annual report to tenants 2013

HOME!CITY OF LINCOLN COUNCIL

ANNUAL REPORT TO TENANTS 2012/13

FIND OUT HOW WELL WE’RE PERFORMING!Rent, repairs and services - it’s all inside...

ONLY IN HOME!

£25 MILLION BOOST TO LOCAL ECONOMY

OUR VISION!

What’s it all about?

Welcome to this year’s annual report

to tenants which sets out how we have

performed as your landlord in 2012/13.

This report has been put together jointly by the

council and tenant representatives on Lincoln

Tenants Panel.

In previous years we have kept you updated on the

services we provide, how we spend your money

and how we are performing against the standards

you expect from us.

We hope that you find this report a helpful

snapshot of how we are doing.

John Bibby Director of Housing and Community Services

Councillor Peter West Housing Portfolio Holder

Tony Higgs Chairman of Lincoln Tenants Panel

FOREWORDOUR VISION IS THAT:

‘All Lincoln residents can have a decent, suitable home which they can afford in a community where they want to live, with the support they need to live independently.’

The Homes and Communities Agency sets out national housing standards that social landlords are required to meet. These are:

CONSUMER STANDARDS Tenant Involvement and Empowerment Home Tenancy Neighbourhood and Community

ECONOMIC STANDARD Rent

2

New contract gives £25m boost to local economyThis Year’sHighlight

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LINCOLN’S ECONOMY HAS RECEIVED A £25 MILLION BOOST AFTER THE COUNCIL INVESTED CASH TO CREATE JOBS, OFFER APPRENTICESHIPS, IMPROVE TENANT LIVING CONDITIONS AND BUILD COMMUNITY PROJECTS.

The council’s housing planned maintenance partnering contract was awarded to Kier and provides maintenance and improvement works to the city’s 8,000 council homes.

In addition to carrying out maintenance on the city council’s homes the contract provides employment opportunities for residents, as all Kier employees working on this scheme live within Lincoln and its surrounding areas. Kier also runs a number of apprenticeship projects, having already conducted 200 training programmes in the city.

The partnership will result in an estimated £1.5 million in savings for the council over the coming five years of working together, with scope to extend the deal for a further five years to 2023.

As part of the works, Kier is responsible for installing new kitchens, bathrooms, windows and doors and rewiring at some properties to ensure the 8,000 council houses meet the government’s Decent Homes standard.

The contract also incorporates a number of community-based projects ranging from providing tools, seeds and plants for allotments, working with young people to teach about money management and even running a time bank, where Kier staff can donate hours to help community-run schemes.

One of the schemes to be introduced by Kier is a new website service where tenants can log problems so maintenance teams are able to deal with them as quickly and efficiently as possible.

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EVERY TWO YEARS WE ASK AN INDEPENDENT COMPANY TO CARRY OUT A CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SURVEY. OUR LATEST SURVEY WAS CARRIED OUT TOWARDS THE END OF LAST YEAR. THE RESULTS WERE VERY ENCOURAGING WITH HIGH LEVELS OF TENANT SATISFACTION.

Tenant Satisfaction

Questions asked How did we do?2011/12

How did we do?2012/13

How we rate our service

Satisfied with the overall service 86 per cent 88 per cent

Satisfied with quality of the home 88 per cent 90 per cent

Satisfied with condition of property 83 per cent 86 per cent

Satisfied with value for money for rent 84 per cent 76 per cent

Satisfied with the neighbourhood as a place to live

80 per cent 81 per cent

Made contact with the council 65 per cent 67 per cent

Ease of getting hold of the right person 60 per cent 72 per cent

Helpfulness of staff 79 per cent 86 per cent

Ability of staff to deal with the problem 78 per cent 80 per cent

Satisfied with final outcome of contact 68 per cent 78 per cent

Satisfied with repairs and maintenance 78 per cent 95 per cent

Satisfied that views are taken into account by the council


Keeping tenants informed


LAST YEAR WE BUILT FIVE NEW HOMES ON WELLINGTON STREET. NEXT YEAR WE PLAN TO BUILD FIVE MORE ON STAPLEFORD AVENUE.

KEY

Responsive repairs and empty property works

Rent arrears and collection

Anti-social behaviour (we do not have all

of the information needed to plot this)

Major works and cyclical maintenance

Lettings

Tenancy management

Resident involvement

Estate services

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

5

WE HAVE INCLUDED INFORMATION ABOUT HOW WE HAVE ASSESSED PERFORMANCE, INCLUDING LOCAL OFFERS AND SERVICE STANDARDS.

