Agenda item

The Assistant Director of Environmental and Housing Property Services presented a report on the subject of the Housing Regulator Tenant Satisfaction Measures.

Members were informed that the Housing Regulator had introduced 22 tenant satisfaction measures in 2023.  These measures were designed to help regulate the performance of housing providers, including Redditch Borough Council.  The Council had monitored the authority’s performance in accordance with these measures in 2023/24 and 2024/25 and the data for both years had been included in the report for Members’ consideration.

There were two key elements in the report that were highlighted for the Executive Committee’s attention:

·             The Tenant Perception Survey results for the two years, which highlighted that there had been improvements to performance in most areas.  A change had been made to the survey in 2024/25, compared to the previous year, through the inclusion of free text comment sections to enable the Council to assess the reasons for particular responses to certain questions.  In considering the results for this section, Members were asked to note that the Repairs and Maintenance team had recruited a number of new team members and invested in modernising technical equipment during this period.

·             The Council’s responsibilities as a landlord and how the authority was performing compared to other providers.  The Council was performing well in many areas although improvements still needed to be made in Repairs and Maintenance.

Officers were in the process of developing an improvement plan and this was at an interim stage by the date of the meeting.  A response from the Housing Regulator to the latest inspection of the Council was due to be announced publicly in July 2025 and a report would subsequently be presented on the outcomes of this process for the Executive Committee’s consideration in September 2025.

Members subsequently discussed the report in detail and in doing so commented on the following areas:

·             The hard work of officers to try to improve performance and the need for further work to be undertaken.

·             The 100 per cent compliance with key requirements that had been reported for important areas such as gas safety checks.

·             The positive intentions amongst officers and Members to make further improvements, as demonstrated by the interim improvement plan.

·             The value of introducing a panel of local housing tenants to scrutinise housing performance.  Members commented that this development would be welcome and the panel could act as the tenants’ voice.

·             The action that was being taken to modernise housing services, including through investment in digital services.

·             The introduction of new teams to help address issues that impacted on tenants, including a new Damp and Mould team.

·             The sites visited by Members during recent ward walks with officers and the opportunities that this provided to Members to engage with residents directly, including with regard to any housing issues that tenants might be experiencing.

·             The need for the Council to communicate effectively the work of officers in relation to improving the performance of Housing Services.

·             The information included in the report that revealed how the Council’s performance compared to median performance levels and the need for the authority to be as ambitious as possible, in terms of aiming to perform at a level exceeding this.  Officers clarified that the data for the median performance levels had been included to enable Members to compare the Council’s performance to average performance levels in the sector.  However, Members were assured that the Council was striving for excellence.

·             The levels of requests for support received by Members from tenants relating to housing matters.  Members commented that this tended to occur where officers did not communicate effectively with tenants and this needed to continue to be addressed moving forward.

·             The data that had been reported in respect of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) and the extent to which this data was accurate.  The Committee was informed that Officers had identified this as a matter that required further investigation as it was recognised that this might not be accurate.

·             The frequency with which Officers had previously reported on the Council’s performance in respect of the Housing Regulator’s tenant satisfaction measures.  Members were informed that this had been identified as a gap in reporting procedures and for this reason officers were proposing to report to the Executive Committee on a quarterly basis in future.

·             The opportunities that would be provided for tenants to submit expressions of interest to participate in future panels that would represent the voice of housing tenants.

RESOLVED that

1)          the Council’s 2024/25 Tenant Satisfaction Measures and the Housing Interim Improvement Plan be approved; and

2)          a quarterly update on the Tenant Satisfaction Measures (Landlord) and progress against the Housing Improvement Plan be reported in future to the Executive Committee.