Welcome to Oxbode’s Annual Report to Tenants 2010.
The new regulator for social housing - the Tenant Services Authority (TSA) - has recently
issued new rules which require every housing association to produce an annual report for
tenants in a defined format and this report follows that expectation.
The new regulatory framework not only sets out national standards that all landlords
must meet, but also requires landlords and residents to look at areas where a local offer
can be agreed.
A local offer means something that Oxbode agrees with its tenants and residents because
it is important to them. It may not be something that other landlords are doing, but that’s
what makes it local to us. This also means that its not about taking a one size fits all
approach to what we do or the services we provide. We might have different local offers
for people who live in a particular area, or for people who have disabilities or for families,
because they need and want different things.
In this report, we look at the six TSA National Standards and examine what we do well
alongside areas where we can improve. We also look at the opportunities for agreeing
local offers under each standard with our tenants and, where applicable, provide some
details about what we are currently doing to achieve this.
Please contact a member of staff if you would like to discuss anything detailed in this
report further.
Annual Report To Tenants 2010
A Charitable Housing Association
Building More than Houses…
...Building Communities through Partnership
2
Tenant Involvement and Empowerment - Which includes:
Customer Care - Good information, more choice, high standards of service, handling
things well if they go wrong, and most importantly listening !
Tenant involvement - Giving you the chance to get involved in what we do. Giving you the
chance to say how we can make things better and how you can check
that we are doing what we say we will do.
Diversity - Treating everyone fairly and with respect. Making sure that we
understand what our tenants need.
What we do well
• Service - Oxbode provide good
information to residents. We listen,
provide a high standard of service and
always endeavour to put things right if
they go wrong.
• Tenant involvement - There are a wide
range of opportunities to be involved
with Oxbode and to check on whether
improvements have taken place.
• Our staff profile reflects local communi-
ties
• Diversity - Staff are regularly trained on
equality and diversity issues
We can improve by
• Working with the Tenants Forum to
undertake more structured scrutiny and
undertake formal training for tenants
• Getting a wider range of people involved
with us - more families, younger people,
people with disabilities and people from
minority ethnic backgrounds
• Review our complaints procedures to
make sure they are widely publicised
and understood.
• Ensure that the person answering the
telephone always gives their name
Local Offers
• Reviewing, with tenants, a new set of
Service Standards
• Implement a system of more specific
standards for older and disabled
residents.
Evidence - Status Survey 2009:
• 83% of tenants were positive about the
services they receive.
• Tenant Forum members undertake
follow up visits to new tenants and
regularly review performance of
contractors.
• 85% of tenants thought Oxbode kept
them informed of issues important to
them as tenants.
• 79% of tenants thought Oxbode did
enough to involve tenants.
• Minutes of the Tenant Forum
3
Your Home
Making sure that your home is a safe, secure and comfortable place to live. Ensuring that
Oxbode offers an excellent repairs and maintenance service, cyclical maintenance program and
planned works program.
What we do well
• 100% of Oxbode homes meet the
Government’s Decent Homes Standard
• High levels of satisfaction with the
quality of our homes
• Comprehensive planned maintenance
programme that supports our business
plan
• Consistently meeting response times on
day to day repairs
• High levels of tenant satisfaction with
planned, cyclical and day to day
maintenance work
• Major repair contracts let through
rigorous tender processes with tenant
involvement at each key stage
We can improve by -
• Fitting carpets to all new build
properties
• Fitting Solar heating panels where
appropriate to all new build properties
• Investigate other options for
commissioning Occupational Therapist
services
• Upgrading replacement boilers with “A”
rated boilers
• Installing Co2 detectors as standard
• Installing de-scalers with all boiler
replacements
• Accurate and up to date stock condition
survey
Local Offers
• Consult with tenants to agree “Decent
Homes Plus” - i.e. a higher standard
• Offer a wider range of repairs and
maintenance services to older residents
• Consult with tenants on appropriate
standards in grounds maintenance
Evidence
• Satisfaction Levels are High :
Day to day - 99%
Aids and Adaptations - 100%
Boiler Replacements (planned) - 100%
Painting (cyclical) - 100%
Kitchen Replacement (planned) - 89%
4
Your Tenancy
We must follow the rules, and act fairly when we let homes, charge rent and manage your
tenancy.
