Leaseholders

Local offers for involvement

• Maintain a focus on controlling costs to leaseholders, while achieving and maintaining high standards of service.

• Continue to ensure that the major works process meets the needs of leaseholders.

• Improve the standard of information supplied to leaseholders about major works and monitoring communal repairs.

• Continue and improve twoway communication with leaseholders through the standards panels, leaseholder forums, Harlow Times and other channels of communication.

• Continue to deal with leaseholder enquiries and act on their concerns.

• Carry out scrutiny on areas within the council and its subsidiary organisations that affect leaseholders.

How did we do in 2021/22?

75.65% of leaseholders paid by direct debit (compared to 75.72% in 2020/21).

59 leaseholders took advantage of the council’s prompt payment discount (compared to 85 in 2020/21).

16 complaints were received, 5 complaints were upheld and 2 partially upheld (there were 22 complaints, with 1 upheld and 1 partially upheld in 2020/21).

30 compliments were received (24 were recieved in 2020/21).

248 leaseholders have applied for a loan from Harlow Council since the introduction of improved payment options (234 in 2020/21).

503 Section 20 major works notices were served (1,475 in 2020/21), along with 18,292 consultation letters for Qualifying Long-Term Agreements.

Our plans for the future

• To continue to improve value for money by annually reviewing the management fee, making savings where possible.

• To encourage more leaseholders to pay by direct debit and increase the 75.65% that currently pay by this method.

• To scrutinise the service provided by HTS and continue to review customer satisfaction on repairs and communal cleaning.

• To review all leaseholder information to ensure any changes to current legislation is included.

• To examine the feasibility of working with HTS to provide a repair and gas service to leaseholders at the Leasehold Standards Panel meeting.

The total amount of annual service charge collected for 2021/22 98.63% compared to 98.27% in 2020/21.

How did we do in 2021/22?

The responses to this year’s satisfaction survey told us: 97% are satisfied with repairs.

99.96% are satisfied with gas services.

86% are satisfied with communal repairs.

92% are satisfied with street cleaning.

93% are satisfied with grounds maintenance. Satisfaction is higher than responses from 2020/21.

Local offers for involvement

• Continued investment in the Modern Homes Programme ensuring all properties remain decent in line with government guidance

• Continue to improve the energy efficiency and sustainability of council homes.

• Continue to provide an excellent repairs service by working closely with contractors and residents with the aim of improving overall customer satisfaction with the repairs service.

• Continue to offer a flexible appointment system for repairs.

• Meet all statutory and regulatory requirements for example gas, electricity, and water.

• Continue to develop and improve on Environmental Services, which include mobile cleaning, street scene, caretaking, and ground maintenance.

• Continue to ensure all the council’s high/low rise flat blocks remain safe and that changes to regulation requirements for fire safety are acted upon.

Our plans for the future

• Develop and deliver a sustainable programme of council house building.

• Continued council investment in the Modern Homes Programme which improves the quality of homes and ensures all council stock complies with government Decent Homes Standards.

• Ongoing investment and commitment to a programme of external works which continue to deliver a comprehensive range of improvement works to properties across Harlow.

• Continue to tackle fuel poverty with an ongoing commitment to the energy efficiency programme. Improving the thermal insulation of properties, installation of heat meters and refurbishment of all council owned communal and district heating systems.

• Refurbish and redevelop garage sites to improve parking and ease congestion within estates, redevelop redundant sites and creation of additional off-street parking.

• Continue to deliver a programme of extensive fire safety works to ensure properties remain safe and compliant.

Council home improvements

2021/22 2020/21

The amount of time taken to turn around void properties is 38 days, compared to 40 days in 2020/21