annual report to tenants 2010 - 2011

AnnualReport 2010-2011

Landlord Services

“Every tenant matters”2010/11 mission statement

Supporting the Council’s Vision of

“One Tamworth, Perfectly Placed”

Annual Report 2010-2011 2

Contents

Introduction 3

Who we are 4

Locality working 5

2010-2011 A year in pictures 6

Changing face of housing 7

Tamworth’s ‘Local Offers’ Ourcustomer promise to you 7

How is Landlord Servicesperforming in summary 8

Tenants Sevices Authority Six Standards:

Tenant involvement andempowerment 9

n Customer service, choice and complaints n Involvement and empowerment n Understanding and responding to the

diverse needs of tenants

Home 16n Quality of accommodationn Repairs and maintenance

Tenancy 18n Allocationsn Tenure

Rents 23

Neighbourhood and community 24

n Neighbourhood managementn Local area co-operationn Anti-social behaviour

Value for money 27

Summary of achievements 28

Know your Landlord ServiceManagement Team 30

What do you think of the Annual Report overall? 31

Every tenant matters 3

Welcome to this year’s Annual Report. For the last fewyears we have produced this to inform our tenants howwell we are delivering our services. Last year the TenantServices Authority made this a regulatory requirement.In this report you will find details of what we are doingto meet each of the Tenant Services Authority standardsand how we meet Tamworth’s ‘Local Offers’ that wehave agreed in partnership with you.

The Tenant Consultative Group (TCG) adopted a newmission statement in 2010/11 “Every tenant matters”,supporting the Council’s single shared vision of “OneTamworth perfectly placed”. Housing directly affectsevery aspect of people’s lives and this report aims toshow you how we contribute to a healthier, safer andmore prosperous community.

During the past year, wehave made some majorimprovements across arange of importantservices; tenantsatisfaction has risen acrossthe board. 75.2% of generalneeds tenants and 93% ofsheltered tenants are satisfied with the way we deliverour services. This is a 10% improvement since our laststatus survey was carried out in 2008. However thereare some areas where we still need to improve andfurther information about our plans to improve are setout in the report.

In producing this report, customers have onceagain been at the heart of it. Tenants haveagreed that the summary should be sentout in lieu of the usual quarterly tenantpublication ‘Open House’ in order tokeep costs down.

We would like to say a big thank you to allour customers for working with us in somany different ways over the last 12 months.

Celebrating performance successChair of the Tenant Consultative Group Faith Shell,Councillor Mary Oates and Head of Landlord ServicesTina Mustafa, cut the cake to celebrate improvingoverall satisfaction with services from 65% to 75%

Welcome

”“

Since I’ve been on the TenantConsultative Group, I’ve come torealise how much we actuallyachieve by working together withTamworth Borough Council landlordservices. I’ve grown personally inconfidence and in knowledge and Iabsolutely love it.Iris Clements, member of the TenantConsultative Group and TenantInvolvement Group

75.2%of general needs

tenants are satisfiedwith the way wedeliver our services.

93%of sheltered tenants aresatisfied with the waywe deliver our services.

Who we are


TwoGates14

Dosthill73 Hockley

150

Wilnecote207

Stonydelph756

Glascote606Belgrave

314

Fazeley120

Kettlebrook183

TownCentre412

The Leys64

CotonGreen63

Gillway234

Leyfields461

Amington421

Bolehall363

Tamworth Borough Council Landlord Services continues to manage,maintain and improve 4515 council properties.

Property typeBungalow 245G/F Bedsit 4G/F Maisonette 68G/F Flat 379High Rise Flat 312House 2532Sheltered 360U/F Flat 495U/F Maisonette 116U/F Bedsit 4*figures correct as of Sept 2011

Click on www.findingahometamworth.co.ukto view ward property information

Lower Park28

Borough RoadEstate 46

More than 800 tenants took the opportunity to talk tothe Tenant Involvement Team and suggest what theythought should be in Tamworth’s ‘Local Offers’.

A number of events were held across the borough,targeting the community hubs – or ARCH’s - in Belgrave,Amington, Stonydelph and Glascote Heath. You told

us you wanted landlord services to contribute to specificprojects in the locality – this is the work we havestarted…

We will be working with the community developmentteam in 2011/12 to ensure housing supports what youwant in these areas.

‘Local Offers’ and locality working

http://www.findingahometamworth.co.uk


Priority projects for the four locality areas in 2010/11

AMINGTON

Projects you’veidentified

What we have achieved

u Contribute to proposals toregenerate the KerriaCentre

u Develop partnershipworking with otherregistered providersmanaging private rentedstock in Amington

4 Housing is leading on the feasibility group for regeneration

4 Landlord services contribute to the Landlord Forum expanding housing choice

4 Estate walkabout targeted around the Kerria

4 ‘Local Offer’ consultation carried out at the Hub and surrounding areas

4 ‘Open House’ consultation carried out at the Hub and surrounding areas

4 Housing stand at the Locality community events during the summer of 2010 and 2011

4 Housing investment to improve environmental issues included painting railings at the Kerria and improving communal areas in the flats

4 Investment plans currently in place for the garage sites

BELGRAVE

u Review garage sites andagree future options

u Develop a local lettingsplan for Tinkers Green

u Promote welfare benefittake-up and reduce illegallending

4 Housing is leading on the feasibility group for regeneration

4 ‘Rent First’ campaign targeted and a partnership event held with the Credit Union at the Hub

4 Estate Walkabout carried out as part of the annual programme

4 ‘Local Offers’ consultation carried out at the Hub and surrounding areas



GLASCOTE

u Promote welfare benefittake-up and reduce illegallending

u Review Garage Sites

4 ‘Rent First’ campaign targeted and a partnership event held with the Credit Union

4 Investment plans currently in place for the garage sites

4 Partnership event to tackle illegal lending with the landlord financial inclusion officer



4 Litter pick event carried out as part of Britains ‘BIG Tidy Up’ Campaign

4 Tidy Up event at Maitland & Ivatt with funding from housing


4 ‘Rent First’ Campaign to promote benefit take-up

4 Partnership event to engage with hard to reach groups part of the environmental campaign

STONYDELPH

u Develop local lettings andsupport arrangements forEringden

u Offer housing surgeries atthe local hub to offeradvice and support onissues concerning anti-social behaviour

u Identify options to improveenvironmental and carparking issues

4 Several partnership open days promoting fire safety held at Eringden

4 Tenancy Sustainment Team work with the hub to offer advice and assistance on anti social4 behaviour matters

4 Clean up project completed around the areas of Ealingham/Eringden/Edale to address residents issues



4 Campaign carried out in partnership with the Credit Union at the Stonydelph hub, signing up 75 tenants for affordable loans