BENCHMARKINGThe chart to the right shows cost compared to performance for each activity area. If an activity area is missing from the chart, it is because we do not have all the information required for that activity area. Figures are based on the total cost per property of delivering the service (including overheads).

WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT FROM US?

We will answer your enquiries professionally

We will notify you of any changes in housing officers

We will listen to your views and seek to improve our services

WHAT DO WE EXPECT FROM YOU?

That you treat all staff and contractors politely, courteously and with respect.

That you provide any information we ask for when we ask for it or as soon as possible

Poor performanceHigh cost

Good performanceHigh cost

Poor performanceLow cost

Good performanceLow cost

Performance

1

2

45

6

7

8

HOW WE HAVE ASSESSED OUR PERFORMANCE

6

Tenant Involvement and Empowerment

LAST YEAR WE LOOKED AT HOW TO ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO GET INVOLVED AND WE SET UP A GROUP CALLED ‘EQUALIT Y COUNTS’. WE ALSO INTRODUCED AND TRAINED TENANT INSPECTORS TO ASSESS OUR EMPT Y PROPERT Y LETTING STANDARD.

We recruited 13 tenants who are now involved in a range of tenant involvement options.

Sadly, Eve Villiers, who was a longstanding member of Lincoln Tenants’ Panel, died in March and we took some time to remember the work that she did.

We will continue to consult and involve tenants and leaseholders about decisions affecting the management of homes.

We want to hear from you

JOIN US ON FACEBOOK:

FACEBOOK.COM/LINCOLNCOUNCIL

WE WANT TO KNOW WHAT YOU

THINK ABOUT OUR SERVICE.

WE INTEND TO HOLD A

FACEBOOK FORUM WITH

TENANTS IN THE FUTURE.

QUESTIONS ASKED HOW DID WE DO?2011/12

HOW DID WE DO?2012/13

HOW WE RATE OUR SERVICE

Answer telephone calls within 30 seconds 49 per cent 46 per cent

See visitors at the contact centre in 20 minutes

11 minutes average waiting time

10 minutes average waiting time

Answer complaints within 10 working days 62 per cent 82 per cent

HOME! EXCLUSIVE

Quality of accommodation and repairs

7

STANDARDHOME

ensured all our properties remained at the decent homes standard through our investment programme

provided all tenants with information on the future programme of works and published it in our annual report and on our website

kept a reasonable level of appointments for repairs and satisfaction with repairs without increasing costs

improved the number of urgent repairs completed on time

prioritised repairs for customers who are vulnerable

launched our handyperson service

carried a new initiative of communal door replacements in two areas of the city

WHAT ARE WE DOING TO IMPROVE OUR TENANT INVOLVEMENT AND EMPOWERMENT, CUSTOMER AND COMPLAINTS SERVICEThis year our focus is very much on working with community groups that represent our tenants, and helping new groups to become established. We are doing this to increase the number of tenants actively involved in our work.

PLANS FOR THE FUTURE:

We hope to be able to develop local offers with the groups that are specific to their areas

We are reviewing our tenant involvement service and renewing our strategy

We are trying to involve young people and will start using Facebook and Twitter

We are looking to launch a loyalty card scheme to encourage people to get involved

We have revised our tenant satisfaction survey and are talking to new tenants after they have settled in to find out if there is anything we can do to improve the service

We are re-launching mystery shopping to test the quality of our services

Last year we:WHAT ARE WE DOING TO IMPROVE OUR HOME SERVICE?THIS YEAR WE:

have started using tenant inspectors to check we are meeting the improved empty property letting standard

want to launch a decorating guide to show people how to decorate their homes

are seeking accreditation of service excellence of responsive repairs and customer service

