Welcome to your thirteenth Housing Annual Report from Harlow Council.

The council is also waiting to hear from government on how to move forward on the possible introduction of building regulation inspections, new tenant/leaseholder satisfaction measures, and a review of the consumer standards with emphasis on empowering residents/introduction of inspections.

The Housing Revenue Account Business Plan continues to outline the short, medium and long-term priorities within the resources available.

Feedback from tenants and leaseholders remains central to the service when improving service delivery, customer access/ contact, and assist in updating action plans and priorities.

In 2020/21, the council also:

• Continued to reduce empty property turnaround times

• Assisted tenants with financial difficulties through referral to available support services and agencies

• Celebrated the partnership with Essex County Council and Agincare, providing a positive environment for tenants maintaining their independence

• The Careline scheme continued to provide security to vulnerable residents and achieved national accreditation

Income recovery in 2021/22 was difficult due to COVID-19, however, the Housing Service has achieved a strong year-end position by exceeding in the top quartile for performance.

Work is ongoing due to uncertainties with the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis.

The priorities for housing and what is important locally are:

• Making more housing available

• Tackling the growing need for supported housing

• Improving choices for those in housing need

• Improving housing standards, resident’s health and wellbeing with energy efficient, modern home facilities, tackling local priorities and statutory requirements

• Continue to use the Engagement and Involvement service to promote awareness and provide opportunities to empower residents

Councillor Alastair Gunn Portfolio Holder for Housing

How did we do in 2021/22?

The council continues to work with tenant and leaseholder representatives on crucial projects, gathering their feedback when making important decisions, like monitoring the progress of the internal part of the Modern Homes Programme.

After meeting the Decent Homes Standard in 2015, we aim to enhance and modernise homes for the future. We will monitor how money is spent on housing, help to improve working practices in line with government changes and inspect empty homes before they are re-let.

Work on the Rough Sleeper Initiative continues, as well as scrutiny of the leaseholder management fee and a review of Statement of Actuals, expenditures, invoices and estimate enclosers.

The Housing Service continues to strive to improve tenant and leaseholder satisfaction through these unprecedented and challenging times.

What is a Local Offer?

The Local Offers initiative was introduced as part of the regulations of Social Housing Standards. This helps housing providers tailor their services to meet local priorities and needs.

Local offers for involvement

• To continue to use the tenant and leaseholder engagement strategy, allowing tenants and leaseholders to examine the performance of Harlow Council. This will increase involvement in decision making and improve communication.

• To continue to consult and engage during these challenging and unprecedented times by adapting our methods of communication and engagement through social media channels.

• To continue to provide easy-to-understand information for tenants and leaseholders, promoting awareness of the Housing Service and providing opportunities to participate and give feedback on future services.

• To continue to increase the number of involved residents, especially people from hard-to-reach groups.

• To continue to improve performance and levels for involvement by establishing a successful tenant and leaseholder engagement model.

• To continue to include residents on the Housing Standards Board, a body linked to the council’s decision making structure.

• To continue to run annual training programmes for interested tenants and leaseholders to gain a good understanding of current and future challenges faced by the council.

Our plans for the future

• Further strengthen tenant and leaseholder engagement and awareness through the tenant and leaseholder engagement strategy, using social media to build stronger and more effective means of communication.

• Continue to publish performance information showing how well we get more people involved and promoting awareness of the Housing Service.

• To continue to implement initiatives to help promote how the council engages with all tenants and leaseholders.

• To conduct a biennial landlord survey to collect feedback from tenants of how satisfied they are with the Housing Service. The council eagerly awaits the outcomes and recommendations from the upcoming White Paper, following the Green Paper consultation document.

Level of complaints for 2021/22

In its role as a housing provider with over 9,000 properties, each year the council undertakes over 600,000 housing transactions.