house
housing news for Winchester City Council tenants and leaseholders
An end to negative subsidy - but Winchester tenants still hit hard! Government plans to overhaul the subsidy system and allow councils to keep their rent have been announced – but with a “sting in the tail” for Winchester tenants. The Government currently takes over 40% of Winchester’s rents – over £9million each year – to fund services in other areas. But under the proposed new scheme, the Council would be saddled with a debt of at least £130 million. The plan, which is out for consultation, would dismantle the current system, invest up to 25% more resource into Council housing and allow councils to keep more of the rent they collect. But, councils would have to pick up a share of the Government’s £18 billion national housing debt and,
according to the Government, Winchester could afford a bigger share of this debt because rents are higher than average. Richard Botham, Head of Landlord Services, said: “This is a case of giving with one hand and taking away with the other. Whilst this means more money in the long term, it is not clear what impact this will have on services in the next few years.” Cllr Tony Coates, Portfolio Holder for Housing, added: “Taking on such a large share of other councils’ debt is totally unacceptable and means the tax on Winchester tenants just continues in another form. I will be responding very strongly to the Government proposals.” Alan Rickman, joint chair of tenant group, TACT, has spent years campaigning on the issue and said: “The Government seems to have listened but it remains to be seen whether we will get enough to
Tenant News, produced by Tenants efor d iTenants t i o n 1can be found at the back of this edition
address the Council’s £3million shortfall. Both TACT and the Council are arguing for a fair deal from the Government but most of all, if it works in tenants’ favour, we hope our Council will start to build again.”
inside this edition: G
Annual Report 2008/09
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Top Tips for the winter
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Keeping pets
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Winning gardens
edition
15
October 2009
thebigword telephone interpreting service The Council uses a 24-hour Telephone Interpreting Service, which also provides written or recorded translations including audio tapes and CDs. If you, a relative or a neighbour would like to talk to the Council through an interpreter, please contact your Area Housing Manager on 01962 840 222.
get it taped If you would like any of the information in on the house made available in large print or audio format, please call Glynis Cole on
Freephone 0800 716 987.
TEXTPHONE This facility is available for readers who are deaf or hard of hearing. Please telephone 01962 878 982. If you have any particular needs which affect how you are able to use or be involved in our services or how you would like to receive information - for example translation, interpreters, Braille, audio tape, large print, sign language - please contact the Customer Service Centre either by telephone: 01962 840 222 or by email: customerservice@ winchester.gov.uk
Dear Readers What a summer it has been! The barbeques weren’t out as much as we would have liked but certainly the blooms were very much on display! I had a lovely couple of days travelling around the district with Cllr Rob Humby judging the wonderful gardens. Sadly, there can only be four winners, but we were so impressed by everyone and how much effort they had put into their gardens. It was a case of third time lucky for Kath and Henry West from Compton who just pipped Bernie Sheppard to the title! There’s always next year – and we’ll be introducing a new category for the 2010 competition.
This edition contains our annual report, which includes some facts and figures on your housing service, as well as information on condensation and keeping warm this winter. I hope you continue to enjoy the autumn and winter and we’ll be back again in the spring!
Glynis Cole
Pets need permission Tenants in general needs homes (those that are not restricted to people aged 60 years and over) may keep a pet with consent from the Council. However, you should apply to your Area Housing Manager for permission before you actually get the pet. If you already have a pet and did not seek permission, you should let your Area Housing Manager know. Tenancy Services Manager, Amber Crosskey, said: “We understand that pets can be a much-loved and valued part of the family. “Where possible we do allow them, but if they’re causing a nuisance or are not suitable for your type of property we may refuse or withdraw consent.”
Winchester City Council, City Offices, Colebrook Street, Winchester, SO23 9LJ.
Clause 52 of the tenancy conditions explains that Area Housing Managers consider these requests. If permission is refused you are responsible for finding another home for your pet.
telephone 01962 840 222 fax 01962 841 365 email housing@winchester.gov.uk website www.winchester.gov.uk
Pets are not allowed in certain sheltered schemes. The Supported Housing Team will soon be asking sheltered residents for their views on keeping pets.
Telephone calls may be recorded. Printed on 75% recycled paper.
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For more information about keeping pets or to ask for permission please contact the Customer Service Centre on 01962 840 222 and ask to speak to your Area Housing Manager.
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Garden competition reaches new heights A painter and decorator from Winchester hopes his first prize in the Council’s gardening competition will inspire his neighbours to follow his lead. Phil Sherlock lives in a top floor flat in Firmstone Road, Winnall and won the balcony category. He said: “Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the whole road could do this – it would look fantastic!” The gardening competition is open to the Council’s tenants and leaseholders and was judged by Cllr Rob Humby, a local nurseryman. The winners received gardening vouchers.