April 2010 – Ankermoor

Court 20th Anniversary

July 2010– Glascote estate walkabout

October 2010

– ‘Local Offer’s Consultation

January 2011

– ‘Open House’ consultation

May 2010– ‘Finding a Home’ Open Day

August 2010

– ‘BIG’ Tidy Up – Litter pick

November 2010

– ‘Local Offer’s Consultation

February 2011– Tenant

Involvement Recruitment Drive

June 2010– Ankermoor ‘Plant a Pot’

September 2010 – Riverside flats

open morning ‘Wish Upon a Star’

December 2010

– Christmas Rent Campaign

March 2011

– Easter Rent Campaign

2010–2011 in Pictures

“One community ideallylocated to prosper and grow”


ReformThere are some big challenges ahead for housing overthe next few years. All our improvement plans withinthis report inform the Landlord Business Plan, which for2012 will:

Respond and prepare for Government Reform on

n Welfare benefits

n Localism including Council Housing Finance Reform

n Planning and Community Infrastructure Reform

n Financial challenges

By moving to a self-financing model, this means thatLandlord Services could have additional funding to investin services including driving the reprovision of councilhousing and looking at the feasibility for regeneratingTinkers Green and the Kerria.

Our Strategic Ambitions are around supporting thedevelopment of a Housing and Health Strategywhich will ensure healthy outcomes including:

n Promoting nutritional information to prevent obesity

n Promoting well-being by using telehealth and partnerorganisations

n Helping with smoking cessation

From April 2011, all housing providers were required tolaunch their service standards to tenants. Followingextensive consultation with tenants during 2010, whichinvolved us speaking to more than 800 tenants,Landlord services was pleased to launch Tamworth’s‘Local Offers’ which sets out the level of service you canexpect from us.

The overwhelming message was that local should mean‘borough level’ and standards should be the same in allareas. You also told us that there should be somepriority projects in Belgrave, Amington, Stonydelph andGlascote Health. See page 5 for more details on localityworking.

A monitoring process has also been developed withtenants which will ensure our agreed standards are met.We will continue to advertise our online customerdashboard where tenants have selected whatperformance they would most like to see across landlordservices. We will also publish performance againstTamworth’s ‘Local Offers’ through the Annual Report. Inaddition to this we will always publish the results fromall customer satisfaction, feedback and consultation wecarry out in the tenants quarterly newsletter ‘OpenHouse’ and on the web.

Changingface ofhousing

Tamworth’s‘Local Offers’Our customerpromise to you

Tinkers Green ‘Local Offers’ consultation


We take pride in delivering services that are right first time, on time and represent value for money. Below are detailsof how tenants feel and a summary of how we are performing.

Satisfaction

Satisfied with... Tenants Survey Tenants Survey Trend2008/2009 2011/2012

Landlord Services overall 65% 75.2% J

the overall quality of the home 71% 75% J

the general condition of the property 67% 71% J

the repairs and maintenance service 56% 68% J

the neighbourhood 70% 81% J

rents representing good value for money 65% 75% J

Key performance

2008/2009 2009/2010 2010/2011 Trend

Arrears as a % of gross debit 1.69% 1.59% 1.55 K

Evictions 26 19 15 J

Average days to re-let a property 33 days 28 days 21 days J

Urgent repairs completed on time 98.2% 100% 100% J

Average times to complete non-urgent repairs 10 days 6.9 days 9.75 days L

Gas servicing – CP12 99.6% 99.9% 99.53% K

Tenants registered on the database of involvement 167 242 344 J

J�Performance improvingK�Performance the sameL�Performance deteriorating

How isLandlordServicesperforming?

Benchmarking is the key to learning. Visit our online customer dashboard atwww.tamworth.gov.uk so you can seehow we compare to the best peformers.

“Aspiring and prospering”

http://www.tamworth.gov.uk

Every tenant matters

The national standard says we should:n Offer a wide range of ways for you to get

involved in the management of your housing and provide support to help tenants do this

n Offer a range of ways to make a complaint and deal with these quickly and fairly

n Consult with you to agree ‘local offers’

n Provide you with choices, information and communication that meet your diverse needs when delivering our services

It is crucial that tenants have an influence over theservices we provide and deliver. This is an essentialelement in our drive towards excellent service deliveryand tenant scrutiny.

Tenants are offered a range of opportunities to getinvolved in which are widely publicised.

There has been an improvement in tenants who aresatisfied that their views are taken into account and thatlandlord services keeps them informed. We still want toincrease this figure and work is underway to improvethis.

Tenant Consultative Group

We would like to say a big thank you to our TenantConsultative Group who give up their free time andwork tirelessly with Landlord Services to inform keypolicy change and are at the heart of shaping andinfluencing services.

During 2010/2011, our customers have played their partto help change and improve Tamworth BoroughCouncil’s housing service. Our Tenant ConsultativeGroup and Tenant Involvement Group continue to leadthe way on getting people involved. The TCG meetmonthly to discuss performance against the landlordDelivery Plan, policy development and change and coreperformance indicators. At the same time the TenantInvolvement Group oversees the implementation ofactions and performance targets set out in the TenantParticipation Strategy.

9

Satisfied that your views Satisfaction with are taken into account keeping you informed

2008 2011 2008 2011

46% 53% 65% 71%

Tenantinvolvementandempowerment

“Tamworth Listens”

Tenant Consultative Group


Some key successes over the last 12months include:

Tenant Involvement Database102 new tenants were added to the tenant involvementdatabase during 2010/2011. 72 of these came from theyoung tenants’ survey ‘Your Views Matter’ carried outduring June. The remaining 30 volunteers have beenrecruited through the ‘Local Offer’ and ‘Open House’consultation events, annual recruitment drive andHousing Services open morning.

