Agenda item

To consider the performance report and make any observations or recommendations as appropriate.

Hugh Wagstaff, Head of Housing Operations, and Annalisa Howson, Service Improvement Manager presented the Quarter 3 Performance Management report for Housing Operations and Housing Delivery and drew attention to highlights including:

·         re-letting three homes to new tenants after the properties had been re-possessed following tenancy fraud investigations;

·         the celebration of 100 years of council housing with an event involving the Chartered Institute of Housing;

·         another successful Homes Exchange event; and,

·         information for tenants on the changes to the responsive repairs contractor.

In response to questions about tenancy fraud, Officers explained that proving tenancy fraud and re-gaining possession of a home was a lengthy process. It was not as big a problem in Waverley as nationally, but the shortage of affordable homes for rent meant that it was important to take action in all cases. In the case of the three recent re-possessions, the registered tenants were not living in their property as their primary residence, which was contrary to their Tenancy Agreement.

Typically, there were 10 – 15 investigations underway at any time and the outcomes of successful investigations were publicised to tenants to show that this was taken seriously by the council. A summary of investigation outcomes was reported to the Audit Committee each quarter. It was acknowledged that the length of time it took to investigate and take proceedings against a tenant could have impacts on their mental health, but the Equalities Act was taken into account when officers considered the approach to be taken in each case.

The Committee noted the proposal to introduce a new Key Performance Indicator (KPI) for the percentage of scheduled tenancy audit appointments carried out per quarter.  Officers explained that the Council, as landlord, aimed to maintain contact with its tenants and carry out regular home visits: new tenants would be visited in the first 3 months to check that there were no problems, and to signpost to other services where necessary; the aim was to visit tenants on flexible tenancies annually, and visits would be prioritised to those who had not been in touch with the Council for any other reasons, for example for responsive repairs. The Tenant Management Team had been restructured to enable them to carry out these visits, and feedback from tenants was that they were keen to have the face to face contact with the Council.

The Committee noted that the response to Level 1 complaints to the Housing Operations service continued to be well below the target of 95% of complaints being responded to within 10 working days, and the target hadn’t been achieved in two years. The Committee discussed whether lowering the target to 80% would make it more realistic, and allow time for complex complaints to be investigated thoroughly, whilst acknowledging that even this level had not been achieved in the last three quarters. The Committee was reluctant to revise the target for complaints without looking at this in more depth, and asked for a more detailed report on complaints to come to the next meeting of the Committee.

The Committee RESOLVED to endorse the proposed new KPI for completion of tenancy audit visits, and asked for a detailed report on complaints to come to the next meeting of the committee.