More than just a Landlord

Tenants Annual Report2012 - 2013

A year of change

We are delighted to report that we havecontinued to improve our performance in manykey service areas since 2011, obtained a greenlight for governance and financial viability fromour regulator ‘The Homes and CommunityAgency’ (HCA) and also been recognised for the regeneration works in Stockbridge Village.

We hope that you agree that we got the basicsright and have continued to improve our servicesacross the association and ensure that we delivervalue for money. Feedback from an independentsurvey in March 2013 indicates that you do.

Much of 2012/13 was focussed on supportingtenants prepare for the impact of the welfarereform changes being introduced by theGovernment. It was the theme for our tenantsconference and whilst we feel that ourpreparation for the changes and delivering themessage to our tenants has been done well, it is essential that we continue to work together as further changes are introduced over thecoming years and to ensure those residents

affected speak to us about any difficulties they are experiencing.

We increased the number of properties we own when we successfully completed the transfer of 37 properties in Fitton Hill from Places for People. Also Villages CommunityHousing Association (VCHA) celebrated thehandover of its second specialist dementiascheme, Carter House, in St Helens.

We are proud of the work we have delivered in our communities over the past 12months and both Villages staff and members of the Board are now focused on the on-goingchallenges we and our communities face.

The focus for 2013/14 will be to concentrate onValue for Money and performance delivery. Weare aware of the challenging times for ourtenants and their finances in the next 12 monthsand we will continue to work in partnership toincrease opportunities for our residents to accesswork and training initiatives and increasecommunity participation.

A year of change

Tenants Annual Report 2012 - 2013 01

Welcome to our 2013 Annual Report

Vernon Jackson, Chief Executive

Andrew Greenhill, Chair of Villages Housing Association

David Shortall, Chair of Villages Community Housing Association

Rent

Collecting rent efficiently is vital to ensure that wehave enough money to maintain homes and landin our ownership and deliver services to ourtenants. We continue to work with our tenants toraise awareness of the importance of regular rentpayments in order to help reduce rent arrears.Rent arrears improved in 2012/13 with current rentarrears as a percentage of debits at 8.5% (VHA)and 0.8% (VHCA). We will be monitoring theimpact of the welfare reform changes as they areintroduced and continue to offer support andadvice to residents affected.

In 2012/13 we achieved a rent collection rate of100% for VHA and 101.8% for VHCA.

Tenancies

In Knowsley a new scheme for allocatingproperties, called Property Pool Plus, wasintroduced in July 2012. Unfortunately, this didnot have an impact on our targets for re-lettingproperties and we will be closely monitoring the efficiency of the service over the next year. In 2012/13 our average re-let time was 31 days,against our target of 25 days.

A total of 248 new lettings were completed in2012/13. There were 32 evictions - an increasefrom the 11 evictions that were made in 2011/12.The majority of evictions were for rent arrears.

90.2% of tenants asked said that they were

satisfied that their rent provides value

for money

Your Tenancy

Tenants Annual Report 2012 - 201302

“I find visiting the Villages Office really accessible as they arelocal. I can call in to speak to a member of staff about any issues I have and they are always willing to help me”

Customer Experience

Improving our customer experience is importantto us, which is why we continue to seek your viewson an on-going basis and would welcome yoursuggestions on how we can improve our serviceswhile still ensuring value for money.

In 2012 we introduced a new telephone answeringsystem with the aim to improve how we answeryour calls, this included a new answer phonemessage service enabling callers to leave amessage if they are in telephone queue and amember of the customer service team will returnthe call within the hour. We also continue tooffer the facility for residents to call into the areaoffices to pay their rent, report repairs and makeappointments.

Complaints and Suggestions

In 2012/13 we took an average of 11 days torespond to complaints; against our target of 12 days. We review complaints received on amonthly basis to ensure we reaffirm ourcommitment to listen to our residents and learn from our mistakes.

During 2012/13 we carried out 10,589 responsiveday to day repairs to your homes. We alsoinstalled 81 new kitchens, 22 new bathrooms and 481 properties received planned externalrepairs and painting.

All properties are required to have an annual gas safety check and we achieved our target of100% of Villages properties having a valid gassafety certificate. We now need to improve theservice by gaining access to the properties on the first visit – so please help us with this target for this year.

Over the year we spent £56,000 on majoradaptations, such as installing level accessshowers, to help tenants manage their homes. We work closely with our local authority partnersto deliver this service and ensure value for money.

VHA VCHA

Emergency Repairs completed on time 100% 100%

Urgent repairs completed on time 98.1% 98.1%

Routine Repairs completed on time 99.3% 99.3%

Repairs and Maintenance

Tenants Annual Report 2012 - 2013 03

97.3% of you were satisfied with the repairs

service you received. Villages were awarded theJudge's Award for Regenerationfor The Stockbridge VillageRegeneration Programme at theKnowsley Business andRegeneration Awards 2012.

Work to improve the energy efficiency of £1,730homes - known as the Community Energy SavingProgramme (CESP) - was completed in December2012. The work was funded through a mix offunding from Villages Housing, public grant(European Regional Development Fund) andCESP funding. The programme included externalcladding, new heating systems, loft insulation andenergy advice. We estimate that the worksresidents have received will save them an averageof £320 per year.

In Stockbridge we delivered an extensivecommunity awareness and involvementprogramme which included training for ‘energychampions’ and the development of a new energygame and leaflet. We also assisted 136 residentsapply for grants to help with their energy bills -this amounted to a total additional income forresidents of over £18,000.

The project demonstrated and delivered addedvalue in terms of training and job opportunities.Six apprentices were taken on for 12 months bythe contractor, and a further 2 within the supplychain. Over 100 operatives received training inexternal wall insulation product installation whichshould help their future job prospects as this isseen a future growth area.