Estate Based EventsGlascote Heath’s community litter pick was organised bythe Tenant Involvement and Caretaking Teams as part ofBritain’s ‘Big Tidy Up’ Campaign. It saw the communitycome together to make a real difference to their area.The Tenant Involvement Team also attended severalsummer events to promote the benefits of tenantinvolvement and meet customers in an informal setting.

Tenant Involvement ImpactAssessmentThe Tenant Involvement Groupwas heavily involved in theproduction of Tamworth’ssecond Tenant InvolvementImpact Assessment2010/2011.

Customer Satisfaction CalendarA customer satisfaction calendarwas developed during 2010 tohelp us carry out more regularand consistent customersatisfaction monitoring. Thishelps us determinesatisfaction levels withLandlord Services andimprove servicesaccordingly.

Annual ReportTenant groups gave up their freetime and worked tirelessly in theproduction of last year’s AnnualReport. The report set out whatwe had achieved to addressthe priorities highlighted byour tenants.

New regulatoryframework and ‘Local Offer’consultationMore than 800 tenants took theopportunity to talk to the TenantInvolvement Team and suggestwhat they thought should be in‘Tamworth’s Local Offers’. For asummary of ‘Tamworth’s LocalOffers’ visit our website atwww.tamworth.gov.uk


Estate walkaboutsThree estate walkabouts were organised during 2010and each one saw residents turn out to meet staff andother organisations which work together to make surethat our estates are places where people want to livenow and in the future. Each walkabout addresses issuessuch as litter, graffiti, car parking problems andcommunal areas.

‘Wish Upon a Star’An open morning and communal tidy-up was requestedby Riverside residents through the Council’s ‘Wish Upona Star’ scheme, which gives tenants the chance to takeaction in their own communities. While tenants poppedalong to talk to housing staff and other organisations atthe High Rise Social Club, the Caretaking Team rolled uptheir sleeves and got stuck in to tidy up the communalgardens, pulling out weeds and cutting back overgrownbushes.

Seniors UnitedDuring the year, members of Seniors United visitedMorrison’s call centre to gain a better understanding ofthe appointment system, void procedures, call handlingand took part in a question and answer session. Asuccessful ‘Plant a Pot’ event was also carried out atAnkerrmoor sheltered scheme which meant elderlyresidents with mobility issues could take part in agardening event.

Tenants Voice/Editorial PanelDuring 2010/2011, Tenants Voice was heavily involved inthe production of publications including the LandlordServices Annual Report and also Tamworth’s ‘LocalOffer’s’ document. The panelalso continued to look at thedesign, layout and content ofthe tenants’ quarterlynewsletter ‘Open House’ tomake sure it is easy tounderstand, does not usejargon, covers topics thatare of interest to tenantsand contains all relevantinformation.


Improvement Plansn We plan to improve the way tenant scrutiniseour performance by strengthening our tenantgroups to include a more robust and scrutinyrole so that they can review service deliveryn Continue to increase and provideopportunities for young people to get involved

n Use your views from surveys, working groupsand events/consultation to change our servicesand regularly report back to you in ‘OpenHouse’n Provide support so tenants with diverse needsand backgrounds can easily get involved


Complaints

It is important to Landlord Services to record and monitorcomplaints. We will closely monitor the type ofcomplaints across service areas to identify commonthemes and the timescales in which complaints areresponded to, to ensure customers receive the highestquality service.

During the year we received 268 ‘Tell Us’ forms of which 36% were complaints and 64% were compliments.

We have seen a 24% increase in ‘Tell Us’ forms during 2010/2011 however we have actively encouraged feedbackfrom our tenants.

Number of complaints and compliments

2009/2010 2010/2011

Tell Us’ 217 268Complaints 50 97Compliments 167 171Service Requests 0 0

Complaints Compliments

09/10 10/11 09/10 10/11

Housing Advice 8 4 11 4

Estate Caretaking 1 - 133 154

Housing (general) 4 2 7 2

Estate Management Services 8 30 4 4

Property Services 1 1 2 -

Repairs 20 37 1 2

Rents 4 - 4 -

Voids & Allocations 2 2 4 -

P H Jones 2 19 1 -

Housing Strategy - 1 - -

Private Sector Housing - 1 - -

Financial Inclusion - - - 5

Total 50 97 167 171

”

“ “I want to thank myhousing support worker for allher help. Supported housinghas really been helpful to meand I have now moved in to apermanent tenancy and I nowhave the confidence tomanage on my own”

“Thank you to the Caretakerswho cleared my front andback garden, they did awonderful job and really went that extra mile”

All 97complaints wereanswered in anaverage of

6.9 days

“Putting things right”


We also carry out cause analysis each timewe receive a complaint. This means that wedig a little further into every complaint inorder to make changes to how we operateand improve customer service.

We will continue to demonstrate to tenantshow services have changed as a result ofpositive and negative comments using aregular ‘You Said We Did’ article in ourtenants quarterly newsletter ‘Open House’and on the web.

Improvement Plansn We want to improve the way we deal with complaints andduring 2011 we will develop our Complaints Review Paneln Through our customer profile form that was revisedduring 2010, we will use this information to help adaptour services to meet the needs of our customers.n We will develop our complaints process during 2011/2012to focus on outcomes and weather complaints have beenupheld

n We will work with the tenants’ Editorial Panel in thedevelopment of standard letter templates for seniormanagement. Letters will be both plain English andtenant approvedn We will improve the process and training on complainthandling within housing by holding a series of staffbriefings and presentationsn We will be holding member seminars to talk about therising number of Councillor enquiries

You complained!(during 2010/2011)

We listened!

Tenants complained about damp and condensation We introduced a leaflet on making the most ofheating/ventilation within the home

Tenants stated that they were still not happy about theprocess of treating damp and condensation

The Repairs Team now engage with a specialistcompany called Oaks Preservation to check there are nostructural defects to the property that have contributedto damp and condensation

Tenants reported that repairs take too long We have developed a fully integrated repairs policy thatclarifies tenant obligations and repairing responsibilitiesgoing forward and ensures a ‘right first time approach’

No consistency with anti-social behaviour cases We have introduced a new Landlord ASB Policy withclear offers/standards

Complaints were received about broken and failed gasappointments

We will be procuring a new gas contractor during 2011with a focus on service standards

You complimented us! We’ll keep doing!

