12142 Wolverhampton Homes tenants final report · 2010 2011 2012 M·E·L Comparison Group Average* *As of December 2012 . WOLVERHAMPTON HOMES STAR SURVEY 2012 M·E·L RESEARCH Measurement

WOLVERHAMPTON HOMES STAR SURVEY 2012 M·E·L RESEARCH

Measurement �� Evaluation �� Learning: Using evidence to shape better services

Wolverhampton Homes Tenant Satisfaction Survey 2012

FINAL REPORT



Contents Page

Summary.................................................................................................................................... 3

Project details and acknowledgements ................................................................................. 5

1) Introduction................................................................................................................... 6

2) Your views..................................................................................................................... 7

3) Benchmarking............................................................................................................. 16

4) Key driver analysis..................................................................................................... 18

5) Your service priorities................................................................................................ 21

6) Advice and support services .................................................................................... 22

7) Rent advice and support ........................................................................................... 24

8) Welfare Reforms......................................................................................................... 26

9) Your neighbourhood.................................................................................................. 28

10) Contact and communication..................................................................................... 32

11) Keeping you informed and tenant involvement ..................................................... 36

12) Using the internet ....................................................................................................... 39

13) Gas Servicing.............................................................................................................. 42

14) Estate Services ........................................................................................................... 43

15) General......................................................................................................................... 46

16) Conclusion of survey findings.................................................................................. 50

Appendices.............................................................................................................................. 52

Appendix 1 – Sample composition....................................................................................... 53

Appendix 2 – Tenants survey questionnaire....................................................................... 54



Summary

This section provides a summary of the key findings from the Wolverhampton Homes Tenant

Survey. Detailed findings are presented in the subsequent sections of this report.

Taking everything into account, 85% of tenants are satisfied with the service provided by

Wolverhampton Homes. Comparison with the 2011 results shows similar satisfaction levels (86%).

82% of tenants are satisfied with the overall quality of their home. Comparison with the 2011 results

shows slightly lower satisfaction levels (85%). This is similar to the M·E·L Comparison Group average

(83%).

81% of tenants are satisfied with their neighbourhood as a place to live. Comparison with the results

from 2011 show similar satisfaction levels (80%). This falls below the M·E·L Comparison Group average

(85%).

80% of tenants are satisfied with the overall condition of their home. Again, results are very similar

to the 2011 satisfaction (81%). This compares favourably to the M·E·L Comparison Group falling above

the group average (77%).

75% of tenants are satisfied that rent provides value for money. This rises to 88% for tenants living in

a bungalow, but drops to 55% for tenants living in a maisonette. Comparisons with the 2011 results are

slightly lower (78%). This falls below the M·E·L Comparison Group average (81%).

Of those tenants who pay a service charge, 68% are satisfied that it provides value for money.

Although there has been a drop in satisfaction compared to the 2011 results (74%) this falls within the

margin of error and is not significant. This falls slightly below the M·E·L Comparison Group average (71%).

77% of tenants are satisfied with the way Wolverhampton Homes deals with repairs and

maintenance. The 2011 satisfaction result is identical. Satisfaction with repairs and maintenance is a key

driver of overall satisfaction levels and improving satisfaction with the repairs and maintenance service will

improve overall satisfaction levels.

65% of tenants are satisfied that Wolverhampton Homes listens to their views and acts upon them.

The 2011 result was 69%, a drop of 4% (although not statistically significant). The key driver analysis

shows that satisfaction is closely correlated with satisfaction with the repairs and maintenance service.

Addressing the perception that Wolverhampton Homes does not listen to views and act upon them will

therefore have a positive impact on satisfaction with repairs and maintenance.

All benchmarking information can be found in Section 3.



Wolverhampton Homes tenant results / M·E·L Comparison Group Average

82%

85%

79%

81%

72%

78%

69%

81%

82%

81%

79%

74%

79%

65%

86%

85%

80%

81%

78%

74%

77%

69%

85%

82%

81%

80%

75%

68%

77%

65%

85%

83%

85%

77%

81%

71%

79%

68%

Overall service

provided

Quality of home

Neighbourhood as a

place to live

Condition of home

VfM Rent provides

VfM service charge

provides

Repairs and

maintenance service

Listening to views and

acting upon them

2009

2010

2011

2012

M·E·L Comparison

Group Average*

*As of December 2012


Measurement �� Evaluation �� Learning: Using evidence to shape better services 5

Project details and acknowledgements

M·E·L Research

8 Holt Court

Aston Science Park

Birmingham B7 4AX

Tel: 0121 604 4664

Fax: 0121 604 6776

Email: [email protected]

Web: www.m-e-l.co.uk

Title Wolverhampton Homes STAR survey

Client Wolverhampton Homes

Project number 12142

Client contact Julie Piper

Authors Karen Etheridge and Jack Harper

Contract Manager Karen Etheridge



1) Introduction

Wolverhampton Homes commissioned M·E·L Research to undertake their 2012 Survey of Tenants and

Residents (STAR) on its behalf.

Survey response

Fieldwork was undertaken during October and November 2012. A mailing to 2,900 tenants was followed by

two reminder mailings of the full questionnaire to non respondents. This approach yielded a 42% response

rate.

Statistical reliability and reporting conventions

With a total response of 1,216, the overall results in this report are accurate to ±2.7% at the 95% confidence

level. This means that we can be 95% certain that the results are between ± 2.7% of the calculated

response, so the ‘true’ response could be 2.7% above or below the figures reported (i.e. a 50% agreement

rate could in reality lie within the range of 47.3% to 52.7%). In many cases the actual base size being

reported is smaller than the overall response rate due to some respondents not answering specific

questions; therefore the confidence interval will be higher for these questions.

Table 1 Stock totals, survey resonses and resultant confidence intervals

Stock Response Confidence Interval

General needs 21,150 1,216 ± 2.7

In line with HouseMark’s guidance, the survey results have been weighted by ethnicity, age, and gender to

ensure the results are representative of the housing stock population.

Please note that due to the low base (under 100) for some demographic groups (16- 25 age group,

bungalow property type, maisonette property type, and tenancy in current home held for less than 1 year),

results for these sub-groups should be treated with some caution.

We report decimal places rounded to the nearest whole number. If specific response options are then

totalled, this can result in slight rounding differences in the figures reported. Owing to the rounding of

numbers, percentages displayed visually on graphs may not always add up to 100%; this may also apply to

some of the percentages reported for ‘total satisfaction’. For example, 51.4% plus 44.2% equals 95.6%.

Rounded to the nearest whole number this total would be reported as 96%. But in the report this would be

shown as 51% plus 44% equalling 96%, giving the appearance that the reported total is incorrect.

Where possible we have benchmarked the results against previous years findings and M·E·L’s Comparison

Group average (which consists of the average scores from a range of STAR surveys we have undertaken

during the last 12 months).



2) Your views

This section presents findings on tenants’ satisfaction with services provided by Wolverhampton

Homes

Satisfaction with the service provided by Wolverhampton Homes

Taking everything into account, 85% of tenants are satisfied with the service provided by Wolverhampton

Homes, with a third stating that they are very satisfied. Satisfaction is similar to the 2011 survey result

(86%). Notably, only 9% of tenants express some degree of dissatisfaction with the service provided.

Figure 1 Overall satisfaction with the service provided by Wolverhampton Homes

Percentage of respondents

33%

52%

6%

6%

3%

Very satisfied

Fairly satisfied

Neither

Fairly dissatisfied

Very dissatisfied

85%

Satisfaction

When analysing the same results by age group it shows that tenants who are aged over 75 are most likely

to be satisfied, with nearly all tenants aged over 75 (96%) satisfied with the service provided by

Wolverhampton Homes. By comparison, at 77%, tenants aged between 25 and 34 are the least likely to be

satisfied with the service provided.

At 90%, tenants who live in a bungalow are more likely to be satisfied with the overall service provided by

Wolverhampton Homes in comparison to their counterparts in other property types.

At 92%, tenants who have been tenants in their current home the longest (21+ years) are most likely to be

satisfied with the overall service provided by Wolverhampton Homes. By comparison, 82% of tenants who

have been tenants in their current home between 1 to 5 years are satisfied with the overall service provided

by Wolverhampton Homes.

Tenants 2011 = 86%



Tenants who are limited a lot in their day to day ability due to ill-health (87%) are marginally more likely to

be satisfied with the service provided by Wolverhampton Homes, than those who are limited a little in their

day to day ability due to ill-health (85%), or not limited at all (85%),

Tenants who have had work undertaken under the Decent Homes Programme (89%) are considerably

more likely to be satisfied than those who have not had work undertaken under the Decent Homes

Programme (79%).

