The housing management services provided by Tor Homes in South and East Devon are 'fair' and have 'promising' prospects for improvement according to an independent report released today by the Audit Commission.
On a scale from zero to three stars, the Audit Commission inspection team gave the service a 'fair', one-star rating. This is because Tor maintains homes well, repairs are done on time, and there is an effective approach to estate management. However, some areas still need improving such as getting empty homes relet quickly and ensuring services meet customers' needs.
Kieran Colgan, the Audit Commission’s Lead Housing Inspector for the South West, said:
'Tor Homes has gone through significant organisational changes in the last few years. We believe that it has the strength of leadership and the capacity to deliver significant improvements in its services for tenants.'
The inspectors found a number of positive features of the service:
- Tenant satisfaction is high with most services
- Tor maintains its homes well and completes repairs on time
- Annual gas safety checks and minor adaptations are done promptly
- Estates are well kept and there is a robust approach to tackling anti-social behaviour (ASB)
- Rent and other income collection performance is good
- Tor has had a strong focus on controlling costs and has made some significant savings
However, there are some issues that need to be tackled:
- Services can be difficult to access and they are not always delivered in a customer-focused way
- Better formal structures are needed to allow tenants to participate in developing services
- Performance in letting empty homes quickly is weak
- Common areas in flats do not meet a consistent standard and the estate inspection programme is underdeveloped
- Value for money has not been achieved in some important areas and should be a focus for improvement
To help the service improve, inspectors made a number of recommendations. These include:
- Improving customer access by setting challenging service standards and revising leaflets and the website
- Improving the management of common areas and ensuring empty homes are relet quickly
- Improving the approach to achieving better value for money for example, by improving contract management
Tor Homes has more than 3,200 homes mainly in the South Hams district with over 200 homes in the districts of East Devon, Exeter, Plymouth, Teignbridge and Torbay. It was formed in 1999 to take over the housing stock of South Hams District Council. It joined the Devon and Cornwall Housing group in 2007.
Copies of the report are available from Tor Homes or on the Audit Commission website
Notes to editors
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.
Further details about the role of the Audit Commission can be obtained from www.audit-commission.gov.uk
For further information, or for an embargoed copy of the full report, please contact:
Callum Collins, Senior Regional Communications Manager (Southern)
Tel: 0117 901 8883