Tenants reported high satisfaction with the CaretakingService evidenced by the number of compliments andcomments received

The Caretaking Team will be developed during 2012 asa handy person service

”


Customer service and choice

We aim to give you an excellent customerexperience

Tamworth Landlord Services mission statement as votedfor by tenants is “Every Tenant Matters”. We want tobe a provider of good quality homes and services topeople in need.

We are pleased that tenant satisfaction with our overallservices has improved.

Our target is to see customers within 15 minutes ofarrival. What we have achieved:

Information

We offer a wide range of information on services andstandards and where possible, services andcommunication is tailored to the needs of customers.Our tenant newsletter ‘Open House’ is produced on aquarterly basis and our monthly performanceinformation selected by the Tenant Consultative andTenant Involvement Groups - is published on thewebsite.

During the year we developed an ‘Open House’consultation questionnaire. This was an interim surveyto determine satisfaction with the quarterly newsletterand the content the newsletter provides.

n 87% of respondents were satisfied that ‘OpenHouse’ provided them with relevant and interestinginformation about housing services

n 83% of respondents reported that they had read thelast edition of ‘Open House’

During 2011 we will be repeating this survey and lookforward to sharing the results with you.

Status Satisfaction Survey2008 2011

Satisfied with 65% 75%overall serviceStaff are able to deal 68% 71%with the problemSatisfied with 56% 63%final outcome

Customer seen within 15 minutes2009/2010 2010/2011

Estate Management Team 92% 95%Income Team 96% 100%Voids & Allocations Team 100% 100%

Improvement Plansn Let you know more how we have acted onyour feedbackn Continue to improve communications bothinternally and with our customersn Develop a ‘tuts n grumbles’ line which will bean automated messaging system used to helpimprove customer feedback across landlordservices.


Understanding and responding tothe diverse needs of tenants

Getting to know youWe are committed to the principles of equality anddiversity and aim to ensure that everyone is treatedfairly and with respect. We have a equality action planthat aims to ensure that the services we provide areresponsive to the needs of our diverse customer base.

Got to know youDuring 2010 we revised our ‘Getting to know you’ formand we really do feel we now know our customers. Wewould like to thank all those that have taken the time tocomplete and return their form. This information isimportant to us as it enables us to tailor services toparticular needs. We will only ask for information thatwe need to tailor services.

During the year we have….n Matched people to properties with specific disabilities

n Installed electronic devises i.e flashing doorbells forthose with hearing impairments

n Designed bathrooms to accommodate specificreligious beliefs

n Provided information in a specific format for over 50people with sight and/or visual impairments

n Targeted victim support for those facing homophobiccrimes by providing sanctuary and support

Improvement Plans

continued...

n We will explore diffe

rent ways to keep yo

u

informed including ‘l

ive blogging’ and text

messaging

n We will work on the w

ebsite to make sure it

is

more interactive and

will help more of our

tenants

access the internet.

n We will use simpler l

anguage when we wr

ite to

you and send out our

newsletters

n We will review our pu

blications and make s

ure

they are available in a

wide range of forma

ts

n Develop the Equality

Plan into a wider Lan

dlord

Health & Well-being P

lan that tackles inequ

alities

ensuring we improve

people’s quality of life

Improvement Plansn One of our tenant involvement group memberssuggested that landlord services may wish toconsider supplying Helix magnifying sheets to allthose tenants who have difficulty readingTamworth’s normal size print. During 2012 we willpilot the magnifying sheets with approximately 50tenants who had requested large print. We willthen go back and ask those tenants if they havefound them useful.

n We will continue to use “Equality ImpactAssessments” to review our policies and proceduresto make sure they are fair and accessible and do notdiscriminate against our customers


The national Standard says we should:n Provide a cost effective repairs and maintenanceservice that meets tenants’ needs, offers choices totenants and aims to complete repairs ‘right first time’

n Meet all of our legal obligations to ensure the healthand safety of tenants

n Ensure homes meet the Decent Homes Standard by31 December 2010

n Ensure homes meet the standard that applied whenthe home was built

Remember you can report a repair to us at any time,night or day, using our free phone repairs line, 0800 183 0040 or online at,[email protected]

Our tenants have told us that our repairs andmaintenance service is the most important service weprovide. Due to this we have reviewed our servicestandards in partnership with you.

Did You Know…

That during 2010/2011 we completed 17,494 repairs toour tenants homes of which 1,619 were categorised asemergency and 11,698 as urgent and routine repairswith the remaining 4,177 treated as planned works.

The table below shows how quickly we carry outresponse repairs requested by you.

Our current responsive repairs and gas service contractswith Morrison Facilities Services and P H Jones,respectively ends on 31 March 2012 and we are in theprocess of procuring new contracts. This will commenceon 1 April 2012. Tenants and their representatives willbe involved in this procedure and once the procurementprocess has been completed we will announce who thenew contractors are and will be able to issue furtherinformation.

Home

Our repairs service2008 2011

Satisfaction with repairs 56% 68% Repairs 2008 2009 2010& Investment -2009 -2010 -2011Right first time 65% 97.9% 98.22%% appointments 47% 97% 97.41%made and keptGas servicing – CP12 99.6% 99.9% 99.7%Urgent repairs 98.2% 100% 99.65%completed on timeAverage time to 10days 6.9days 8.66dayscomplete non-urgent repairsCustomer satisfaction 71% 86% 91.39%

Improvement Plansn We are currently re-writing our repairs policy. Thiswill clearly set out how we intend to provide a cost-effective repairs and maintenance service to homesand communal areas that is responsive to the needsof, and offers choices to, tenants and has theadded objective of completing repairs andimprovements ‘right first time’.

n We are expanding the service to include a handyperson scheme.n We are planning to introduce a ‘golden ticket’service for vulnerable customers to provide anenhanced responsive repairs service.

http://[email protected]


Health and safety

Gas servicing continues to achieve excellentperformance. We rely on tenants to give our contractorsaccess to inspect and service gas appliances to maintainthis excellent standard of safety.

We continue to meet our obligations regarding themanagement of Health and Safety and comply withLegionella and Asbestos legislation. This includesmonitoring contractors that carry our work on ourbehalf. There have been no reportable incidents thatthe Health and Safety Executive would need to benotified of.