Table 2 Overall satisfaction with the service provided by Wolverhampton Homes / property type, length of tenancy in current home, age group, disability, Decent Homes Programme


Demographic group Total Satisfied

Property type

Bungalow 90%

Flat 85%

House 86%

Maisonette 70%

Length of tenancy in current home

Less than 1 year 89%

1 to 2 years 82%

3 to 5 years 82%

6 to 10 years 83%

11 to 20 years 84%

21+ years 92%

Age

16 to 24 90%

25 to 34 77%

35 to 44 83%

45 to 54 83%

55 to 64 83%

65 to 74 91%

75+ 96%

Household member day to day activity limited

Yes, limited a lot 87%

Yes, limited a little 85%

No 85%

Work undertaken under Decent Homes Programme

Yes 89%

No 79%

Unsure 81%

Quality of home, neighbourhood as a place to live, overall condition of your

home

Tenants were then asked how satisfied they are with the overall quality of their home, their neighbourhood

as a place to live, and the overall condition of their home. Figure 2 shows there is little variation in

satisfaction levels for those aspects, with 82% of tenants satisfied with the overall quality of the home, 81%

satisfied with their neighbourhood as a place to live, and 80% satisfied with the overall condition of their

home. However, tenants are more likely to say they are very satisfied with their neighbourhood as a place

to live (37%) in comparison to the quality of their home (35%) and the condition of their home (32%).



3% 5% 4%10% 6% 9%5% 8% 8%

47% 44%48%

35% 37% 32%

Overall quality of the home Neighbourhood as a place to

live

Overall condition of your home

Very satisfied

Fairly satisfied

Neither satisfied nor

dissatisfied

Fairly dissatisfied

Very dissatisfied

Total Satisfaction: 82% 81% 80%

Results are fairly similar to the 2011 survey results where 85% were satisfied with the overall quality of the

home, 80% with the neighbourhood as a place to live and 81% with the general condition of the property.

Figure 2 Satisfaction with…


Table 3 shows tenants living in a bungalow are most likely to be satisfied, and tenants living in a maisonette

are least likely to be satisfied with the quality of their home, their neighbourhood as a place to live, and the

overall condition of their home. It is worth noting that nearly all (97%) tenants living in a bungalow are

satisfied with their neighbourhood as a place to live.

As seen with overall satisfaction with the service provided, tenants who have been tenants in their current

home the longest (21+ years) are more likely to be satisfied with all three different aspects in comparison to

their counterparts who have been tenants in their current home for less time.

As would be expected, tenants who are aged over 55 are more likely to be satisfied with the quality of their

home, their neighbourhood as a place to live and the condition of their home, than their counterparts in

other age groups. It is worth noting that for the overall condition of the home there is a direct relationship

between age and satisfaction. Older age groups are considerably more likely to be satisfied with the

condition of their home with 95% of tenants aged over 75 satisfied compared to 67% of tenants aged

between 16 and 24.

Tenants who have had work undertaken under the Decent Homes Programme are considerably more likely

to be satisfied than those who have not had work undertaken with the quality of the home (87% compared

to 73%), neighbourhood as a place to live (83% compared to 73%) and condition of home (87% to 66%).

When analysing the same results by ethnicity it shows that White tenants are more likely to be satisfied than

their counterparts in other ethnic groups with the quality of home (83% compared to 77%), neighbourhood

as a place to live (82% compared to 77%), and condition of home (81% compared to 77%).

2011 results: 85% quality of home 80% neigh as place to live 81% condition of property



Table 3 Satisfaction with the quality of home, neighbourhood as a place to live, condition of home / property type, length of tenancy in current home, age group, disability, Decent Homes Programme, Ethnic group


Overall Satisfaction

Quality of home Neighbourhood as a

place to live Condition of home

Property type

Bungalow 90% 97% 94%

Flat 84% 79% 82%

House 81% 82% 77%

Maisonette 68% 68% 69%


Less than 1 year 82% 79% 74%

1 to 2 years 77% 81% 73%

3 to 5 years 80% 82% 78%

6 to 10 years 78% 78% 73%

11 to 20 years 80% 75% 81%

21+ years 92% 89% 91%

Age group

16 to 24 80% 81% 67%

25 to 34 69% 77% 67%

35 to 44 78% 76% 75%

45 to 54 79% 74% 77%

55 to 64 84% 86% 81%

65 to 74 93% 87% 94%

75+ 96% 90% 95%

Household day to day ability limited due to health

Yes, limited a lot 85% 82% 83%

Yes, limited a little 84% 84% 80%

No 80% 79% 78%


Yes 87% 83% 87%

No 73% 73% 66%

Unsure 76% 81% 69%

Ethnicity group

White 83% 82% 81%

Other 77% 77% 77%

Rent provides value for money

Three quarters of tenants (75%) are satisfied that their rent provides value for money, with three out of ten

tenants very satisfied (30%). Although it appears that satisfaction has slightly decreased since 2011 (78%),

this change is not statistically significant.



Figure 3 Satisfaction that rent provides value for money


30%

46%

15%

6%

3%

Very satisfied

Fairly satisfied

Neither

Fairly dissatisfied

Very dissatisfied

75%

Satisfaction

When comparing the results by property type, it shows a high variation in satisfaction levels depending on

the property type. 88% of tenants living in a bungalow compared to 55% of tenants living in a maisonette,

are satisfied that rent provides value for money.

When comparing the results by whether the tenants receive housing benefit, as would be expected, tenants

who receive either full housing benefit (77%), or partial housing benefit (82%), are more likely to be satisfied

that their rent provides value for money than tenants who do not receive housing benefit (70%).

As seen with other findings, at 78%, tenants who have had work undertaken under the Decent Homes

Programme are most likely to be satisfied that their rent provides value for money compared to those that

have not (70%).

Table 4 Satisfaction that rent provides value for money / property type, Decent Homes Programme, housing benefit


Demographic group Total Satisfied

Property type

Bungalow 88%

Flat 76%

House 75%

Maisonette 55%

Currently receive housing benefit

Yes, full housing benefit 77%

Yes, partial housing benefit 82%

No 70%


Yes 78%

No 70%

Unsure 74%

Tenants 2011 = 78%



Service charges provide value for money

Respondents who pay a service charge were asked how satisfied they are that their service charges

provide value for money. As Figure 4 shows, around two thirds (68%) of tenants are satisfied. It is worth

noting that 21% of tenants are neither satisfied nor dissatisfied and only 12% of tenants are dissatisfied that

service charges provide value for money. As seen with other findings, there is not a statistically significant

change when comparing general satisfaction with the 2011 result (74%).

When comparing the results by whether the tenants receive housing benefit, as seen with value for money

rent provides, tenants who receive either full housing benefit (70%), or partial housing benefit (75%), are

more likely to be satisfied that their service charge provides value for money than tenants who do not

(60%). Once again, a higher proportion of tenants who have had work undertaken under the Decent

Homes Programme (69%) are satisfied that service charges provide value for money in comparison to

tenants who have not (65%), although this is lower than other findings in this section.

Figure 4 Satisfaction that service charges provide value for money

Percentage of applicable respondents

23%

45%

21%

7%

5%

Very satisfied

Fairly satisfied

Neither

Fairly dissatisfied

Very dissatisfied

68%

Satisfaction

Listens to your views and acts upon them

65% of tenants are satisfied that Wolverhampton Homes listens to their views and acts upon them. 19% of

tenants are neither satisfied nor dissatisfied, while 16% of tenants show some degree of dissatisfaction. The

decrease in satisfaction in comparison to the 2011 results is not statistically significant and falls within the

margin or error (69%).

Tenants 2011 = 74%

Decent Homes Programme Yes = 69% No = 65%

Unsure = 62%

Housing Benefit Full housing benefit = 70%

Partial housing benefit = 75% No housing benefit = 60%



33%

45%

8%

8%

6%

Very satisfied

Fairly satisfied

Neither

Fairly dissatisfied

Very dissatisfied

77%

Satisfaction

22%

43%

19%

10%

6%

Very satisfied

Fairly satisfied

Neither

Fairly dissatisfied

Very dissatisfied

65%

Satisfaction

Figure 5 Satisfaction that Wolverhampton Homes listens to your views and acts upon them


Repairs and maintenance service

Around three quarters (77%) of tenants are satisfied with the way Wolverhampton Homes deals with repairs

and maintenance, with a third of tenants very satisfied. There is no change in satisfaction levels in

comparison to the 2011 results. Satisfaction rises to 79% for tenants who have had work undertaken under

the Decent Homes Programme but drops to 74% for tenants who have not had work undertaken.