Best Balcony Winner: Phil Sherlock, of Winnall. Cllr Humby’s verdict: “A stunning display of beautiful home grown plants. The small balcony is packed with colour producing an overall fantastic effect both for Phil and his neighbours.”
Best Front Garden Winners: Kath and Henry West, of Compton. Cllr Humby’s verdict: “A beautiful collection of begonias and a superb selection of plants in the borders and containers, all grown from either plugs or seeds.”
on the house
Best Sheltered Scheme Garden Winners: Beth McVicker, Lilian Joyce, Evelyn Sylvester and Ray Long of Danemark Court. Cllr Humby’s verdict: “A great team effort both for producing the plants and creating a wonderful display for all the residents to enjoy.”
Best Hanging Basket Winner: Ron Ruddle, from Bishops Waltham Cllr Humby’s verdict: “A fantastic basket packed with colour and a varied range of plants – all produced from his own stock. We could have chosen any one of several impressive baskets – well done Ron!”
Putting your words into action! The Council respects and responds to tenants who have special needs because of age, ethnicity or disability. Council officers were able to give individual help to tenants with special needs because they knew who they were thanks to feedback forms. Twenty tenants with additional needs were offered help from their Area Housing Managers after they were part of the random selection for the recent Tenant Satisfaction Survey. When the Council revised the tenancy conditions, officers contacted everyone they knew who needed information in a different format. The survey forms and letters were sent to 15 tenants in large print and one in Polish. A further 10 tenants had home visits. The Council has a Housing Equality Group which works to ensure no-one is disadvantaged and a member of TACT (Tenants and Council Together) has recently joined the group. This personal and flexible approach has meant that tenants with visual impairment, literacy and learning difficulties, amongst other issues, have been given the opportunity to express their views. It has also meant that the results we receive about our performance is more representative of our customers as a whole.
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Condensation During the autumn and winter months many of you will be experiencing problems with condensation and mould in your homes. It is a nuisance, but one that can be easily solved. Our information leaflet on how to tackle the problem is available from Customer Services on 01962 840 222 or www.winchester.gov.uk
Launch of Free Services for Victims of domestic violence A free and fast emergency service for victims of domestic violence is now available in Hampshire. The confidential service is available to all men and women and provides free legal advice and support through the civil courts. Other services include: G
Free Legal Advice and Aid
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Injunctions within 24 hours
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Direct links with local councils, health centres, refuges, Women’s Aid Centres.
The 24-hour Hotline is 0844 8044 99 but anyone in immediate danger should call 999. Information is also available from Laura Brown, the Council’s Community Relations Officer, on 01962 848 133 or email: lbrown@winchester.gov.uk
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Keep Warm this winter According to recent statistics one in six British households is living in fuel poverty, which is defined as when a household spends more than one tenth of its income on utility bills. If you are experiencing difficulty heating your home or paying your utility bills we can help you! Our Keeping Warm fact sheet is available from Customer Services on 01962 840 222 or www.winchester.gov.uk
City Cleaning get off to a cracking start The Council has introduced new standards for cleaning the communal areas of flats across the district. The company carrying out the work, City Cleaning, has got off to a cracking start. A tenant satisfaction survey carried out at the end of the first quarter showed that of the 279 tenants who responded: G
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216 reported that cleaning was carried on the day expected. 199 were satisfied with the standard of cleaning.
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192 reported that the cleaning was carried out efficiently.
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195 were pleased with the cleaners conduct and behaviour.
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152 confirmed that the cleaners wear identification.
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156 confirmed that safety signs were being used.
This customer feedback is a very positive start to the new contract and will continue to be monitored.
Renewing the Contract for Property Maintenance The Council’s Maintenance Contracts for Responsive Repairs and preparing empty properties for re-letting is due for renewal in April 2011. The work is currently carried out by Serco, JAD and Munro – whose contracts are due to expire on 31st March 2011. Landlord Services has begun the lengthy process of procuring a new contract and selecting contractors to tender for these services. Your TACT representatives (through Property & Contracts Group) are aware of the outline timetable for this project and their potential involvement in considering any changes or improvements to the current service. Watch out for further updates throughout 2010.
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LANDLORD SERVICES annual report Dear Tenants, Welcome to your 2008/09 Annual Housing Report.
records of tenants across the district – thank you! G
Cllr Tony Coates
In this report, we have included details of how Winchester City Council, your landlord, has performed in the year to 31 March 2009. We hope you find the Richard Botham information useful.