New fire safety guidance waspublished in the summer 2011 andtogether with the fire service, keyinvestment will be made in allflated estates to include thefollowing:-

n Re-opening of the basementsat the high rise flats

n A dedicated fire officer

n Audit of the landlord approach by anindependent service to ensure we improve

Improvement Programme – number of homesimproved and how

In 2009/2010, the feedback from our routine surveycarried out on those who received planned maintenancework was that 94% of tenants were satisfied with theoverall results.

Our latest survey shows that tenant satisfaction hasincreased for both the quality and condition of yourhome.

All our homes must meet theDecent Homes standard whichmeans that your home must be ina reasonable state of repair; havereasonably modern facilities;provide effective insulation andmeet minimum standards.

According to our stock condition data we maintained a100% decency rate measured against the DecentHomes Standard.

Your home – Status Survey2008 2011

Quality of home 71% 75%Condition of home 67% 71%

Tamworth Borough Council

Following fire safety measures thathave been put in place byTamworth Borough Council, boththe Council and Staffordshire Fireand Rescue Service have producedthis handy advice leaflet with yoursafety in mind. It will advise you onwhat to do in the event of a fire inyour flat or your block.Staffordshire Fire and RescueService also offer free Home FireSafety checks. Anybody wishing touse this service should callfreephone: 0800 0241999

Fire safetyfor tenantsin highrise flats

For more fire safety information, visit ourwebsite www.staffordshire.gov.uk

Kitchens 361

Bathrooms 308

Heating upgrades 161

Electrical upgrades 607

Replacement windows 80

Roof works 4

Structural works 4

“To be healthier and safer”

NOTICE

WE WANT YOU!Watch out for our first

Annual Tenants’Conference on 26/1/12 at

Tamworth Assembly Roomsto have your say on

landlord improvements


The national Standard says we should:n Let our homes in a fair way

n Offer the most secure tenancy appropriate for thesafety of the community

n Charge rents in accordance with Governmentguidance

Our ‘Finding a Home’ website is where all our emptyproperties are advertised and where applicants are ableto ‘express an interest’ in moving to. Applicants aregiven far greater choice on where they want to live andwhen they want to move.

Please visit our ‘Finding a Home’ website atwww.findingahometamworth.co.uk to view all ourlatest reports. We continually publish informationabout our homes that we have successfully let informingyou about the number of applicants that have bid for aparticular property and the band and waiting time ofthe successful applicants.

We are also working with UCHOOSE, the sub-regionalchoice based lettings service for properties outside ofTamworth.

Letting our homes

We aim to let our homes as fairly and as quickly aspossible. Our performance on re-letting our homes is areal strength. We are among the top 25% of housingproviders in this area.

We let 306 council homes in 2010/11. An additional138 properties were available to people on the housingwaiting list for nomination to housing associations. This,combined with 132 mutual exchanges, means 576families have been re-housed in the last year.

Of the 132 mutual exchanges, 55 people – or 42% -moved as they wanted larger properties.

Who we housed

Tenancy

Re-letting our homes2008 2009 2010/2009 /2010 /2011

Average time 33 days 28 days 21 daysbetween lettingsProperties let 368 380 306

3% ethnic minoritybackground

15% did notgive a reply

82% white British


Improvement Plans

continued...

n We have added the f

loor plans of the shel

tered

housing schemes to s

how the facilities. We

are

now working on add

ing extra property info

rmation

on the advert to assis

t people in bidding.

n We are continually wo

rking with our web p

roviders

to make improvement

s. Due to feedback re

ceived,

we have built in an a

dditional field to conf

irm if

applicants wish to bid

before it is accepted.

n We are currently re-ca

tegorising bedroom

entitlement in respon

se to feedback from

applicants and to tac

kle overcrowding issu

es.

n Autumn 2011, we w

ill be introducing a Ten

ants

Reward scheme. Thi

s is a payment of £50

.00 for

tenants who are movi

ng out and leave thei

r

property in good con

dition, with no rubbi

sh or

unwanted furniture a

nd have a clear rent a

ccount.


What’s gone well?

n We continued to use local lettings plans to make thebest use of our stock for example the extra care locallettings plan for Thomas Hardy Court and MacGregorTithe

n In 2010 – 11, eleven tenants downsized from afamily home that they no longer needed, receiving a£1,000 payment through the Incentive to Movescheme.

n The Voids and Allocation team cut the average timeto re-let an empty property to only 21 days.

n 44 people moved into properties with adaptationssuch as level access showers, stair lifts, andwheelchair accessibility

n Of 42 completed satisfaction surveys, 88% weresatisfied with the Finding a Home letting service.

n Support is available for people who are vulnerableand who struggle to access the web-based service.

n Mutual exchange offers people another housingoption; 132 people have swapped homes throughmutual exchange in the last 12 months.

Improvement Plansn There has not been any real take up of welfarebenefits advice but we continue to promote thisservice. The most frequently asked query is how toapply for a community care grant and because ofthis we stock these forms to hand out to people.

n During 2011/2012 we will develop a far morerobust satisfaction survey to test the effectiveness ofour lettings service and we will ask all new tenantswhat they think of the servicen We need to build on satisfaction of the conditionand cleanliness of empty properties and are lookingto introduce this later in the year.

”

“ “applied in January surprised to be offered so quickly.”

’can bid on what you want’’

‘’ you need to put a plan of the inside of properties’’

‘’I find that overall people I have spoken to at theCouncil are very helpful, polite and reassuring’’

‘’ I find this an excellent way to find properties inthe area’’

‘’I think you should have a retract bid button incaseyou feel you have made a mistake’’

”

“ ‘’I found a lovely home for myself and mychildren. The person I swapped with really wantedmy house before she had looked at it. We are nowboth very happy in our new homes and havebecome friends too’’

"I have been on Homeswapper for nearly two yearsand felt like giving up, but a suitable swap finallycame up and we are moving next week! Thanks tothis website we are finally getting the house wewant’’


‘Finding a Garage’

We will be launching ‘Finding a Garage’ in 2011.Already, 26 of the 89 garage sites around the boroughhave been approved for affordable housing. For furtherdetails please visit the website at www.tamworth.gov.uk

Supported Housing

Sheltered services, homeless support at Ellerbeck andChestnut as well as disabled facility adaptations makeup Tamworth Borough Council’s supported housingservice.