Figure 6 Satisfaction with the way Wolverhmapton Homes deals with repairs and maintenance


Tenants 2011 = 69%

Tenants 2011 = 77%

Decent Homes Programme Yes = 79% No = 74%

Unsure = 74%



Respondents were asked when the last time was that they had any repairs or maintenance work done.

Nearly three quarters of tenants (73%) have had repairs or maintenance work done in the last 12 months,

with 46% of tenants having repairs or maintenance work done in the last 6 months. Only 4% of tenants

state that they have not had any repairs or maintenance work done.

Figure 7 Last time tenants had any repairs or maintenance work done


46%

26%

17%

4%

6%

In the last 6 months

In the last 6-12

months

Over 12 months ago

Not had a repair

Can't remember

When analysing satisfaction with the way Wolverhampton Homes deals with repairs and maintenance by

the last time tenants had any repairs or maintenance work done, it shows, at 80%, tenants who have had

repairs or maintenance work done in the last 12 months are more likely to be satisfied with the way

Wolverhampton Homes deals with repairs and maintenance than if they had repairs or maintenance work

done over 12 months ago (74%).

Figure 8 Satisfaction with the way Wolverhmapton Homes deals with repairs and maintenance / Last time tenants had any repairs or maintenance work done


35%

45%

6%

8%

6%

34%

46%

8%

8%

5%

28%

46%

11%

5%

11%

Very satisfied

Fairly satisfied

Neither

Fairly dissatisfied

Very dissatisfied

In the last 6 months

In the last 6 -12 months

Over 12 months ago

80% of tenants who

had repairs or

maintenance work

done in the last 12

months are satisfied

compared to 74% of

tenants who had

repairs or maintenance

work done over 12

months ago



17%

23%60%

Yes

No

Don’t know

Work

undertaken

under Decent

Homes

Standard

Six out of ten tenants (60%) have had work undertaken under the Decent Homes Programmes. 23% of

tenants have not had any work undertaken under the Decent Homes programmes, with 17% of tenants

unsure if they have or not.

Figure 9 Has any work been undertaken under the Decent Homes Programmes?


Results in this section show good levels of satisfaction, with similar levels being maintained since the 2011

survey, showing that the service standards are generally being maintained. Results are slightly lower than

2011 when we look at the overall quality of the home (3% decrease), value for money for rent (3%

decrease), value for money for service charges (6% decrease) and listening to views and acting upon them

(4% decrease), but none are statistically significant drops. Therefore, these should merely be monitored

and a judgement made based on future survey results.



3) Benchmarking

This section presents benchmarking and comparison of findings

Table 5 shows a comparison between the findings shown in this year’s STAR survey with the results from

previous years. When comparing this year’s findings with the results from 2011, we can see results are

relatively similar for some, whilst minor drops for others. However, all changes in satisfaction from 2011 to

2012 fall within the margin of error and are therefore not statistically significant (for there to be a statistically

significant change in satisfaction there would have to be a minimum change in satisfaction of 6.3%).

Table 5 Comparison between 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 results (excluding not applicable)

Percentage of General needs respondents

Satisfaction

Measure 2009 2010 2011 2012

Significant at 95%

Overall service provided 82% 81% 86% ▼85% No

Quality of home 85% 82% 85% ▼82% No

Neighbourhood as a place to live 79% 81% 80% ▲81% No

Condition of home 81% 79% 81% ▼80% No

VfM rent provides 72% 74% 78% ▼75% No

VfM service charge provides - - 74% ▼68% No

Repairs and maintenance service 78% 79% 77% - 77% -

Listening to views and acting upon them 69% 65% 69% ▼65% No

As Figure 10 overleaf shows, overall satisfaction with the service provided for Wolverhampton Homes

tenants is similar to the M·E·L Comparison Group Average. Satisfaction levels shown by Wolverhampton

Homes tenants for the overall condition of the home are above the M·E·L Comparison Group Average.

However, satisfaction levels are slightly lower than M·E·L’s Comparison Group average for quality of home,

neighbourhood as a place to live, value for money rent provides, value for money service charges provide,

repairs and maintenance, and listening to views and acting upon them, although most are only minor

differences.



Figure 10 Wolverhampton Homes tenant results / M·E·L Comparison Group Average


82%

85%

79%

81%

72%

78%

69%

81%

82%

81%

79%

74%

79%

65%

86%

85%

80%

81%

78%

74%

77%

69%

85%

82%

81%

80%

75%

68%

77%

65%

85%

83%

85%

77%

81%

71%

79%

68%

Overall service

provided

Quality of home

Neighbourhood as a

place to live

Condition of home

VfM Rent provides

VfM service charge

provides

Repairs and

maintenance service

Listening to views and

acting upon them

2009

2010

2011

2012

M·E·L Comparison

Group Average*

*As of December 2012



4) Key driver analysis

M·E·L Research conducted key driver analysis on the survey results for the key performance indicator

questions, which can provide insight into the underlying factors influencing satisfaction. For each KPI, we

provide the results from the key driver analysis, highlighting the major factors that influence that question

(shown as a percentage). The higher the percentage, the stronger the influence they have. For each

question we provide a percentage which explains the strength of all factors together have on the specific

question.

Overall satisfaction

When we looked at the overall satisfaction question, the analysis identifies the factors that drive tenants’

overall satisfaction with their landlord (i.e. the factors which have the biggest impact on overall satisfaction

levels), with repairs and maintenance having the biggest impact on overall satisfaction. This supports the

results elsewhere in the survey, with repairs and maintenance being the top service priority for tenants.

Tenants’ trust in Wolverhampton Homes and perceptions on the overall condition of the home, are also

both highly influential on overall satisfaction. Addressing these issues would have a major impact on overall

satisfaction levels.

60% of variance to overall satisfaction is explained by the model

Repairs and maintenance 19%

I trust Wolverhampton Homes 17%

Condition of home 17%

Rent provides VfM 14%

Support for Vulnerable tenants 11%

Service charge provides VfM 9%

Help managing finances, household bills and debts 9%

Overall satisfaction

Overall quality of home

When we looked at analysis on satisfaction with the quality of the home, it shows that opinions on the

condition of the home heavily influence tenants’ satisfaction with the quality of the home.

61% of variance to satisfaction with quality of home is explained by the model



Information in quarterly rent statement 10%

Neighbourhood as a place to live 9%

I trust Wolverhampton Homes 8%

Quality of home



Neighbourhood as a place to live

Analysis for satisfaction with the neighbourhood as a place to live shows that levels would increase if a

higher proportion of tenants agree that ‘My local area is a place where people get on well together’. As seen

with the key driver analysis carried out for the quality of the home, tenants’ perception on the condition of

their home also influences their opinion on their neighbourhood as a place to live.

41% of variance to satisfaction with neighbourhood as a place to live is explained by the model

‘My local area is a place where people get on well together’

28%


Neighbourhood improved in last 3 years 18%

Quality of home 13%

Neighbourhood as a place to live

Value for money for rent

Analysis of satisfaction that rent provides value for money shows, as would be expected, that this is heavily

influenced by tenants perceptions that their service charges provide value for money.

62% of variance to satisfaction that rent provides VfM is explained by the model

Service charges provide VfM 50%

Overall service in relation to rent and service charges

15%


13%

Moving or swapping your home 9%

Claiming housing benefit & other welfare benefits 9%

Rent provides value for money

Value for money for service charges

Analysis of satisfaction that service charges provide value for money shows that perceptions of the overall

service in relation to rent and service charges has a major influence on this indicator. Interaction with

tenants also influences satisfaction, therefore satisfaction would improve if tenants feel that Wolverhampton

Homes listens to their views and acts upon them, or keeps them informed.

51% of variance to satisfaction that service charges provide VfM is explained by the model


22%

Landlord listens to views and acts upon them 22%

Keeping tenants informed 18%

Claiming housing benefit & other welfare benefits 10%

Service charges provide VfM



Repairs and maintenance

Analysis for repairs and maintenance shows that listening to views and acting upon them has a major

impact on satisfaction with the service. Satisfaction is also highly influenced by perceptions of how enquiries

generally are dealt with. Housing officers play an important role in getting information to tenants and

listening to their views. Our analysis suggests that providing access to these members of staff would play

an important part in improving satisfaction with the repairs and maintenance service.

