Lambeth Living article - BDC Magazine

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BUILDING DESIGN &

CONSTRUCTION THE MAGAZINE FOR THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

NOVEMBER 2012 ISSUE 180

NOVEMBER 2012

IMTECH THE UNIQUE COMBINATION

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BOLTON AT HOME

BUILDING HOMES AND NEIGHBOURHOODS TO BE PROUD OF ELLIOT UK

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STYLISH AND FUNCTIONAL

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HOUSING: LAMBETH LIVING

PUTTING RESIDENTS FIRST Lambeth Living is a not-for-profit, arm’s length management organisation (ALMO) managing nearly 29,000 tenants’ and leaseholders’ homes on behalf of Lambeth Council

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HOUSING: LAMBETH LIVING

Lambeth Living was launched in 2008 to manage properties for around 34,000 tenants’ and leaseholders’ homes on behalf of Lambeth Council.

Its current duties include housing and estate management, rent collection and arrears management, repairs and maintenance, planned repairs and major works, and leasehold management.

The Lambeth Housing Standard will apply to all tenanted properties. For leasehold properties, the Lambeth Housing Standard only applies to those repairs due to be carried out under the terms of the lease. In addition to a number of elements being looked at during the scheme, estate lighting, improved access and estate security will be improved upon as well.

Other elements that will be improved include health and safety checks to ensure gas, water and heating appliances meet legal standards. External water and sewerage systems will be updated if needed, while house electrics will be checked for efficien-

cy and quality. If aids or adaptations are required for those tenants with special needs, these will be installed during the works. Heating systems will also be replaced or refurbished to ensure tenants receive appropriate and well maintained heating.

In addition, roofs will be repaired or replaced where necessary, door entry systems will be replaced and updated, internal wiring will be improved and windows will be replaced if they have come to the end of their usable life. Bathrooms, kitchens and external walls will also be reviewed and replaced where necessary.

It is envisaged that all Lambeth owned homes will be brought up to this standard within the next five years and will be maintained at this level for the next 30 years.

EXTENSIVE RESIDENT ENGAGEMENT The new Lambeth Housing Standard has emerged from extensive consultation and one of the biggest

ambeth Living has launched its ÂŁ450 million improvement programme.

Known as the Lambeth Housing Standard, the arms-length management organisation will go above and beyond the Decent Homes standard with improvements to its housing stock set to take place over the next five years.

The Lambeth Housing Standard is based on extensive cooperation with tenants and leaseholders.

Its main aims include ensuring that all homes are warm, safe and dry and that Lambeth Living meets its obligations under the law. The Lambeth Housing Standard will ensure that residents have homes in good repair and that they are well maintained, and that all homes will be maintained to a more comprehensive level than Decent Homes. The project is set to be delivered over the next five years with the majority of works happening before 2017.

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HOUSING: LAMBETH LIVING

resident engagement exercises of its kind, with over 5,600 helping to shape it. The new “standard” is realistic, affordable and is based on what residents say are the most important things to do with the money that is available. During the wide-ranging engagement exercise residents were able to prioritise improvements to their homes.

People wanted everyone to have good windows and to keep them maintained. They wanted gutters to be brought up to standard and the exterior of blocks to be painted. They also thought that bathrooms should be upgraded and old kitchens should be replaced.

Almost half of Lambeth's homes already meet the standard so the programme will concentrate on the estates that need the most work. In the first year £50 million has been allocated to kick-start the programme and work will focus on those areas with the greatest need. Over 2,500 homes will benefit from the Lambeth Housing Standard in year one with 19,194 to benefit in future years.

Cllr. Lib Peck, Lambeth Council cabinet member for housing, said: “We are taking pride in our

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HOUSING: LAMBETH LIVING

homes and are committed to significant investment to improve standards across all of our housing stock.

Thank you to all the residents that took part in the consultation and helped to shape the Lambeth Housing Standard. We now move on to delivering the programme.”