Sheltered Housing

Sheltered Housing Accreditation SuccessWe are extremely pleased to reportthat Tamworth Borough Council hasrecently been successful in gaining the Centre of

Housing and Support (CHS)Accreditation Award. This awardrecognises the outstandingcommitment we have to servicestandards in Tamworth and makingsure our customers receive the highestquality of sheltered housing service,independence and environment.

To earn the endorsement, we had to meet targets andstandards set by the CHS. During 2010/11 all tenIndependent Living Managers and the schemes tenantrepresentatives were instrumental in putting togetherportfolios of evidence to meet the defined criteria.

Sheltered housing is for the over 60s. It aims to supportthem to live independently in their own home andmanage their own affairs for as long as possible.Sheltered properties are flats or bungalows linked to acommunal alarm lifeline service. This means help can besummoned in an emergency at any time of day or night,24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Independent Living Managers also visit residents tocheck on their well-being, help them to maintain theirindependence and signpost them to other organisationswho can provide information and advice.

The benefit of sheltered housing is that it providessupport to people in a flexible way, when it is neededmost. Some residents may need a lot of support andmay also have care provided through social services,voluntary organisations or family and friends. Otherresidents may only need help from time to time.

“Supporting people to livehealthy and independent lives”



Extra Care

Extra care housing at Thomas Hardy Court providesolder people with another housing choice in Tamworth.Our aim is to help to maintain independence throughthe security and privacy of your own home togetherwith access to 24 hour care and support tailored for youwhen you need it.

Thomas Hardy Court

Alarm Calls New Tenants

98% of alarm calls were answered within 60 seconds. We completed 100% of new tenancy visits within 24hours of the new tenant moving in.

We completed 100% support needs and riskassessments prior to the tenant moving in.

Lifeline Service Extra Care Housing at Thomas Hardy Court

Since January 2011 WELbeing has been providingTamworth Borough Council’s Housing alarm service,ensuring the high quality alarm service is provided to allits customers.

WELbeing is one of the fastest growing companies inthe sector, supporting nearly 30,000 people across theUK and answering 600,000 calls a year.

The Tamworth service includes 24 hour, seven day aweek contact centre support to customers in dispersedunits and those living in sheltered accommodation.

May 2011 celebrated the first anniversary of extra carehousing at Thomas Hardy Court, developed inpartnership with Tamworth Borough Council andStaffordshire County Council.

£260,000 was invested in the Extra Care HousingScheme which provides homes to vulnerable elderlypeople with the aim of helping and supportingindependence through the security and privacy of theirown home together with access to 24 hour care andtailored support.

The scheme offers a range of facilities including specialbathrooms for assisted bathing, luncheon club,hairdressers, guest room for visitors, laundry rooms, 24hour entrance door phone system, lifts and car parking.


How are we doing in HomelessSupported Housing?

Tamworth Borough Council is proud of its supportedhousing accommodation project at Ellerbeck andChestnut Court. This aims to provide housing relatedsupport to help homeless people live independently intheir own home. This can be single people, single parentfamilies or couples with or without children, all whohave faced the difficulties of homelessness.

Disabled Facilities Adaptations

We invested £450,000 in 2010 to carry out 47adaptations.

Needs & RiskAssessment

Support Plans

We completed 100%support needs and riskassessments prior to thetenant moving in.

We completed 100% ofsupport plans with allnew tenants within 4weeks of their tenancystart date.

Support Plans assess anindividual’s needs andshows how the servicewill work with theindividual to supportthose needs.

Available Properties

In total, 14 availableproperties were re - let in2010-11.

100% of the availableproperties were re-letwithin 10 days.

Assessment Minor adaptations

In July 2011, TamworthBorough Councilappointed a newOccupational Therapist.In future we will aim tocarry out assessmentswithin 21 days ofreceiving the referral fromsocial services.

In total 47 minoradaptations werecompleted.

99% of the minoradaptations wherecompleted within 26days.

Disabled FacilitiesAdaptations

In total 74 adaptationswere completed reducingthe waiting list from 168to 34. No priority 1’s areoutstanding.


Rents

We calculate our rents in line withGovernment regulations. We provide all ourtenants with an annual rent increase letterwhich explains how rents have been changed.

The Council’s rent campaigns have proved to be sosuccessful in recent years that further campaigns werearranged during 2010 - 2011. The purpose of thecampaigns are to engage with tenants and raiseawareness that paying your rent is always a priority.The rent campaigns usually cover the Christmas, Easterand Summer period and you’ve probably already seen usout and about at one of many of our events.

The Income Team have also worked closely with otherCouncil staff like the Tenant Involvement and Community

Development Teams and other organisations like AgeUK, Citizens Advice Bureau, Credit Union and HomeStart, to name just a few. The campaigns have largelybeen promoted at Tamworth market place, MarmionHouse reception, Tamworth Carnival, Asda Supermarketand at local hot spots around the borough.

All our events are advertised on ourwebsite, on Touch FM, the TamworthHerald, the Arriva bus service and localposters. During the Christmas rentcampaign we were delighted to work withTwo Rivers School in designing thechristmas card and bus advert poster.

Rent Statements Quarterly rent statements went out during the year withupdates on rent issues. The changes to housing benefitfor families with non-dependents were also included asan insert with the rent statements in January 2011. Wewill continue to update you on the changes to housingbenefit as soon as amendments have been finalised.

Fianacial inclusion

75 tenants sucessfully otained a loan through the CreditUnion to help with their financial circumstances.

If you are struggling with money we can help. Wecan advise you about benefits that you might beentitled to and set up a payment plan for anyarrears that are outstanding. We can also refer youto specialist services. Just call 01827 709709 andask to speak to your income advisor or [email protected]

Income Management2008 2009 2010/2009 /2010 /2011

Arrears as a % 1.69% 1.59% 1.56%of gross debitEvictions 26 19 15% tenants with more 4% 4% 3.45%than 7 weeks arrears% tenants served with a 6% 12.19% 12.72%Notice Seeking Possession(First step in legal action)

Total benefit obtained for customers was

£130,808.90The financial inclusion officer dealt with

£288,463.74worth of debts

mailto:[email protected]


The national Standard says we should:n Keep your neighbourhood clean and safe by workingwith our partners

Neighbourhood Management

Estate inspections and estate walkaboutsHousing Officers have continued to carry out monthlyestate inspections, usually with a member of theCaretaking Team. Each street is inspected at least threetimes a year and an action plan is agreed in partnershipwith customers, councillors and other key localstakeholders if any issues arise. Each inspection willcover gardens, open spaces, litter, fly-tipping, trees,street lighting, roads, parking, pavements, maintenanceof blocks of flats, garages, caretaking and cleaning,graffiti, fly-posting, abandoned vehicles and overgrowngardens.