54% of variance to satisfaction with repairs & maintenance is explained by the model

Landlord listens to views and acts upon them 45%

Enquiries generally 16%



12%

Quality of home 10%

Satisfaction with repairs and

maintenance

Listening to views and acting upon them

Finally, analysis of satisfaction that Wolverhampton Homes listens to views and acts upon them shows that

satisfaction is most influenced by the repairs and maintenance service. Tenants’ perception that

Wolverhampton Homes listens to their views and acts upon them would also improve if their perception that

their service charges provide value for money improved.

62% of variance to satisfaction that Wolverhampton Homes listens to views and acts upon them is

explained by the model


Service charges provide VfM 18%

Keeping tenants informed 11%

Helping to manage finances, household bills and debts

10%

Wolverhampton Homes treats tenants fairly 9%


7%

Advice and support on Welfare Reforms 7%

Listens to views and acts upon them

Results in this section show that the condition of the home, repairs and maintenance, listening to tenants’

views and acting upon them are the most common drivers of satisfaction amongst the key performance

indicators. If satisfaction with these indicators can be improved, we would expect an improvement in

satisfaction amongst several other indicators.



64%

61%

33%

31%

30%

27%

21%

9%

2%

Repairs and maintenance

The overall quality of your

home

Keeping tenants informed

Dealing with anti-social

behaviour

Listening to tenants’

views and acting upon

them

Your neighbourhood as a

place to live

Value for money for your

rent (and service charges)

Support and advice on

claiming welfare benefits

and paying rent

Money advice and help

with budgeting

5) Your service priorities

This section presents tenants’ service priorities.

Tenants were asked to select from a list of nine options, the three services they consider to be the most

important. As the chart below shows, the top service priority for tenants is the repairs and maintenance

service (64%), while the overall quality of home (61%) also has a similar proportion of tenants

considering it to be important. This supports the findings of the key driver analysis that repairs and

maintenance and the home are key influencers of satisfaction. It is worth noting that the repairs and

maintenance service, and the overall quality of home, were also seen as the top two service priorities for

tenants in 2011. The least important service for tenants is money advice and help with budgeting, with only

2% of tenants considering it to be important to them.

Figure 11 Priorities for Wolverhampton Homes tenants…

Percentage of respondents – multiple responses



7% 3% 5%

6%7% 7%

36% 37% 37%

30% 32% 28%

21% 21% 23%

Moving home Support for new

tenants

Support for

vulnerable tenants

Very satisfied

Fairly satisfied

Neither

Fairly dissatisfied

Very dissatisfied

Total Satisfaction: 51% 53% 51%

6) Advice and support services

This section presents tenants’ satisfaction with advice and support services. These results exclude

not applicable responses.

Respondents were asked how satisfied they are with the advice and support they receive from

Wolverhampton Homes regarding moving home, support for new tenants, and support for vulnerable

tenants. There is little variation in satisfaction levels for all three aspects with 53% of tenants satisfied with

the advice and support for new tenants, 51% satisfied with the advice and support about moving home, and

51% satisfied with the advice and support for vulnerable tenants. It is worth noting that although satisfaction

levels are low, this can be accounted for by a high proportion of tenants neither satisfied nor dissatisfied

with each aspect - 36% for moving home, and 37% for both support for new tenants and support for

vulnerable tenants.

When we compare results to the 2011 survey, we can see a drop in satisfaction with the support for new

tenants (from 67%) and support for vulnerable tenants (from 58%). However, the proportion of tenants

neither satisfied nor dissatisfied has increased significantly since 2011 (from 24% for new tenants and 30%

for vulnerable tenants), rather than dissatisfaction increasing.



Tenants living in a house are generally less satisfied than tenants living in other property types. Older

tenants and those who have been living in their current property for longer periods of time are less satisfied.

Tenants with a disability are generally more satisfied than those without.

2011 results: 67% support for new tenants 58% support for vulnerable tenants



Table 6 Satisfaction with… / length of tenancy in current home


General Satisfaction

Length of tenancy in current home Moving home

Support for new tenants

Support for vulnerable tenants

Less than 1 year 72% 71% 57%

1 to 2 years 61% 51% 50%

3 to 5 years 51% 59% 58%

6 to 10 years 46% 55% 49%

11 to 20 years 38% 39% 41%

21+ years 43% 48% 54%



4% 4%5% 7%

19%

46%

32%

27%

40%

17%

Claiming housing benefit and

other welfare benefits

Helping you to manage your

finances, household bills and

debts

Very satisfied

Fairly satisfied

Neither

Fairly dissatisfied

Very dissatisfied

Total Satisfaction: 72% 44%

7) Rent advice and support

This section presents tenants’ satisfaction with rent advice and support. These results exclude not

applicable responses.

72% of tenants are satisfied with the advice and support on claiming housing benefit and other welfare

benefits, with four out of ten tenants (40%) very satisfied. A lower proportion (44%) of tenants are satisfied

with advice and support on helping tenants to manage finances, household bills and debts, with 17% very

satisfied with this aspect of advice and support. However, this variation in satisfaction can be accounted for

by the fact that a higher proportion of tenants are neither satisfied nor dissatisfied (46% compared to 19%)

for advice and support for claiming housing benefit and other welfare benefits). Results are not directly

comparable to the 2011 survey, therefore these figures are not provided.



83% of tenants are satisfied with the information they receive each quarter in their rent statement, with 44%

very satisfied. Only 3% are dissatisfied. Satisfaction is identical to the 2011 result (83%). Tenants new to

their current home (under 1 year) are less satisfied than other tenants (71%).



44%

38%

15%

1%

2%

Very satisfied

Fairly satisfied

Neither

Fairly dissatisfied

Very dissatisfied

83%

Satisfaction

Figure 14 Satisfaction with information received each quarter in rent statement


Taking everything into account, around three quarters (74%) of tenants are satisfied with the service

provided by Wolverhampton Homes in relation to their rent and service charges, with around a quarter of

tenants very satisfied (28%). Only 8% of tenants are dissatisfied. Satisfaction is slightly lower than 2011

(79%). Tenants new to their current home (under 1 year) and tenants aged 35-44 are less satisfied than

other tenants (62% each).

Figure 15 Satisfaction with the service provided by Wolverhampton Homes in relation to your rent and service charges


28%

46%

18%

7%

1%

Very satisfied

Fairly satisfied

Neither

Fairly

dissatisfied

Very dissatisfied

74%

Satisfaction

Results in this section are generally positive, with high levels of satisfaction for the information received

each quarter in the rent statement (83%) and 74% satisfied with the service in relation to rent and service

charges. Satisfaction is lowest for the advice and support in helping tenants to manage their finances,

household bills and debts (44%), although there are a high proportion of tenants who are neither satisfied

nor dissatisfied (46%).

Tenants 2011 = 83%

Tenants 2011 = 79%



53%

19%

28%

Yes

No

Unsure

Affected

by

Welfare

Reforms

8) Welfare Reforms

This section presents findings on tenants understanding of the Welfare Reforms.

Respondents who receive welfare benefits, housing benefits, tax credits or a state pension, were asked

how much they know about the Government’s new Welfare Reforms. Only 4% said that they know a lot

about the Government’s new Welfare Reforms. 10% said they know quite a lot, 44% have heard about it,

whilst 42% said that they do not know anything about it. A higher proportion of tenants new to their property

i.e. less than 1 year in their current home (55%) and younger tenants i.e. 16-24s (52%) do not know about

the reforms.

Figure 16 How much do you know about the Government’s new Welfare Reforms?

Percentage of respondent who receive welfare benefits, housing benefits, tax credits or state pension

4%

10%

44%

42%

I know a lot

I know quite a lot

I have heard about

it

I don't know

anything about it

19% of tenants who receive welfare benefits, housing benefits, tax credits or a state pension, feel that they

are going to be affected by the Welfare Reforms. 28% feel that they are not going to be affected, while just

over half (53%) are unsure whether they are going to be affected by the Welfare Reforms.

Figure 17 Affected by Welfare Reforms




36%

64%

Yes

No

Contact

regarding

Welfare

Reforms

Only 42% of tenants are satisfied with the advice and support they receive from Wolverhampton Homes

regarding Welfare Reforms. However, it is worth noting that half (49%) are neither satisfied nor dissatisfied.