Key Achievements The year has been dominated by the Decent Homes programme, which we are committed to completing by 2010. Key achievements last year included: G
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Decent Homes – Only 15 properties (0.3%) now remain classified as “Non Decent”. These homes will be brought up to the Government’s standard by March 2010 - a year ahead of schedule. Empty Properties – were re-let within 42 days (on average) compared with 53 days in 2007/08. “General Needs” properties were re-let within an average of 26 days, although Sheltered properties took longer, averaging 56 days. This is a significant improvement on previous years, although we plan to reduce this further. Rent Arrears – were 1.08% of all rent collected in March 2008. This excellent performance remains one of the best in the country and reflects the very good payment
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Tenants Compact – The agreement between the Council and tenants ensuring that a range of opportunities for tenants to be involved in setting service standards, agreeing priorities and monitoring performance was reviewed and updated. Tenants Satisfaction – Satisfaction with Housing services increased from 82% in 2007 to 86% in 2009. Satisfaction with Sheltered Housing was even higher, at 91%.
The Coming Year The Council is facing significant financial pressures this year and as announced in the March edition of on the house a number of elements within the Repairs programme have been suspended until further notice, including internal decoration, external painting, kitchen replacements and window replacements. Essential “Decent Homes” work will continue. Despite this pressure of services to tenants, the Council is committed to ensuring that all other Landlord Services are maintained and improved where possible. We are grateful for the understanding and support from all tenants’ groups consulted on these pressures, and are committed to lobbying Government to ensure a fair settlement for Winchester on the current review of national housing finance. Ongoing priorities for this year include: Decent Homes – all properties will be brought up to this standard by March 2010 whilst ensuring all that are currently “Decent” are at least maintained at that standard.
2008/09 Housing Options – The Council will be completing a review of future management options in light of the latest Government announcements on the future funding of Council housing and potential for Councils to build new homes once more. Further information will be published in future editions of on the house. Sheltered Housing and Extra Care – The Council is currently modernising its sheltered housing provision to ensure these tenants receive a consistent level of high quality support. We are also planning to adapt one scheme to provide additional “Extra Care” homes, providing elderly residents with extra care and support whilst allowing them to maintain independent living. Resident Involvement – As part of the Tenants’ Compact, the Council is committed to extending resident involvement to ensure there are more opportunities for tenants to get involved as and when they wish. This will include new tenant groups in areas not represented currently such as Bishops Waltham and Wickham, more estate walkabouts and focus groups on key issues important to tenants. The next two pages contain general information on our performance over the last year which we hope will be of interest to you. If you feel anything is missing from the report, please let us know and we will try to include it in future years.
Cllr Tony Coates, Portfolio Holder for Housing
Richard Botham, Head of Landlord Services
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LANDLORD SERVICES annual report
2008/09
Performance Our housing stock
Rents
On 31st March 2009 we owned and managed 5,076 (5,109) properties for rent. The breakdown is as follows:
During the year we collected a total of £20.7 (£19.4) million in rent and service charges. The average rent increase for 2008/09 was 6.5% (5%) for existing tenants.
Bedsits
79
(98)
Bedsits
£55.34 (£50.35)
1 bedroom
1618
(1614)
1 bedroom
£64.48 (£59.30)
2 bedroom
1685
(1695)
2 bedroom
£74.60 (£68.92)
3 bedroom
1641
(1645)
3 bedroom
£86.39 (£80.82)
4+ bedroom
53
(57)
4+ bedroom
£94.05 (£88.52)
0
500
1000
1500
2000
0
20
40
60
80
100
Note: Average rents are actual rents charged in the last chargeable week in March 2009 and include rents for tenancies which started after April 2008 where the formula rent applies. This explains the average increase being more than 6.5%
Last year’s figures are in brackets for your interest
landlord services cost 2008/09 The total cost of landlord services for 2008/09 was £21,590,000 (£19,950.000) broken down as follows:
Lettings Subsidy Payment to Govt. £8,429,000
The 372 (411) lettings were made to the following types of property:
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Bedsit
10
(19)
1 Bed Flat
118
(109)
2 Bed Flat
65
(89)
3 Bed Flat
1
(2)
Sheltered Housing £1,191,000 The 372 (411) lettings for the year can be broken down into the following categories: Mutual Exchange
69
(65)
Joint Tenancy to Sole
0
(0)
Succession
4
(0)
Transfer
116
(135)
Waiting list
178
(206)
1 Bed House
51
(46)
2 Bed House
48
(65)
3 Bed House
75
(79)
4 Bed House
3
(2)
Other
2
(3)
5 Bed House
1
(0)
Temporary moves
3
(2)
30
60
90
120
150
0
50
100
150
200
250
LANDLORD SERVICES annual report
2008/09
Major works
Responsive Repairs
Expenditure for major works during the year was incurred on the following projects:
During the year 20,083 (21,545) repair orders were completed in the five main repair priorities. 93% (96%) of this work was completed within target.