WHAT WE SAIDWE WOULD MEASURE



HOW WE COMPARE TO OTHERS


Average repair cost per property per week £18 £18 We do not have

a comparison

Urgent repairs completed on time 96 per cent 98 per cent Good

Average number of days to complete a repair 12 days 10 days Not as good

Tenant satisfaction with repairs surveyed after work complete

98 per cent 96 per cent Good

Getting repairs right first time 81 per cent 67 per cent Not as good

Keeping appointments first time 92 per cent 86 per cent We do not have

a comparison

Homes with a gas safety certificate as at 31st March 2013

100 per cent 99.9 per cent Average

What we saidwe would measure

Energy efficiency rating

How did we do?2011/12 74/100

How did we do?2012/13 76/100

Energy E�ciency Rating 2011/2012 2012/2013

Vary energy e�cient—lower running cost

(92 -100) A

(81 -91) B

(69 -80) C (55 -68) D (39-54) E

(21 -38) F (1 -20) G England & Wales EU directive 2002/91/EC

74 76

Energy efficiency in our social housing

8

IN FLATSFIRE SAFETY

FIRE KILLS HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE EACH YEAR. WE RECENTLY HAD A FIRE IN ONE OF OUR FLATS IN CANNON STREET. WOULD YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO IF THERE WAS A FIRE IN YOURS OR A NEIGHBOURING FLAT?

WOULD YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO?

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IF A FIRE BREAKS OUT IN YOUR FLAT :

Alert everyone else and leave the flat, staying together where possible

Call 999, once you are safely out of the building

Keep calm and speak clearly

Don’t open doors looking for the source of the fire

Don’t stop to gather personal belongings or pets

Don’t use a balcony to escape

Don’t go back into the building until you have been told it is safe to do so

IF YOU CAN’T GET OUT BY YOUR ESCAPE ROUTE:

Get everyone into one room, preferably with a window that opens

Put cushions or towels or bedding at the bottom of the door to block smoke

Open the window and call for help and if possible call 999

IF A FIRE BREAKS OUT ELSEWHERE IN THE BUILDING:

It is normally safer for you to stay in your own flat

Do not leave your flat unless a fire officer directs you, and then follow their instructions

Open windows if you need fresh air, stay by the window where you may be seen

Seal your front door from smoke with tape, bedding or wet towels and close any ventilators

If your front door becomes hot, wet it down

If you have to move through smoke keep as close to the floor as you can, where the air is fresher

STANDARDTENANCY

Choice based lettings and housing allocations

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What we saidwe would measure



How we compare to others


Average time to re-let a property 36 days 35 days Not as Good

Offers accepted first time 79 per cent 81 per cent Good

LAST YEAR WE:

provided comprehensive housing advice

carried out lettings in accordance with our allocations and local lettings policy

provided information on anticipated waiting times for property types

provided new tenants with information on their home and provided a new tenants handbook

let our empty properties as quickly as we could and increased the number of offers that were accepted first time

took steps to ensure that all our properties met our empty homes standard before people moved in, this was assisted by the introduction of tenant inspectors

directed new tenants with complex support needs to other support agencies in order to try to help them sustain their tenancies

Customer Service 2012 Survey How we compare to others


Satisfaction with the empty property letting standard 91 per cent Not as good

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Neighbourhood and Community Standard

CUSTOMER SERVICE HOW DID WE DO 2011/12 SURVEY

HOW DID WE DO 2012/13 SURVEY


Satisfaction with the overall estate services 84 per cent 77 per cent

Neighbourhood estate management and local co-operation

LAST YEAR WE:

maintained all communal areas to a high standard

continued to provide a free gardening service to qualifying tenants

worked with tenants to ensure they upheld their terms of tenancy

held a programme of estate inspections and carried out estate improvements, for example we created a new car parking area at Trent View

reviewed the structure of our tenancy management and introduced a new way of working

LAST YEAR WE:

provided you with a supportive response which was consistent and kept you informed of progress

set up a public protection team to improve our service to you when dealing with anti- social behaviour

LAST YEAR WE:

provided you with a regular home visit

provided information on how your alarm system works and demonstrated how to use it.

Anti-social behaviour

Supported housing

THIS YEAR WE:

are revising our tenancy agreement

are developing a tenancy fraud strategy

have equipped all our housing officers with iPads so they can help you at surgeries or when they visit you at home

are introducing tenant inspectors to carry out estate inspections

are carrying satisfaction surveys for mutual exchanges and when tenants leave our property

joined up with West Lindsey District Council, North Kesteven District Council and Acis Group and introduced a new choice-based lettings scheme

What are we doing to improve our tenancy service?

HOME! EXCLUSIVE

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We aim to resolve complaints efficiently and effectively to your satisfaction

Last year we had 157 complaints from tenants,42 per cent of these were

upheld (meaning the tenant was right to complain). The rest were sorted out

once the tenant had met an officer to discuss the problem.