A higher proportion of tenants new to their homes i.e. less than 1 year in their current home (32%) and the

35-44 age group (31%) are less satisfied than their counterparts.

Figure 18 Satisfaction with the advice and support recevied from Wolverhampton Homes regarding Welfare Reforms


13%

29%

49%

6%

3%

Very satisfied

Fairly satisfied

Neither

Fairly dissatisfied

Very dissatisfied

42%

Satisfaction

Respondents were asked if they wanted Wolverhampton Homes to contact them about the Welfare

Reforms. Around 36% said that they want to be contacted.

Figure 19 Do you want Wolverhampton Homes to contact you about the Welfare Reforms


Results in this section show that there is a knowledge gap, with a high proportion not knowing anything

about the reforms (42%) and 53% unsure if they will be affected. Further work needs to be done to help

these tenants understand the reforms and determine whether they will be affected, otherwise there could

potentially be serious consequences for many tenants.



9) Your neighbourhood

This section sets out how Wolverhampton Homes’ tenants feel about their neighbourhood.

Neighbourhood problems

Respondents were given a list of common neighbourhood problems and asked to rate on a scale of 1 to 10,

where 1 is not at all a problem and 10 is a very big problem, to what extent they are a problem in their

neighbourhood. As the chart shows below, with a mean score of 4.48, tenants feel that the biggest problem

in their neighbourhood is car parking provision, with 20% of tenants stating that car parking provision is a

very big problem (10). With a mean score of 4.30, the second biggest problem for tenants is the lack of

play facilities in their neighbourhood, with 17% of tenants expressing that it is a very big problem in their

neighbourhood (10). The top five issues are the same as those in the 2011 survey, with very similar mean

scores.

Figure 20 Extent to which the following are a problem in the neighbourhood

Mean score

4.48

4.30

3.86

3.80

3.60

3.41

3.40

3.23

3.22

3.00

2.86

2.84

2.68

2.41

2.37

2.34

1.94

Car parking provision

Lack of play facilities

Anti-social behaviour

Rubbish or litter on your estate

Drug use or dealing

Disruptive children/teenagers

Other

Illegal parking

Overgrown/untidy gardens

Other crime

Driving over gardens/verges

Pets and animals

Vandalism and grafitti

Former public houses

Hate Crime

Empty properties

Loan Sharkes/illegal money lenders



Has the neighbourhood improved or declined?

Around a third of tenants (34%) feel that their neighbourhood has improved over the last three years, with

one in ten (13%) saying that it has improved greatly. Nearly half of tenants (46%) think that their

neighbourhood has stayed the same over the last three years. Just 19% of tenants feel that their

neighbourhood has declined in the last three years. Results have declined since the 2011 survey where

42% felt their neighbourhood had improved, 42% stayed the same and 16% declined.

Tenants who live in a bungalow are most likely to feel that their neighbourhood has improved (41%), whilst

tenants who live in a maisonette are most likely to think that their neighbourhood has declined (40%).

Tenants aged between 55 and 64 and over 75 are more likely than tenants in other age groups to think that

their neighbourhood has improved (40%). Tenants aged between 16 and 24 are least likely to feel that their

neighbourhood has declined in the last three years (3%).

Figure 21 Neighbourhood improved or declined in last three years….


21% 13%1

Slightly Greatly

13%6% 1

Stayed the

sameDeclined

46%

Improved

41%

35%

34%

27%

33%

27%

36%

31%

40%

40%

33%

Bungalow

Flat

House

Maisonette

16 to 24

25 to 34

35 to 44

45 to 54

55 to 64

65 to 74

75+

10%

20%

18%

40%

18%

24%

23%

22%

3%

16%

19%

Bungalow

Flat

House

Maisonette

16 to 24

25 to 34

35 to 44

45 to 54

55 to 64

65 to 74

75 to 99

Bungalow

Flat

House

Maisonette

16 – 24

25 – 34

35 – 44

45 – 54

55 – 64

65 – 74

75+



Respondents who said that their neighbourhood has declined were asked to say why it had done so.

Overall, 22% of tenants said that the reason for this decline was due to bad neighbours. A similar proportion

of tenants also said that drugs (18%), anti-social behaviour issues (17%) and young people causing

problems (16%) were reasons for the neighbourhood declining in the last three years.

Figure 22 Reason for neighbourhood decline

Percentage of respondents who expressed that their neighbourhood has declined

6%

22%

16%

17%

18%

7%

4%

8%

12%

4%

4%

21%

Bad/declining neighbourhood

Bad neighbours

Young people causing problems

ASB issues e.g. drinking,

Drugs

Rubbish and litter

Pet and animal mess

Parking

Untidy/in disrepair

Crime

Unsuitable tenants being housed

Other

Two thirds of tenants (66%) agree that their local area is a place where people get on well together. Only

8% of tenants disagree that their local area is a place where people get on well together. Results are almost

identical to 2011 (65% agreed and 8% disagreed).

Figure 23 Extent to which tenants agree that ‘My local area is a place where people get on well together’


15%

51%

26%

6%

2%

Definitely agree

Agree

Neither

Disagree

Definitely disagree

66%

Agree

Tenants 2011 = 65%



Respondents who disagreed that their local area is a place where people get on well together, were then

asked to select from a list of reasons, why they think people do not get on well together. 47% of tenants feel

that people do not get on well together due to problems caused by different age groups. A similar proportion

(39%) said it is because of problems caused by different culture or lifestyle. Other responses included

problems caused by things like drugs, alcohol and noisy neighbours. The top 2 reasons are the same as

the 2011 survey results, with different age groups the top reason (52%), followed by culture and lifestyle

(46%). Problems caused by different religions have increased from 6% to 17%.

Figure 24 Why do people not get on well together

Percentage of respondents who disagree that their local area is a place where people get on well together – multiple responses

18%

39%

47%

17%

27%

Difficulties caused by

different languages

Problems caused by

different culture or lifestyle

Problems caused by

different age groups

Problems caused by

different religions

Other

Results in this section on the whole are similar to the 2011 survey results. Satisfaction with your

neighbourhood is good, with tenants generally feeling positive about any potential neighbourhood issues

and feel that people get on well together. However, the proportion of tenants who feel the neighbourhood

has improved has decreased from 42% to 34%, whilst stayed the same and declined have both increased

slightly. However, the problems in the neighbourhood generally remain the same and at a stable level. This

should be monitored over the next few surveys to see whether a pattern is emerging.



45%

55%

Yes

No

Contacted

Wolverhampton

Homes in the

last 12 months

4%

2%

2%

0%

1%

0%

1%

2%

80%

7%

Phoned Homes Direct

Phoned the direct number of the person

required

Visited One Stop Shop

Wrote

Emailed

Facebook/Twitter

Feedback sheet from Tenants Update

Open meetings / get togethers

Can't remember

Other

10) Contact and communication

This section presents findings on tenants’ contact with Wolverhampton Homes.

As the chart below shows, just over half (55%) of tenants contacted Wolverhampton Homes in the last 12

months. This is identical to the 2011 result (55%).

Figure 25 Contact with Wolverhampton Homes


When contacting Wolverhampton Homes in the last 12 months, the majority of tenants (80%) did so by

phoning Homes Direct. The figure is almost identical to 2011 (79% for those contacting Wolverhampton

Homes by telephone).

Figure 26 How did you last contact Wolverhampton Homes?

Percentage of respondents who contacted Wolverhampton Homes in the last 12 months



Throughout this section we refer to the 2011 results. It should be taken into account that the 2011 survey

asked tenants whether they contacted Wolverhampton homes by telephone, whereas the 2012 survey

asked whether they made contact via the Homes Direct number or a direct telephone number. Throughout

this section for 2012, we provide figures for the Homes Direct results as well separately, as these are key

indicators for Wolverhampton Homes.

Respondents who contacted Wolverhampton Homes in the last 12 months were asked what they last

contacted Wolverhampton Homes about. The majority of tenants (71%) last had contact with

Wolverhampton Homes about repairs (Homes Direct: 77%).

Figure 27 What did you last have contact about?


75% of tenants who contacted Wolverhampton Homes in the last 12 months found that the person they

contacted was able to deal with their query first time (Homes Direct: 78%). In 2011, 78% of tenants who

contacted Wolverhampton Homes found that the person they contacted was able to deal with their query

first time.

Only 15% of tenants (who found the person they contacted was not able to deal with their query first time)

found making contact with the correct person easy (Homes Direct: 15%), with 63% saying they found it

difficult to do so (Homes Direct: 64%). This has decreased since 2011 (24% found it easy and 55% difficult).