Number
Cost
PRIORITY
NUMBER
Kitchen and bathroom modernisations
156 (346)
£0.65m (£1.17m)
Call out
1065 (1143)
Heating and insulation upgrades
392 (372)
£0.9m (£0.57m)
Emergency
3491 (3839)
Urgent (5 days)
5929 (5883)
Door and window replacements
218 (297)
Routine (12 days)
3338 (3893)
Routine (30 days)
6260 (6787)
£0.11m (£0.24m)
Other works
0.0
0.5
£2.35m (£1.82m)
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
General Management £1,004,000
3.0
0
1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000
7000
Other Key Statistics
Capital Costs £3,885,000
Statistics relating to the re-letting of empty properties and other key elements of the service are detailed below:
Tenancy Services £2,275,000
Proportion of non-decent council homes
0.5% (0.5%)
Tenants’ satisfaction with overall service
85.7% (84.0%)
Energy Efficiency of Housing Stock General Repairs & Maintenance (inc. voids) £4,806,000
Rent Collection Proportion of rent collected (% of total income)
98.92% (99.25%)
Proportion of tenants in arrears
1.86% (1.92%)
78 (78)
Proportion of repairs completed on target
93% (96%)
Proportion of repairs appointments made and kept
99% (100%)
The % of homes with current gas servicing certificate No. of tenants receiving adaptations
99.7% (99.28%) 524 (397)
No. of tenants with arrears greater than £200 at March 2009
292 (225)
Rent lost through dwellings becoming vacant
No. of tenants with arrears greater than £1000 at March 2009
58 (39)
Average re-let time for General Needs properties (days)
32.61 (37.03)
Evictions due to rent arrears
9 (12)
Average re-let time for Older Persons properties (days)
59.43 (67.6)
£294,499 (£277,786)
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LANDLORD SERVICES annual report
2008/09 identification card and wherever possible let you know what follow-up action you can expect.
Complaints Between April 2008 and March 2009, the Council’s Landlord Services division recorded 429 (499) formal complaints about the services it provides. Of these, 346 (421) related to the Repairs service and the remainder were in relation to general estate management and tenancy issues. Repairs – Of the 346 (421) complaints recorded, 149 were made via returned customer care cards. The remainder were received by phone, letter or in person. The Council paid for 23,159 repair jobs in 2008/09, so the level of complaints related to less than 1.49% of all paid jobs. The complaints were all reviewed with the contractors and have made a very positive impact on improving this service over the last year. Other Complaints – Of the 83 (78) other formal complaints received, 4 (1) have been referred to the Local Government Ombudsman although he has yet to make a final decision on the matter. The Council takes complaints about the services it provides very seriously. We try to deal with all complaints immediately but will otherwise respond within 10 working days and wherever possible find an acceptable remedy and strive to implement positive suggestions.
Our Pledge to You The Council is committed to maintaining the highest standards of customer service and to involving tenants in all that we do. Last year Landlord Services was awarded the Government's Customer Service Excellence Award. Full details of our commitment are set out in the first section of your Tenants Handbook. In addition we aim to meet the following standards: G
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Respond to letters, faxes and emails within 10 working days, using plain English, giving a named contact and telephone number. Answer telephone calls within 20 seconds or 7 rings stating clearly the name of the service and the person’s name answering the call. Answer phone messages will be responded to by the end of the next working day.
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Accessibility - Strive to make services easily accessible to everyone who needs them, including access to buildings. Provide information about our services through 24-hour web access with our telephone lines and reception open from 8 am - 5pm Monday to Friday. Reception Areas will be well signposted, clean, tidy and comfortable, with a play area for children, including private interview facilities available on request. Reception staff will be well trained, welcoming and approachable and deal with visitors' enquiries efficiently and as quickly as possible. We will make an appointment when making visits to a customer's home or property, and contact you if we are delayed wherever possible. We will show an
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Putting things right - We will publicise our complaints leaflet which sets out the procedures and will try to deal with the complaint on the spot. Otherwise we will respond within 10 working days and wherever possible find an acceptable remedy and strive to implement positive suggestions.
In Return We expect our staff to be treated with courtesy and politeness by you, your colleagues or others to whom we provide services.
Your Views This is your housing service and your views on all matters concerning Landlord Services are always welcome. The feedback we receive helps to provide an even better service for you. If you wish to: G
Make your views known - please speak to an officer in Landlord Services, or contact your local councillor.
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Make a complaint - write initially to Richard Botham, Head of Landlord Services. If his reply is not satisfactory, contact your local councillor.
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Ask for more information on any housing matter, ring Landlord Services on 01962 840 222, or write to:
Richard Botham Head of Landlord Services Winchester City Council Colebrook Street Winchester Hampshire. SO23 9LJ
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