What we do well
• We have a very good relationship with
our Local Authority partners
• We can signpost tenants in need of
support to relevant and appropriate
agencies
• Have worked proactively with Local
Authorities during the introduction of
Gloucestershire Homeseeker
• We comply with all rules associated
with rent setting
We can improve by -
• Making sure that when we let our
homes quickly, we ensure standards
continue to be met and tenant’s needs
remain paramount.
• Regularly update residents on how
rents and service charges are set.
Local Offers
• Introducing starter tenancies to make
sure that new tenants are fully aware
of their tenancy obligations
• Investigate “Golden Goodbyes”,
rewarding properties being left in a
clean and letable condition.
Evidence
• Low empty property turnaround times
• Low arrears levels
• Low average rent amounts - £82.90pw
compared to £92.35pw for the South
West Benchmarking Group.
Lettings
During 2009/2010 Oxbode re-let 32 homes and let 21 new homes meaning 53 homes were let to new
tenants. It took staff an average of 6 days to let these new homes, well below our own target of 10
days.
Of the 53 new tenants, 18% were from the BME community, 17% were homeless and 21% were under
25 years of age.
Rents
Total rental income for 2009/2010 £1,836,454.00
Average weekly rent £82.90
Rent arrears as a % of the rent charged for
the year
2.15 %
Number of people evicted for not paying
their rent
1
5
Empty property loss
and Bad Debts
1p
Estate Costs - Repairs
23p
Estate Costs - Services
2p
Estate Costs - Other
2pManagement Costs -
Staff
17p
Management
Costs - Office
8p
Depreciation
5p
Mortgage Interest &
Costs
28p
Management Costs -
Consultancy and
Professional Fees
6p Surplus for
Year
8p
The chart below shows the breakdown of how every £1 is spent
Repair Performance Information Oxbode HA 2009/2010 South West Benchmarking Club
Average 2009/2010
Jobs Completed Within Target Times
Emergency 100% 100%
Jobs Completed Within Target Times
Urgent 99.6% 94.9%
Jobs Completed Within Target Times
Routine 99.5% 93.7%
Tenant Satisfaction with individual
repair carried out 99% 89.3%
Question Result
(shown as a % of positive or satisfied responses)
Satisfaction with accommodation (quality) 94%
Satisfaction with the condition of your home 91%
Satisfaction with repairs service generally 82%
When you last contacted the office, was it easy to get hold
of the right person 91%
Were staff helpful when you last contacted the office 87%
Other results from the 2009 Customer Satisfaction
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Name Position Membership Committee
Grenville Hague Chair of Oxbode and Chair of
Housing Management
Professional Housing Management
John Whittam Chair of Development, Finance
& Personnel
Professional Development, Finance &
Personnel
Kate Clemmow Vice Chair of Oxbode Professional Development, Finance &
Personnel
Graham Hobby Professional Development, Finance &
Personnel
Ann Evans Community Housing Management and
Development, Finance &
Personnel
Cllr Gordon Heath Community Housing Management
Canon Dr Jeni Parsons Community Housing Management
Mark Ravenscroft Community Development, Finance &
Personnel
Dave Eaketts Tenant Development, Finance &
Personnel
Shirley Kempson Tenant Housing Management
Valerie Woolger Tenant Housing Management
Board Membership
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450
Oxbode Properties
Shared Ownership Properties
Leashold Properties
Westle Properties (Managed by Oxbode)
443
34
3
91
Number of Homes in management at the end of
March 2010
7
Your Neighbourhood and Community
Keeping the area where you live clean and safe, this includes taking a strong and supportive
approach to anti social behaviour.