Only 12% of tenants (who found the person they contacted was not able to deal with their query first time)

felt that the person they spoke to was able to fully deal with their query to their satisfaction (Homes Direct:

12%). Again, this has dropped from 29% in 2011.

71%

8%

6%

5%

3%

3%

3%

Repairs

Rent/ rent arrears

Transfer / exchange

Neighbours / neighbourhood issue

Garden / communal areas

Can't remember

Other



75%

25%

Yes

No

Able to

deal with

query first

time

21%

63%

15%

Easy

Difficult

Neither

Making

contact

with correct

person

12%

88%Yes

No

Able to fully

deal with

query to

your

satisfaction

10%

77%

13%

Helpful

Unhelpful

Neither

The

member of

staff

was….

Figure 28 Customer satisfaction ratings with staff


Over three quarters of tenants (77%) who contacted Wolverhampton Homes in the last 12 months found

the member of staff to be helpful (Homes Direct: 78%), with 13% feeling they were unhelpful (Homes Direct:

12%).. In 2011, 83% found staff helpful and 9% unhelpful.

Figure 29 Was the member of staff helpful or unhelpful


72% of tenants who contacted Wolverhampton Homes in the last 12 months were satisfied with the overall

experience of raising a query with Wolverhampton Homes (Homes Direct: 73%), with 31% very satisfied

(Homes Direct: 32%). However a lower proportion (62%) of tenants who contacted Wolverhampton Homes

in the last 12 months were satisfied with the final outcome of their query (Homes Direct: 66%). 26% of

tenants were dissatisfied with the final outcome of their query (Homes Direct: 23%) and 17% dissatisfied

with the overall experience of raising a query with Wolverhampton Homes (Homes Direct: 17%). In 2011,

78% were satisfied with the overall experience with 14% dissatisfied, and 71% were satisfied with the final

outcome of their query with 20% dissatisfied.

If no



8%16%

10%10%11%12%

41%30%

31% 32%

Overall experience of raising a

query with Wolverhampton

Homes

The final outcome of your query

Very satisfied

Fairly satisfied

Neither

Fairly dissatisfied

Very dissatisfied




Tenants Update

A high proportion of tenants (81%) are satisfied with the information in Tenants Update/Tenants Newsletter.

39% of tenants express that they are very satisfied with this information, while only 3% express some

degree of dissatisfaction. These are almost identical to the 2011 results (80% satisfied and 3% dissatisfied).

Figure 31 Satisfaction with Tenants Update / Tenants Newsletter


39%

42%

16%

2%

1%

Very satisfied

Fairly satisfied

Neither

Fairly dissatisfied

Very dissatisfied

81%

Satisfied

Satisfaction ratings for the customer service tenants experienced when contacting Wolverhampton Homes

are relatively good. 77% found the staff member to be helpful and 75% found that the person they

contacted was able to deal with their query the first time. Similar to the 2011 survey findings, we again find

problems when the first person tenants spoke to was unable to deal with their issue. Only 15% found it easy

making contact with the correct person and only 12% felt the person they spoke to was able to fully deal

with their query to their satisfaction. These have declined since the 2011 survey (from 24% and 29%

respectively). Further work needs to be done to ensure other members of staff are equipped to deal with

queries or frontline staff needs to be trained to deal with a wider range of issues.

2011 results: 78% overall experience 71% final outcome

Tenants 2011 = 80%



11) Keeping you informed and tenant involvement

This section presents tenants opinions about being kept informed and tenant involvement

Around three quarters (77%) of tenants feel that Wolverhampton Homes are good at keeping tenants

informed about things that might affect them as a tenant, with around three out of ten (29%) saying they are

very good. Only 5% of tenants feel that Wolverhampton Homes are poor at keeping tenants informed.

Results are similar to the 2011 survey (79% good and 6% poor).

Figure 32 How good or poor is Wolverhampton Homes at keeping tenants informed about things that might affect them as a tenant?


29%

49%

17%

3%

2%

Very good

Fairly good

Neither

Fairly poor

Very poor

77%

Respondents were asked to choose from a list of 10 options, which methods of being kept informed and

getting in touch with Wolverhampton Homes they are happy to use. As Figure 33 shows, just over half of

tenants (52%) are happy to be kept informed and get in touch with Wolverhampton Homes in writing.

Similar proportions are happy to use the telephone (47%) and receive a newsletter (43%). The 2011

survey results showed that 55% were happy to be kept informed by telephone and 55% also in writing. The

proportion who prefer email is relatively similar (16% in 2011)

Tenants 2011 = 79%



38%

62%

Yes

No

Provided with

enough

information

about how

tenants have

influenced

decisions

52%

47%

43%

14%

13%

12%

9%

8%

1%

4%

In writing

Telephone

Newsletter

Emailed

Visit to your home by staff

Text / SMS

Visit to One stop Shop

Open meetings / get togethers

Social Networking

Other

Figure 33 Methods of being kept informed and getting in touch with Wolverhampton Homes…

Percentage of respondents – multiple responses

Tenants were then asked whether Wolverhampton Homes provides enough information about how tenants

have influenced decisions. The majority of tenants (62%) feel that they do. A higher proportion of the 25-34

age group do not feel they provide enough information (49%).

Figure 34 Does Wolverhampton Homes provide enough information about how tenants have influenced decisions?




48%

52%

Yes

No

Aware of

Wolverhmapton

Federation of

Tenants

Associations and

local Tenants and

Residents

48%

52%

Yes

No

Aware

of

'Get

Togethers'

86%

14%

Yes

No

Do you

want to

get more

involved

Just over half (52%) of tenants are aware of the Wolverhampton Federation of Tenants Associations and

Local Tenants and Residents Associations. By comparison, 48% of tenants are aware of the ‘Get

Togethers’ which are held in Bilston, Low Hill, Merry Hill, and Wednesfield. A higher proportion of tenants

new to their homes i.e. 0 to 2 years and younger tenants (16-24 age group) are unaware of these.

Figure 35 Awareness of…


Only 14% of said that they would like to receive an invite to a Get Together, Focus/Special Interest Group.

Figure 36 Would you like to receive an invite to a Get Together, Focus/Special Interest Group?


Results in this section are generally positive, with 77% feeling Wolverhampton Homes are good at keeping

tenants informed about things that affect them. However, awareness of tenant involvement opportunities is

still fairly low (48% unaware of tenants and residents associations and 52% of Get Togethers). 38% also

feel that they do not get enough information about how tenants influence decisions. Therefore further

promotion of these activities would hopefully increase awareness and may result in improvements in

satisfaction. Actually taking part in these activities themselves is not generally something of interest.



22%

44%

57%

61%

63%

77%

77%

55%

42%

21%

7%

Bungalow

Flat

House

Maisonette

16 - 24

25 - 34

35 - 44

45 - 54

55 - 64

65 - 74

75+

12) Using the internet

This section presents tenants internet usage.

As the chart below shows, 50% of tenants have access to the internet. There is a high degree of variation in

the proportion of tenants who have internet access depending on the property type. 22% of tenants living in

a bungalow, and 61% of tenants living in a maisonette, have access to the internet. When analysing the

results by age it shows, at 77%, tenants aged between 25 and 44 are more likely than tenants in other age

groups to have access to the internet. Results are relatively similar to the 2011 survey, where 45% said

they have access.

Figure 37 Access to the internet


Yes No

50%

50%



Tenants who have access to the internet were asked which devices they use to connect to the internet. The

majority (92%) of tenants connect to the internet using a PC, Laptop, or tablet. 29% of tenants connect to

the internet using a smart phone, while 17% use a Digital TV to connect to the internet. In the 2011

survey, 94% said they use a PC/Laptop/Tablet, whilst 18% used a smartphone which has since increased.

Figure 38 Device used to access the internet

Percentage of respondents who have access to the internet – multiple responses

92%

17%

29%

PC / Laptop /

tablet

Digital TV

Smartphone

90% of tenants connect to the internet using their own internet connection. By comparison only; 10% use

their family or friends internet connection, 8% use a community centre/ library / other public internet

connection, and 3% use a work connection. Results are almost identical to the 2011 survey.

Figure 39 Connection used to go online


90%

10%

8%

3%

My own internet

connection

Family / friends

internet connect

Community centre /

library / other public

internet connection

Work connection

As Figure 40 overleaf shows, 73% of tenants who have access to the internet use it for general web

browsing, 66% of tenants who have access to the internet use it for emails, and a similar proportion (65%)

use it for social networking / communicating online. Results are almost identical to the 2011 survey.