In addition to estate inspections, we work with tenantsand partners to make a difference in ourneighbourhoods by undertaking regular estatewalkabouts. Estate walkabouts identify issues on ourestates needing attention. 2010 even saw young pupilsfrom a local primary school join in on the walkabout aspart of a school project.

Residents who took part in the walkabouts were verypleased with how it went. Feedback forms showed that93% of those who attended were satisfied with theservices provided by the council’s Estate Managementand Caretaking Teams. One comment received said:

Graffiti removal takes to the streetsThe Estate’s Caretaking Team have been mapping theareas of the borough where graffiti is a problem anddrawing up a graffiti removal schedule. Staff have beenworking to clean up as much graffiti as they can asquickly as possible, to help make Tamworth’s estatesbetter places for people to live. The caretakers have alsobeen enlisting the help of residents in the fight againstgraffiti.

During the year a total of 4,526 jobs were reported tothe Caretaking Team of which 4,440, 98% wereattended to within target times.

Neighbourhood& community

”“ The estate management team are always a

pleasure to work with and very helpful when I havean enquiry. It’s just a shame they haven’t the moneyto do everything!


All communal areas are cleaned on a weekly basis.During the year, 85% of customers reported they weresatisfied with the cleaning service. Work is ongoing fortenant inspectors to carry out their own independent

quality checks of this service. A deep clean schedule isalso produced to ensure that thorough cleaning takesplace in areas that need it.

Job Target Time Number Jobs completed withintarget time

Rubbish removal Within 1 working day Total number of cases = 927% carried out on time = 93%

Cleaning/regular jobs Within 1 working day Total number of cases = 2345% carried out on time = 99%

Graffiti Offensive within 48 hours Total number of cases = 19% carried out on time = 100%

Graffiti Non offensive within 28 working days Total number of cases = 31% carried out on time = 100%

Alleyways Assessed and cleared in order ofpriority i.e health & safety issues

Total number of cases = 51% carried out on time = 100%

Fly Tipping Within 3 working days Total number of cases = 1103% carried out on time = 100%

Garage clearance Within 5 working days Total number of cases = 19% carried out on time = 100%

Ivy removal Within 5 working days Total number of cases = 19% carried out on time = 100%

Cleaning

Before After


Anti-social behaviour (ASB)

Landlord services is committed to achieve recognitionunder the House-Mark and Social Landlords Crime andNuisance Group ASB Accreditation Scheme by 2012.

Look out for your new Tenancy Agreement. Pleasevisit www.tamworth.gov.uk for furtherinformation and updates.

We work closely with residents, the police and otherpartners to make our neighbourhoods friendlier andsafer places to be.

Landlord Services aims to tackle ASB and neighbourdisputes before they have a chance to escalate. We refertenants to mediation and signpost tenants to otherorganisations for further support.

Action is taken against tenancies where tenants areresponsible for ASB and are not willing to co-operatewith Landlord Service and/or other organisations toresolve the situation.

During 2011 Landlord Services ASB Policy was reviewedand the Council’s cabinet said: “ASB is clearly improvingbut this is an area where we are keen to improve andthe new policy will drive this forward”.

In 2010/2011

n Landlord Estate Management Team dealt with 658incidents. 80% of these were related to noisenuisance and around 5% resulted in formal legalproceedings, i.e. injunction; possession; demotion.

n 30 acceptable Behaviour Contracts were signed withtenants and residents together with the police topromote good behaviour and acceptable conduct.

Community Safety HubStaff in the Estate Management Team, currently hotdesk and attend routine morning briefings at the policestation. Under the Safer Estates Framework, housingstaff have always worked closely with the CommunitySafety Team and police colleagues as well as a range ofother specialist partners and agencies to tackle anddeter anti-social behaviour.

The creation of the co-located hub has presented a realopportunity to have a structured and shared multi-agency approach to problem solving and the riskmanagement of cases. Already, housing officers havebeen able to escalate and receive prompt resolution toongoing issues in relation to neighbour nuisance in away that was not possible previously.

Improvement Plansn Over recent months the Government hasreviewed the tools and powers available totackle ASB with the aim of ensuring betterprotection to victims and communities and amore effective deterrent. Over the next 12months we plan to tackle these changes whilewe are reviewing our approach to how wemanage anti-social behaviour.

n Get accredited to ensure our services mees therespect standard

Status Survey2008 2011

Satisfaction with ASB 50% 61%



The national Standard says we should:n Have a comprehensive approach to managing ourresources to provide cost-effective, efficient, qualityservices and homes to meet tenants’ needs.

We look for ways to save money so that we can affordto provide better services to our customers

Value for Money can mean something different to eachand every one of us. It’s not just about making financialsavings. VFM means running a viable social business andcontinuously looking to improve it. To achieve this welook at our costs, performance and satisfaction invarious ways and we prioritise the areas that we need tofocus on.

Housing Revenue AccountThe overall revenue financial position relating to councilhousing shows a surplus for the year of £0.37m. Thisequates to an overspend of £0.16m when compared tothe approved budget for the year, mainly due to higherGovernment subsidy costs together with lower thanexpected garage rent income. This has resulted in anincrease in housing revenue account balances from£4.71m to £5.09m to be carried forward to 2011/12.

Expenditure Every £1 of your rent pays for:

28p Repairs % Maintenance

31p Supervision and Management Costs

21p Back to Central Government

19p Depreciation

1p Bad debts

Value formoney (VFM)

Improvement Plansn Respond to the Council Housing Finance Reformto secure investment and services to your homesn Introduce service charges in a fair andreasonable manner

n Set up a new Repairs and InvestmentContractor to support the local economy

n We will look to maximise your income by usingthe third sector to help you manage debt ifapplicablen Ensure front line services are efficient andstructured to make best use of our assets

You told us that VFM is the 5th most importantissue to you.