WORKING WITH THE COMMUNITY Tenants and leaseholders in Lambeth are being urged to come forward to take a role in shaping the work of Lambeth Living - London’s largest ALMO. Lambeth Living leaseholders from across the borough and Lambeth Living tenants living in Clapham,

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Stockwell and Vassal, and Norwood are being encouraged to represent their communities by becoming a director on the board of Lambeth Living.

The organisation manages 34,000 properties in the borough and is governed by a board of sixteen directors, made up of elected tenants, leaseholder representatives, independent directors and Lambeth council nominees.

The successful applicants will serve a four-year term as a Lambeth Living director, tasked with directing and controlling the company’s work.

Lambeth Living chairman, Keith Hill, said: “This is an exciting time to join the board. We have just

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HOUSING: LAMBETH LIVING embarked on a multimillion pound stock investment project – the Lambeth Housing Standard. It is vital that tenants’ and leaseholders’ priorities are represented by champions on our board.

“Our directors contribute to the board through expertise learned firsthand from living in a home in the borough. They are then able to help determine the strategy and direction of Lambeth Living in the interests of residents.”

The position is voluntary although reasonable travel and out of pocket expenses (including child minding or care provision) are reimbursed and board members can also benefit from an opportunity to learn new skills and join training programmes. Board members are also expected to attend evening meetings and committee meetings.

EXPERIENCE IS KEY Ola Akinfe joined Lambeth Living last year from Newham Council in East London and will take up the role of Head of Property Services. With more than twenty-two years in housing and local government, Ola arrives at Lambeth Living with an impressive portfolio and a wealth of experience, and he joins the organisation at an exciting time as the Lambeth Housing Standard begins to take shape.

While working at Newham Council, Ola was responsible for delivering their Asset Management Strategy, decent homes programme and maintenance service.

Prior to that Ola was the Executive Director of Asset Management at Homes for Haringey where

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he notably delivered decent homes and several community benefits for Haringey’s residents.

As director of property services, Ola will lead a team of 150 staff, and one of his key tasks will be to plan and deliver the five year, £450 million programme of much needed investment to bring the stock up to the Lambeth Housing Standard.

Ola Akinfe says: “Lambeth Living is on the cusp of delivering a really exciting and extensive home improvement programme with the Lambeth Housing Standard and I feel privileged to be a part of the organisation at this time. I look forward to building on the successes that the organisation has already achieved and I am grateful for the confidence the Chair and the board have shown in me.”

Lambeth Living Chair, the Right Honourable Keith Hill, said: “Lambeth Living has taken some great strides to improve housing services and I’m delighted to welcome Ola Akinfe to the organisation and to work with him to continue driving up standards. He has a great track record.”

TENANTS CAN DO THEIR BIT Lambeth Living has encouraged tenants to do their bit in improving their homes with a new decorating voucher through B&Q. The ALMO is telling new tenants “you can do it” (if you B&Q it) as the new decorating voucher scheme is rolled out across the borough.

As Lambeth Living lays out the welcome mat for tenants, they will also be handed a B&Q voucher to help with the cost of decorating their new homes.

New tenants will be given £50 per room on a pre-loaded voucher card for the high street DIY shop. This scheme will also be available to people whose homes need redecorating following accidental damage.

The B&Q card project is the result of housing officer Gareth Pert’s “light bulb” moment. When Gareth joined Lambeth Living, he expressed frustration about the delay in reimbursing new residents’ decorating allowance, and came up with the voucher scheme idea to give new tenants a decoration allowance on completion of their tenancy agreement. The project is now going to be rolled out borough-wide.

Gareth says: “I wanted to find a way of providing a better customer experience and this change delivers that. At the same time I wanted to make the process simpler for staff to follow. This scheme reduces the waiting time for tenants to receive their decoration allowance, and it also means that people on benefits or lower income don’t need to worry about finding the money upfront to decorate their homes.”

Lambeth Living Chief Executive, Neil Litherland, said: “This simple scheme will make a huge difference to tenants and I was delighted to work with Gareth to turn the idea into a reality. It puts tenants in charge of when and how they decorate their homes and I’m pleased that a great many people will benefit from it.” www.lambethliving.org.uk Tel: 020 7926 6000

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