What we do well
• We carry out regular estate inspections
on our major estates
• We have developed strong partnerships
with local authorities, the Police and
voluntary organisations
• We are involved in a wide variety of
community initiatives to help improve
the quality of life in our neighbourhoods
• Mutual Respect Contracts are used on
estates to promote neighbourliness
We can improve by -
• Carrying out inspections of all of our
housing schemes
• Communicate better with you about
what we are doing to tackle problems
or issues on estates
• Reviewing our landscape maintenance
contracts
Local Offers
• We want to agree estate standards with
residents who live in particular
neighbourhoods to help increase
satisfaction levels
• We want to discuss with residents the
frequency of inspections and agree
priorities for improvements
• Developing the use of starter tenancies
to help combat Anti Social Behaviour
Evidence
• The work we do with partner agencies
has resulted in no tenants being evicted
for Anti Social Behaviour
• 77% of you are satisfied with the
neighbourhood within which you live.
• Oxbode financially supports and sits on
the management board of ‘The Venture
- White City’
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Value for Money
The way we manage our resources to provide cost-effective, efficient, quality services and
homes to meet tenants’ and future tenants’ needs.
What we do well
• We set and maintain our budgets so
that our income covers our costs
• Major contracts are tendered to provide
the best possible product or service for
the best possible price
• Buying in services where it is cost
effective and using procurement clubs.
• Benchmark costs with other
organisations
We can improve by -
• Consult those residents who have
shown an interest in how we spend
money
• More extensive benchmarking
• Exploring more opportunities with
partners for sharing services.
Local Offers
• Prioritising expenditure against tenants’
wish list items
Evidence
• 83% of tenants felt that their rent was
good value for money
• Identified savings in planned
maintenance costs
• Hired outside consultants to monitor
energy consumption and cost
• Selling the skills and services that staff
can offer to other organisations
• Buying in financial services from other
organisations instead of employing own
staff
• Undertaking stock condition surveying
in house
9
Governance and Financial Viability
Making sure that Oxbode has effective governance arrangements in place so that the business
is run properly and efficiently. The voluntary board should act in an accountable and
transparent manner.
Oxbode should also manage its resources effectively to ensure that the financial viability of the
association is maintained.
What we do well
• Residents are involved at a strategic
level through our Board and Tenants
Forum
• We have a good mix of people with
different skills on our Board
• We have strong performance, risk and
treasury management systems in place
• We have regularly reviewed standing
orders ,terms of reference and dele-
gated authority within the organisation
• We regularly report on meeting our
lenders requirements
• We have regularly reviewed internal
financial controls
• We review our financial plans yearly
with our accountants.
• We undertake regular internal audits by
an external organisation and check on
implementation.
We can improve by -
• Our Board could reflect the community
better
• Reviewing our training and induction for
board members.
Local Offers
• Explore how links between the resident
associations and the Forum can be
strengthened and made more effective
in prioritising ideas for improvements.
Evidence
• Recent adoption by the Board of the
National Housing Federation Code of
Governance
• Review of compliance against the Code
of Governance.
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What does this mean ?
Oxbode are committed to work with residents to drive improvements in terms of and the
quality and cost of services.
What happens next ?
From our survey in September 2009, residents thought of Oxbode as a small association and
indicated that they saw a positive benefit generally in terms of the quality of services Oxbode
delivered, being small and locally based.
Therefore, for us, being small means working together to:
a) make sure our services are more responsive, and
b) making Oxbode more accountable in meeting residents expectations
Oxbode Housing Association Ltd - 9 Pullman Court Great Western Road Gloucester GL1 3ND
[email protected] - 01452 505359 - www.oxbodehousing.org.uk
Your Feedback Needed
We would like to hear from you if you have any comments regarding this report to tenants,
as well as the main annual report. Please complete the enclosed feedback form and return to
the address at the bottom of the page. Alternatively you may prefer to e-mail your
comments and you can do this using the e-mail address, again at the bottom of the page.
This report is your report and contains information regarding our performance against the
standards set by the Tenants Services Authority. We have consulted a group of residents
from various areas on the layout and content of the report. If you would like to be involved in
next years report, please also indicate your intent on the feedback form.
Please contact a member of staff if you would like to discuss anything detailed in this report
further.