DEALING WITH COMPLAINTS

WHAT WE SAIDWE WOULD MEASURE



HOW WE COMPARE TO OTHERS


Rent collected against rent due 99 per cent 97 per cent Good

Level of arrears against total rent due 2 per cent 3 per cent Very Good

RENTLAST YEAR WE:

provided advice on whether you were entitled to receive assistance with your rent if you needed it

helped you to complete a housing benefit form if you needed it

ensured that we did everything to prevent tenants from falling into arrears

gave you four weeks’ notice of your rent increase

THIS YEAR WE:

have introduced a new rent accounting computer system that will help us to monitor rent accounts and provide you with better information

are targeting our resources to chase rent arrears

are helping people to understand the changes to housing benefit that have been made by the government’s welfare reforms

What are we doing to improve our rent service?

Value for money

LAST YEAR WE:

reduced our operating costs by relocating staff from St Giles to City Hall

started to make savings of £1.5 million over the next five years through our new partnership with Kier

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This publication can also be made available in large print, or electronically.

Please call: 01522 873398

If you have difficulty in understanding anything in this document, please go to City Hall, Beaumont Fee, Lincoln or any other council office, and an interpretation service will be provided.

Obtaining copies in alternative formats

French Si vous avez besoin d’éclaircissements au sujet de ce document, veuillez vous rendre au City Hall, Beaumont Fee, Lincoln ou tout autre Council office, où nous pourrons faire appel à un interprète par le biais du National Interpreting Service.

Polish Jezeli masz trudnosci ze zrozumieniem tego dokumentu, zgłos sie do urzedu miasta w City Hall, Beaumont Fee w Lincoln lub do innego urzedu nalezłcego do rady miejskiej, w którym wezwiemy tłumacza z National Interpreting Service.

Portuguese Se tiver dificuldade em compreender qualquer coisa neste documento, por favor dirija-se à City Hall, Beaumont Fee, Lincoln ou qualquer outra repartição do município, onde poderemos chamar um interprete para si através do Serviço Nacional de Interpretação.

Turkish Bu belgeyi anlamakta zorlanırsanız, Beaumont Fee, Lincoln Belediyesi’ne ya da herhangi baska bir belediye meclisi ofisine gidin. National Interpreting Service aracılıgıyla size bir çevirmen saglanacaktır.

The opening of the Tower communal garden

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FROM 1 APRIL 2013 A NEW LOCALISED COMPLAINTS PROCESS MEANS THAT IF YOUR COMPLAINT TO THE COUNCIL FOR LANDLORD RELATED MATTERS HAS NOT BEEN RESOLVED USING OUR PROCEDURE, YOU CAN TAKE THE MATTER TO A DESIGNATED PERSON.

This means you can contact your local councillor or any MP or alternatively a ‘designated tenants’ panel’, where one exists. You can still take your complaint to the Independent Housing Ombudsman but only after eight weeks have passed from the final decision we make about your complaint.

The Lincoln Tenants’ Panel could become a designated person. The council is taking residents views on this option for the next month as part of a consultation process. For further information please see www.lincoln.gov.uk/housing or contact customer services tel: 01522 873333 or email [email protected].

DESIGNATED PERSONS AND THE COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE

OUR HOUSING INVESTMENT PROGRAMME EXPLAINED

FEEDBACKWe had some very good feedback on last year’s report, so we have kept the same style and hope you enjoy it again as much this year.

If you wish to make any comments about this year’s annual report to tenants, please contact us at [email protected] or call us on 881188. Alternatively you can write to us at:

Directorate of Housing and Community Services, City of Lincoln Council, City Hall, Beaumont Fee, Lincoln, LN1 1DE

THE TABLE BELOW SHOWS THE NUMBER OF PROPERTIES THAT

HAVE RECEIVED IMPROVEMENT WORKS DURING 2012/13.

Area 2012/13 completed works

Bathroom

Chimneys

Electrical Improvement

Heating

Kitchens

Roof Works

Walls

Doors

Insulation

Landscape & Boundaries

179

27

172

10

233

267

658

538

102

208

annual report to tenants 2013

Documents

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years annual report

lincoln residents

council houses

boost afterthe council

councils housing

schemelivewithin lincoln

number of community