47%

38%

30%

22%

13%

8%

8%

7%

Don't want to use the internet

Equipment costs too high

Access costs too high

Lack of confidence/skills

Privacy and security concerns

No free internet access near me

None of the above

Physical disability

73%

66%

65%

53%

51%

22%

General web browsing

Emails

Social networking / communicating

online

Shopping

Banking / paying bills

Video games / gaming

Figure 40 What do you do online


Tenants who do not have access to the internet were asked why they do not use the internet. 47% of

tenants state they do not use the internet due to not wanting to use the internet. 38% of tenants do not use

the internet because equipment costs are too high, while 30% of tenants express that they do not use it

because access costs are too high

Figure 41 Why do you not use the internt

Percentage of respondents who do not have access to the internet – multiple responses



93% 95%90%

Tradesperson show proof of

identity

Gas servicing appointment kept Tradesperson explain what

would happen

6%

7%

6%

6%

25%

27%

28%

27%

65%

65%

63%

64%

Being told when the

tradesperson would call

The attitude of the

tradesperson

Keeping dirt and mess to

a minimum

With gas servicing

arrangements in general

Very dissatisfied Fairly dissatisfied Neither Fairly satisfied Very sastisfied

Total

90%

92%

91%

91%

13) Gas Servicing

This section sets out how tenants who have an annual Gas Service feel about it

Tenants who have an annual Gas Service were asked how satisfied they were with four aspects of that

service. As the chart below shows, a high proportion of tenants are satisfied with all four aspects with; 92%

of tenants who have an annual Gas Service are satisfied with the attitude of the tradesperson, 91% are

satisfied with dirt and mess being kept to a minimum and gas servicing arrangements in general, and 90%

are satisfied with being told when the tradesperson would call. It is worth noting that for all four aspects over

six out of ten tenants who have an annual Gas Service express that they are very satisfied. Results are

very similar to the 2011 survey results.


Percentage of respondents who have an annual Gas Service

95% of tenants who have an annual Gas Service state that the gas servicing appointment was kept, 93%

express that the tradesperson did show proof of identify and 90% express that if follow on work was

required the tradesperson explained what would happen. Results are very similar to the 2011 survey.

Figure 43 Did the following happen on gas servicing…

Percentage of respondents who have an annual Gas Service

Results in this section are positive, with all satisfaction ratings over 90%. Results are similar to the 2011

survey showing that the high standards of service are being maintained.

2011 results: 89% told when would call 93% attitude 94% dirt and mess 92% arrangements in gen

2011 results: 95% show id 95% appointment kept 92% explain what would happen



14) Estate Services

This section sets out tenants who live in a flat, maisonette or bedsit satisfaction with the estate

services. Please note the 2011 STAR survey did not filter out anyone who perceived themselves to

receive estate services (for example tenants who live in houses).

79% of tenants (who live in a flat, maisonette, or bedsit) are satisfied with the overall appearance of their

neighbourhood, with around three quarters (26%) very satisfied. 79% were also satisfied in 2011.

Figure 44 Satisfaction with overall appearance of your neighbourhood

Percentage of respondents who live in a flat maisonette or bedsit

26%

53%

9%

7%

5%

Very satisfied

Fairly satisfied

Neither

Fairly dissatisfied

Very dissatisfied

79%

Satisfaction

73% of tenants (who live in a flat, maisonette, or bedsit) are satisfied with the grounds maintenance service

provided by Wolverhampton Homes. Around a third (32%) are very satisfied with the grounds maintenance

service, whilst 17% indicate some degree of dissatisfaction. In 2011, 80% were satisfied and 11%

dissatisfied.

Figure 45 Satisfaction with grounds maintenance service provided by Wolverhampton Homes

Percentage of applicable respondents who live in a flat maisonette or bedsit

32%

41%

10%

9%

8%

Very satisfied

Fairly satisfied

Neither

Fairly dissatisfied

Very dissatisfied

73%

Satisfaction

Tenants 2011 = 79%

Tenants 2011 = 80%



74% of tenants (who live in a flat, maisonette, or bedsit) are satisfied with the cleaning of internal communal

areas, with 39% very satisfied. A smaller proportion (68%) of tenants are satisfied with the cleaning of

external communal areas. Results are relatively similar to the 2011 survey (73% and 71% respectively).

Figure 46 Satisfaction with the cleaning of…


8% 12%8% 6%

11% 14%

35%37%

38% 31%

Internal communal areas External communal areas

Very satisfied

Fairly satisfied

Neither

Fairly dissatisfied

Very dissatisfied


72% of tenants (who live in a flat, maisonette, or bedsit) are satisfied with the overall estate services

provided by Wolverhampton Homes. 28% are very satisfied. Results have dropped slightly since the 2011

survey when 78% were satisfied and 7% dissatisfied.

Figure 47 Satisfaction with the overall estate services provided by Wolverhampton Homes


28%

44%

17%

5%

5%

Very satisfied

Fairly satisfied

Neither

Fairly dissatisfied

Very dissatisfied

72%

Satisfaction

Two thirds of tenants (who live in a flat, maisonette, or bedsit) (66%) are satisfied with the Concierge

Service. A fairly high proportion (24%) are neither satisfied nor dissatisfied, with only 10% dissatisfied.

Results have dropped slightly since 2011 where 73% were satisfied. 75% of tenants on Wolverhampton

Homes’ concierge list are satisfied with the concierge service, with 31% very satisfied.

Tenants 2011 = 78%

2011 results: 73% internal 71% external



Figure 48 Satisfaction with the Concierge Service


26%

40%

24%

31%

43%

17%

7%

3%

4%

5%

Very satisfied

Fairly satisfied

Neither

Fairly dissatisfied

Very dissatisfied Survey Responses

WH concierge List

75% of tenants on

Wolverhampton

Homes known

concierge list are

satisfied compared

to 66% of all tenants

who responded

Tenants (who live in a flat, maisonette, or bedsit) were finally asked to choose which area they wish

Wolverhampton Homes would focus its attention upon within or around their block. Similar proportions

would like Wolverhampton Homes to focus its attention on security (27%), cleaning (25%) and grounds

maintenance (24%). Security was top of the list in 2011 (26%), followed by litter removal (21%), decoration

(19%) and grounds maintenance (18%).

Figure 49 Which area should Wolverhampton Homes focus its attention

Percentage of respondents who live in a flat maisonette or bedsit

27%

25%

24%

14%

10%

Security

Cleaning

Grounds maintenance

Decoration

Fly tipping

Results in this section are generally positive, particularly with the overall appearance of the neighbourhood

79%). Although satisfaction with the various estate services are fairly good, they have seen a slight drop

across all indicators, ranging from an 7% drop for the concierge service and for the grounds maintenance

service and 6% for the overall estate services. Further investigation may need to be done on what has

caused this general drop across the board.

Tenants 2011 = 73%



8% 13% 5% 12%9%

11%9%

8%

35%30%

16%

41%

27% 29%

38%

20%

17%32%

22%20%

Anti-social behaviour Complaints Your enquiries

generally

Moving or swapping

your homes

Very satisfied

Fairly satisfied

Neither

Fairly dissatisfied

Very dissatisfied

Total Satisfaction: 49% 46% 70% 40%

15) General

This section sets out tenants general thoughts about Wolverhampton Homes.

When contacting Wolverhampton Homes in the last 12 months about the following issues:

♦ 70% of tenants were satisfied with how enquiries generally were dealt with

♦ 49% of tenants were satisfied with how anti-social behaviour was dealt with

♦ 46% of tenants were satisfied with how complaints were dealt with

♦ 40% of tenants were satisfied with how moving or swapping homes was dealt with

Results have dropped since the 2011 survey, where 80% were satisfied with how enquiries were dealt with,

63% with how ASB was dealt with, 67% with how complaints were dealt with and 48% with

moving/swapping homes is dealt with. However, there is a high proportion of tenants that are neither

satisfied nor dissatisfied with how ASB (35%), complaints (30%), and moving or swapping homes (41%),

were dealt with. These are all much higher than the 2011 survey results. Please note that a change in

satisfaction could be because in 2011 these four aspects were rated by all respondents in comparison to

2012 where they have been rated by respondents who have been in contact with Wolverhampton Homes in

the last 12 months for any of the issues.



