs for eight homes, 111 kitchen and 131 bathroom replacements, high performance timber windows installed to 40 properties, new heating systems to 13 homes and new central heating boilers to 30, R adon gas remediation work to 20 homes, and 40 properties rewired.

The organisation works with a wide range of partners from small local companies to large national firms and each contract is project managed by one of WDH ’s technical services officers.

Tenant satisfaction surveys are used to collect feedback from residents on contractors’ performance and during the year 89.8 per cent of tenants were very/fairly satisfied by the overall service provided by WDH , while 87.2 per cent were very/fairly satisfied by how the organisation deals with repairs and maintenance and 90.5 per cent very/fairly satisfied by the overall quality of their home.

Boyland Joinery has been installing windows for WDH since last Summer, having been appointed to replace windows at a block of flats in a conservation area. “We were unable to obtain planning permission for uPVC windows at this location and were looking for very high performance timber spec windows when we came across Boyland Joinery at an Eco Build exhibition. They have now carried out two contracts for us, ” explains technical services manager Brendan Todhunter.

As well as a contract to carry out planned maintenance on kitchens and bathrooms, national provider of housing maintenance, compliance and estate services, Connaught Partnerships Ltd has contracts with WDH for responsive repairs and heating and gas servicing. The partnership has proved successful with 100 per cent of properties being compliant on gas safety checks in March 2009 and 2010, and 95.1 per cent of tenants being very/fairly satisfied with the overall performance of Connaught.

In fact WDH has a good reputation for responsive repairs in general, with 97.5 per cent of emergency repairs delivered on target, 99.7 per cent of emergency calls to its out of hours service are answered within 60 seconds and 98.2 per cent of tenants find the out of hours service very or fairly easy to access.

Maintaining standards in properties is about much more than updating kitchens and bathrooms and West Devon Homes is in the early stages of introducing renewable technologies following a stock condition survey.

As Todhunter explains: “We carried out a 100 per cent full stock condition survey which enabled us to produce a 30-year finance plan. W e have since revisited that survey and we are now resurveying at a rate of 25 per cent per annum so that we can continually refresh the information for future programmes.

“What has really caught our attention is the improvements that we can make for our tenants through the provision of thermal insulation. We are also looking at environmental issues so we are now focusing on these areas as we develop our programmes forward.”

WDH is exploring the use of ground and air source heat pumps, and photovoltaic panels and is preparing to trial air source heat pumps in a pilot scheme involving six family homes and also at its two rural projects of eight homes which are due to be completed in spring 2011.

“We are currently working on our green agenda to bring all of that renewable technology together,” says Todhunter. “The main focus is on the most appropriate and efficient methods for alleviating fuel poverty for tenants.”

As a rural housing provider WDH faces a severe lack of affordable homes in its villages as Todhunter explains: “Low income within the region coupled with high land and property prices has led to a very large gap in affordability. Those on low incomes don’t have a chance to get on the owner occupier ladder, so the amount of affordable housing is pretty scarce, meaning there is a high demand for those properties. It is an issue throughout the region, and many young people have to move out of rural areas to the larger towns, or out of the area completely, so that they can afford housing.”

WDH has done its bit to provide new affordable homes over the years through Section 106 agreements with national developers, such as Redrow, who provided the housing association with 56 homes for rent in Tavistock.

Such arrangements have dried-up during the recession, but WDH has embarked on a small new-build programme for 2009-2010, including eight family-sized properties on two rural sites.

Bringing void properties back into use promptly can also have a positive effect on the provision of affordable homes. WDH has been working to streamline its service to ensure that properties are brought to a re-lettable standard as quickly as possible.

“We have developed a spreadsheet tracking system that is also available to the contractors so that we are all working off one database,” says Todhunter. “In common with a lot of other associations, we have developed a minimum lettable standard, which we have publicised to tenants. We have also published what is involved when tenants move out of properties in terms of leaving them in an acceptable condition”

WDH is also working with its contractors to ensure that joint inspections are carried out within two working days of receiving the keys for empty properties. Any necessary works are agreed on site
during that inspection, so that contractors can start work immediately.

A hand back date is also agreed at the outset so all parties know when a property will be ready to be re-let. “We are trying to get the turnaround time for voids down and are achieving just under three weeks on average – which is about a week less than last year,” explains Todhunter. “The biggest benefits of the new approach are that we are getting inspections done at an earlier stage and we are all working together to achieve this.”

So while achieving the Decent Homes Standard is nearing completion the organisation has plenty of other irons in the fire. “We will continue to improve our services and the quality of our properties, making them as efficient as possible for tenants in terms of fuel and general living costs,” says Todhunter.