Total income £17,916,100

75%of tenants saidthat your rent

represented VFM.

This hasincreased

10%from

65%in 2008.


Summary ofourachievements

Customer satisfactionn Tenant satisfaction withlandlord services improved from65% in 2008 to 75% in 2011.

n Developed tenant scrutiny ofservices including the role oftenant inspectors.

n A new landlord structurefocused on tenant priorities.

Tenant Involvementn 2010/2011 saw 102 new tenants addedto the database of involvement.

n Launch of Tamworth’s ‘Local Offers.’ Morethan 800 tenants took the opportunity totalk to the Tenant Involvement Team andsuggest what they thought should be inTamworth’s ‘Local Offers’.

n A customer satisfaction calendar wasdeveloped during 2010 to help us to carryout more regular and consistent customersatisfaction monitoring.

Supported Housing Homelessness ServiceDuring the past year the Supported Housing teamhave successfully supported 23 new tenants by;

n Letting 100% of supported housing propertieswithin 10 working days.

n Completing a risk and needs assessment with100% of new applicants.

n Completing a support plan with 100% of allnew tenants within 4 weeks of their tenancystart date.

Repairsn 100% of urgent appointments werecompleted on time and 97% ofappointments were made and kept.

n A new repairs policy including ahandy person service.

n A full garage survey focused onaffordable housing and positiveretention giving us a plan for thenext three years.

Extra Care Housing at ThomasHardy Court£260,000 was invested in the ExtraCare Housing Scheme whichprovides homes to vulnerable elderlypeople with the aim of helping andsupporting independence throughthe security and privacy of your ownhome together with access to 24hour care and tailored support.


CommunityAlarm Service

n Since January 2011 Well Beinghas been providing Tamworth

Borough Council’s housings communityalarm service, ensuring the high quality

alarm service is provided to all itscustomers.

n Customer satisfaction with'Finding a Home' service

was 94%.

Income managementn The rent arrears at the end of thefinancial year were £239, 481.08. In thecurrent economic climate and with thechallenges of financial hardship, this is areal achievement.

n Our overall arrears now represents1.5% (percentage of arrears as apercentage of gross rent debit) and is areduction on last year’s figure.

n Garage rent arrears were successfullyreduced by 5% during April 2010 toMarch 31 2011 and totalled £1,679.

n During April 2010 until March 31 2011,a total amount of extra benefit awardedto customers was £130,808.90

n Work on service charges and value formoney.

Sheltered HousingDuring the past year IndependentLiving Managers have continued tohelp and support 75 new tenants by;

n 100% of all new applicants takepart in a needs and risk assessmentas part of their housing applicationprocess to ensure the service canmeet with individual needs.

n 100% of all new sheltered housingtenants where visited by theManager within 24 hours.

n 100% of all new sheltered housingtenants received an agreed supportplan within 4 weeks of their tenancystart date.

Voids and allocationsn Our performance on re-letting ourhomes during the last year has beena real strength putting landlordservices amongst the top 25% forthis measure. The average time tore-let an empty property was cutfrom 28 days to 21 days.

Anti-Social Behaviour

n A dedicated

landlord officer at

the Community

Safety Hub.

Cleaning and caretakingn During the year, 85% of customersreported they were satisfied with thecleaning service.

n Targets for the removal of fly tippinghave continued to be met.

n During the year, an intense deep cleanwas carried out at the Tinkers Greenflats. An ongoing programme of furtherdeep cleans for flats with communalwalkways is planned for this year.


Know yourLandlord ServiceManagementTeam

In 2011 we launched the new management structure focused on tenancy sustainment, housing options, repairs andtenant involvement and regulation. Visit our website for who’s who.

Know your Landlord Service Management Team - we’re here to improve

”“ This year has seen a big

improvement in satisfactionbut the challenge isimproving on this as werespond to national policy.

Head of LandlordServices

Tina Mustafa

TenancySustainmentManager

(Tenancy & Income)

Sue Philp

Housing OptionsManager(Lettings &

Sheltered Housing)

Lee Birch

Tenant Regulatory& InvolvementManager

Leanne Allwood

Repairs ContractManager

John Murden

Deputy Director ofHousing & Health

Rob Barnes

Portfolio Holder

Councillor MaryOates

Chair of TenantConsultative Group

Faith Shell

”“ This is the first year of

bedding in our regulatorystructure and we really doinfluence and shape policy aspart of political decisionmaking. We need to ensurethis continues.


What do youthink of theAnnual Reportoverall?

We hope you have enjoyed reading this Annual Report. We really want to hear your views about thisreport. Please complete the feedback sheet and return in the pre-paid envelope and return it to us –it’s free to post.

Thanks to everyone that took part in the photo shoots, sorry we couldn’t feature all of you.

What did you think about this Annual Report? (Please tick one box in each section)

1.q Too long q Too short q About right

2. q Too much information q Not enough information q About right

3. q Very well presented q Fairly well presented q Hard to follow

4. q Very easy to understand q Fairly easy to understand q Difficult to understand

Thank you. Now please give us any general comments that could help us when we producenext year’s Annual Report.

The Annual Report is also available on our website at: www.tamworth.gov.uk

If you have any comments or questions please contact the Tenant Regulation and InvolvementManager on: Freephone 0800 183 0454 or email: [email protected]

Or write to:Tenant InvolvementTamworth Borough CouncilMarmion HouseLichfield StreetTamworth Borough Council StaffordshireB79 7BZ

For more information visit www.tamworth.gov.uk

Tenants will be monitoring feedback and this will be captured to improve on future publications and otherhousing literature.”

!




Designed and produced by Tamworth Borough Councilwww.tamworth.gov.uk

(09/11) 1193

Alternative FormatsIf you, or someone you know, require this information in an alternativeformat or language please phone The Tenant Participation Team on freephone 0800 183 0454, or email [email protected]

If you would find it easier to talk to us in your own language please ask an english-speaking friend or relative to contact 0800 183 0454. We can arrange for aninterpreter to contact you to discuss any translation you need.



annual report to tenants 2010 - 2011

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generalneeds tenants

tenants howwell

placedannual report

tenants sevices authority

tenant consultative

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years annual report