*Please note there has been a change in question wording from 2011 to 2012; 2011 wording was ‘How satisfied or

dissatisfied are you with the way Wolverhampton / your TMO deals with the following…’, 2012 wording was ‘If you have

been in contact with Wolverhampton Homes in the last 12 months for any of the following issues, could you tell us how

satisfied or dissatisfied you were wit the way Wolverhampton Homes dealt with them…’

Respondents were asked if they agree or disagree with the following statements; ‘I trust Wolverhampton

Homes’, and ‘Wolverhampton Homes treats its tenants fairly’. As the chart below shows, 75% of tenants

agree that they trust Wolverhampton Homes, and 73% of tenants agree that Wolverhampton Homes treats

its tenants fairly. In the 2011 survey 73% said they trusted Wolverhampton Homes, whilst treating tenants

fairly was not asked.

2011 results*: 63% ASB 67% complaints 80% enquiries generally 48% moving / swapping home



19% 18%

51%

22% 22%

2% 3%4% 6%

53%

I trust Wolverhampton Homes Wolverhampton Homes treats its

tenants fairly

Agree strongly

Agree

Neither

Disagree

Disagree Strongly

Total agreement: 75% 73%

Figure 51 Agreement with…


Respondents who said that Wolverhampton Homes treats its tenants unfairly were asked to provide

comments on why they felt this was the case. These responses were then coded. The top three reasons

why tenants feel that Wolverhampton Homes treats its tenants unfairly is due to work/repairs have not been

done that need doing (28%), there is preference given to other tenants (26%), and poor customer service

(22%).

Figure 52 Reason why Wolverhampton Homes treats its tenants unfairly

Percentage of respondents who express Wolverhampton Homes treats its tenants’ unfairly

26%

9%

11%

22%

13%

28%

7%

22%

1%

Preference given to other tenants

Preference given to other areas

Lack of support from WH

Poor customer service

Repairs reported and not done

Work/repairs not done that need doing

Bad neighbours

Penalised for rent/charges issues

Other

77% of respondents that disagreed that Wolverhampton Homes treats it’s tenants fairly agreed to have their

details passed onto Wolverhampton Homes so they can discuss their views further.



1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

7% 3% 4% 4% 14% 7% 8% 16% 10% 26%

Mean score = 6.9

Not at all likely Extremely likely

77%

23%

Yes

No

Agree to have

details passed

onto

Wolverhampton

Homes

Figure 53 Agree to have details passed onto Wolverhampton Homes so they can discuss views further

Percentage of respondents who express Wolverhampton Homes treats its tenants’ unfairly

Respondents were asked how likely on a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is not at all likely and 10 is extremely

likely, they would be to recommend Wolverhampton Homes to family or friends. With a mean score of 6.9

for all tenants it shows that tenants are fairly likely to recommend Wolverhampton Homes to family and

friends. This is identical to the 2011 survey. It is worth noting that around a quarter of tenants said they are

extremely likely to recommend Wolverhampton Homes to family and friends, while over half (53%) of

tenants select 8 or higher.

Figure 54 Recommend Wolverhampton Homes to family or friends?


Only 10% of tenants are interested in downsizing to a smaller property or swapping with a family who needs

a bigger home. Of these, 85% agreed to have their details passed onto Wolverhampton Homes.



90%

10%

Yes

No

Interested

in

downsizing

85%

15%

Yes

No

Agree to have

details passed

onto

Wolverhampton

Homes

Figure 55 Interested in downsizing


Results in this section show drops in satisfaction levels for the various ways Wolverhampton Homes deals

with issues, particularly with the way complaints are dealt with (21% drop) and ASB (14% drop). However,

the proportion of tenants neither satisfied nor dissatisfied has increased quite substantially showing that

dissatisfaction is not increasing significantly. However, tenants did have an option to say that they have ‘no

opinion’ therefore they making an informed choice when saying that they are neither satisfied nor

dissatisfied. This is cause for concern and something that Wolverhampton Homes needs to address.



16) Conclusion of survey findings

In summary, the 2012 survey shows that Wolverhampton Homes is continuing to perform at a good

standard and many results are consistent with those in the 2011 survey. This section looks to identify the

key areas of success and the areas that need further improvement.

Areas of success:

Your Views

Results for this section are generally very good, with high satisfaction levels for the overall service provided

by Wolverhampton Homes (85%), overall quality of the home (82%), neighbourhood as a place to live

(81%) and condition of the home (80%). Although some areas have seen small drops, these are not

significant.

Gas Servicing

Satisfaction with the gas servicing, the customer service and staff involved in undertaking the work are very

high, with all results over 90%. 95% said the gas servicing appointment was kept, 93% said the

tradesperson showed proof of identity and 92% were satisfied with the attitude of the tradesperson.

Decent Homes Programme

In HouseMark’s recent publication1 it demonstrates that although there is no evidence that the higher the

amount a landlord spends on maintenance the higher a tenant’s satisfaction is, when looking at the

difference Decent Homes makes there is a correlation, as seen with this survey, which suggests that

improvements to properties will have some positive impact on satisfaction levels.

Areas for improvement:

Advice and Support Services

Results in this section show lower satisfaction levels than we would generally expect to see. Furthermore,

when we compare results to the 2011 survey, we can see a drop in satisfaction with the support for new

tenants (from 67% to 53%) and support for vulnerable tenants (from 58% to 51%). However, dissatisfaction

levels are generally low, with large proportions of tenants neither satisfied nor dissatisfied (37%, 37% and



36% respectively). However, the proportion of tenants neither satisfied nor dissatisfied has increased

significantly since 2011 (from 24% for new tenants and 30% for vulnerable tenants), rather than

dissatisfaction increasing. These tenants need to be moved from the ‘neither’ option back to satisfied to

rectify this decline.

Welfare Reforms

Results show that there is a knowledge gap about the welfare reforms, with a high proportion not knowing

anything about the reforms (42%) and 53% unsure if they will be affected. Offering further advice and

support to tenants on how they may personally be affected is needed to make sure those that may be

affected are armed with the information and tools they need, to minimise the impact of the changes.

Contact and Communication

Satisfaction ratings for the customer service tenants experienced when contacting Wolverhampton Homes

are relatively good. However, as we found with the 2011 survey findings, problems arise when the first

person tenants spoke to was unable to deal with their issue. Only 15% found it easy making contact with

the correct person and only 12% felt the person they spoke to was able to fully deal with their query to their

satisfaction. These figures have both dropped since the 2011 survey from 24% and 29% respectively.

Further work needs to be done to ensure other members of staff are equipped to deal with queries, or

frontline staff need to be trained to deal with a wider range of issues.

Estate services

Although results in this section are generally positive, they have seen a slight drop across all indicators

since 2011, ranging from an 7% drop for the concierge services (to 66%), 7% for the grounds maintenance

service (to 73%) and 6% for the overall estate services (to 72%). Further research with this group of tenants

may be needed to identify why results have dropped to ensure this is rectified.

Dealing with issues

Satisfaction levels have also seen a decline since 2011 with the various ways Wolverhampton Homes

deals with issues. This is particularly prominent with the way complaints are dealt with (21% drop to 46%)

and ASB (14% drop to 49%). However, dissatisfaction levels are generally low, but the proportion of tenants

who are neither satisfied nor dissatisfied has increased quite substantially. This is cause for concern and

something that Wolverhampton Homes needs to address.

1 HouseMark STAR benchmarking service; Summary of findings 2011/12, January 2013



Appendices

Appendix 1: Sample composition

Appendix 2: Tenants survey questionnaire



Appendix 1 – Sample composition

Percent

Age-group

16 – 24 5%

25 – 34 16%

35 – 44 18%

45 – 54 18%

55 – 64 15%

65 – 74 13%

75+ 13%


Less than 1 year 8%

1 to 2 years 16%

3 to 5 years 15%

6 to 10 years 17%

11 to 20 years 22%

21+ years 23%

Property type

Bungalow 5%

Flat 41%

House 51%

Maisonette 4%

Household member day to day activity limited due to health

Yes, limited a lot 23%

Yes, limited a little 21%

No 56%

Housing benefit

Full housing benefit 51%

Partial housing benefit 18%

Do not receive housing benefit 31%



Appendix 2 – Tenants survey questionnaire

















Documents

12142 Wolverhampton Homes tenants final report · 2010 2011 2012 M·E·L Comparison Group Average* *As of December 2012 . WOLVERHAMPTON HOMES STAR SURVEY 2012 M·E·L RESEARCH Measurement