Siobhan Coleman, a VillagesEnergy Champion said: “I’mreally impressed with the workwhich has been carried out toboth my own home and otherson the estate - they look muchbetter from the outside and I’m already seeing what moneysavings I am making on energybills.”

Energy Improvement Works

Tenants Annual Report 2012 - 201304

Bank Loans – Money we borrow from banks to enable us to 1) refurbish

and improve existing homes and 2) build or acquire new homes.

Support income – Money we receive from local authorities

to support older and vulnerable tenants.

Third party contracts (income & expenditure) – Includes

1) our Tenant Extra Support Scheme (TESS) to provide support to

vulnerable tenants in Knowsley to allow them to retain their tenancies,

2) landscape services provided to another Housing Association,

3) a Local Authority contract to provide furniture packages to vulnerable

tenants.

Commercial (income & expenditure) – Villages owns a number of

shops across both estates.

Grants – Money we receive to help build new homes, improve

existing homes.

Management costs – Include staff costs, office running costs, insurance

cost of properties, arrears pursuance costs and costs of combating

anti-social behaviour.

Service charge – The cost of providing communal services.

Support costs – The cost of providing support services to older and

vulnerable tenants.

Properties & estate maintenance – This is what we spend on

maintenance and improvement of homes and on estate cleaning and

maintenance (including landscaping).

Community development – Includes staff costs of Community

Development Officers, donations to local groups, tenants scrutiny panel

and community activities.

Working balance – The balance of cash that was unspent this year,

to be used in future years.

Value for Money

Tenants Annual Report 2012 - 2013 05

2012-13 VHA & VCHA Income - Where each £1 came from in 2012-13

Rent - 40p

Service charge - 3p

Support - 1p

From reserves - 1p

Commercial - 1p Sundry - 0p

3rd party contracts - 2p

Bank loans - 18p

Bank interest - 0p

Grants - stockaddition - 2p

Grants -refurbishment(CESP) - 32p

Sale of properties - 0p

2012-13 VHA & VCHA Costs - Where each £1 was spent in 2012-13

Communitydevelopment - 1p

Properties andestate maintenance

and CESP - 63p

Support costs - 1p

Service charge - 3p

Working balance - 0pBank loan interest - 5pBank loanrepayments - 5p

3rd partycontracts - 2p

Commercial - 0pSundry - 0p

Build or purchaseof properties - 12p

We constantly review our services to see whether they deliver value for money, which is not just aboutcost but also about quality and efficiency.

What does that all mean?

Management - 8p

We continue to demonstrate our commitment to our neighbourhoods by investing in theenvironment and sustainable community projectssuch as providing digital inclusion sessions, loanshark awareness events and jobs and trainingopportunities.

We also hold an annual community awards which are a great opportunity to unite the widercommunity and celebrate the extraordinaryachievements of so many of our residents.

Landscaping

Our estates continue to look well maintained,green and healthy thanks to the hard work of ourlandscaping teams and local community projects.The team have also been successful in obtainingexternal contracts to provide services to otherhousing associations. We were delighted toreceive the following feedback from a tenant atSanctuary Housing...

Anti-Social Behaviour

We successfully resolved 97% of anti-socialbehaviour cases reported to us, an increase from93% in 2011/12. Villages continue to work closelywith the Police and other partners in relation toany anti-social behaviour from residents.

Neighbourhoods

We have an extensive calendar of events takingplace throughout the year. Christmas parties atour sheltered schemes, carol concerts, coachtrips, fun days and work clubs to name but a few.

In 2012 Villages took part in the North West in Bloom resulting with a silver award forStockbridge Village and bronze in Fitton Hill both in the urban regeneration category. 17 projects from Stockbridge Village and 7projects from Fitton Hill also won awards in theNeighbourhood category.

Your community

Tenants Annual Report 2012 - 201306

£24,000worth of community grants wereawarded from our community budgetin 2012/13 to over 49 groups. A further£10,000 was granted to projects fromfunding donated by British Gas,connected to the CESP programme in Stockbridge Village.

We sponsored sports teams in both Fitton Hilland Stockbridge Village.

...”Can you please passon my thanks to Richie, I really appreciated theinformation and servicethat he has provided forme. He really deliveredcustomer care at its verybest with honesty andforthrightness.”

Tenants’ involvement

Involving residents is central to how we determineand deliver services and we offer a variety of waysfor residents to work with us:

The Tenants Forum allows residents to get involvedin influencing service provisions and communitydevelopment activities.

The Tenant Scrutiny Panel reviewed our incomemanagement service in 2012/13. Theirrecommendations resulted in more information now being available on our website.

Estate Management Committees meet quarterlyand monitor Villages operational activities andperformance. In 2012/13 we welcomed 4 newresidents to the committee.

We have consulted with our readers’ panel andboard members to make sure that this report isclearly written, and includes information that isimportant to you .We have published the AnnualReport online and in your tenant newsletter in orderto ensure that all of our tenants receive theinformation efficiently.

If you are interested in getting involved, visit www.villages.org.uk/getinvolved.Estate management vacancies are also advertised in your tenant newsletter.

In 2012/13 Our Tenants ExtraSupport Service achieved aGrade A Service Award.

86.9%of residents asked said that their viewsare being taken into account

93.2% of residents asked were satisfied withtheir neighbourhood as a place to live.

Your community

Tenants Annual Report 2012 - 2013

Stockbridge Village16 The CroftStockbridge VillageKnowsleyMerseyside, L28 1NR

(T) 0151 480 1313

Fitton Hill2 Fircroft RoadFitton HillOldhamOL8 2QN

(T) 0161 633 4060

Contact Information

www.villages.org.uk info@villages.org.uk

/villageshousing @villages

Villages Housing App

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