Notting Hill Housing Trust 'has more strengths than weaknesses' in the areas inspected according to a report released today by the independent Audit Commission.
Audit Commission inspectors reached this conclusion following a short-notice inspection of how the London-based housing association is performing in the areas of: repairs that tenants report; the servicing of gas appliances; and preparing empty homes to be re-let. This was because repairs to its homes are generally carried out quickly, to a good standard and customer satisfaction is high. New tenants receive good information and support and works to re-let homes are to a good standard. However, although there has been some recent improvement, gas servicing on average over the last year has been weak and inconsistent with sometimes large numbers of properties not meeting legal timescales for gas safety certificates.
Hugh Boatswain, Audit Commission Lead Housing Inspector, said:
'Notting Hill Housing Trust has a customer orientated approach to tenants which meets their diverse needs. There is an effective arrangement for delivering responsive repairs, although repairs are not always completed on the first visit. There is an effective information and support system for new tenants and works to empty homes that are re-let are generally to a good standard. New arrangements for servicing gas installations to tenants' homes have been put in place, however, they are not yet meeting the Trusts' legal requirement to service all tenants' homes within twelve months.'
Strengths include:
- repairs are completed within target times and to a good standard;
- there is a customer-focused appointment system enabling tenants to make appointments at convenient times, including first appointments, morning, afternoon avoiding school runs, evenings and Saturday mornings;
- tenant satisfaction with the repairs service is high;
- performance for the current year for letting empty homes is strong;
- there is effective information and support for new tenants; and
- the services inspected are sensitive to the different needs of customers.
Weaknesses include:
- repairs are not always completed on the first visit;
- copies of the standard of letting are not provided to prospective tenants at viewings; and
- there is weak and inconsistent performance on gas servicing with a number of properties without a current gas safety certificate.
Recommendations include:
- increase performance on gas servicing to ensure all homes are serviced annually;
- improving the performance of completing repairs right on the first visit;
- reviewing service standards, in liaison with customers, to ensure they are
- comprehensive and provide a clear understanding of services; and
- increasing the diversity information held on individual tenants.
The Tenant Services Authority (TSA) is the affordable housing regulator in England and works with the Audit Commission on the inspection of housing associations. The TSA commissions the Audit Commission to carry out inspections and the results are used by the TSA in its overall assessment of housing association performance.
Notes to editors
The Notting Hill Housing Trust was set up in 1963 to provide good quality social housing in West London.
The Trust is the largest of the partners in the Notting Hill Housing Group which also includes Notting Hill Home Ownership. Three housing associations, Presentation, Croydon Peoples and Pathway were merged with the group in July 2009. The group manages about 25,000 homes across London and the South East of England.
The Audit Commission introduced short-notice inspections for housing associations to give inspectors a clearer and more realistic view of the services that tenants receive.
Associations are given just five days notice of the inspection before their services are rated on a four point scale - from 'strengths significantly outweigh weaknesses' down to 'weaknesses outweigh strengths'.
Within two months of the publication of this report, Notting Hill Housing Trust will provide the Audit Commission with a plan showing how it will implement the report's recommendations. The Commission will then assess and publish Notting Hill Housing Trust's prospects for improvement.
The Audit Commission is an independent watchdog, driving economy, efficiency and effectiveness in local public services to deliver better outcomes for everyone.
Our work across local government, health, housing, community safety and fire and rescue services means that we have a unique perspective. We promote value for money for taxpayers, auditing the £200 billion spent by 11,000 local public bodies.
As a force for improvement, we work in partnership to assess local public services and make practical recommendations for promoting a better quality of life for local people.
For further information please contact: Chloe Morales Oyarce, Regional Communications Manager (London) on 0844 798 2095