Annual Housing Performance Benchmarking Report 2021-22 and Tenant Satisfaction Survey 2022
Renfrewshire Council · 25 October 2022
Back to Communities and Housing Policy Board — 25 October 2022 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
Page 1
___________________________________________________________________ To: Communities and Housing Policy Board On: 25 October 2022 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Director of Communities & Housing Services ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Annual Housing Performance Benchmarking Report 2021/22 and Tenant Satisfaction Survey 2022 ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 This report provides information on the Council’s performance in 2021/22 on key Social Housing Charter indicators compared to other local authorities and Registered Social Landlords (RSLs). 1.2 The report also provides further information in relation to the Tenant Satisfaction Survey reported to the last meeting of the Policy Board, including the Executive Summary and link to the full document which together with the Benchmarking Report will be used to inform the ongoing improvement work of the Service. ___________________________________________________________________ 2. Recommendations 2.1 It is recommended that the Policy Board: (i) Notes the Council’s performance in 2021/22 on key Housing Charter indicators compared to other social landlords and the terms of the Tenant Satisfaction Survey set out in Appendix 1. (ii) Authorises the Director of Communities & Housing to use the information set out in the Benchmarking Report, Tenant Satisfaction Survey and other performance related documents to continue the programme for ongoing improvement in the delivery and operations of the Council’s Housing function to ensure that the quality of service to meet the needs of tenants is maintained and enhanced.
Page 2
3. Background 3.1 The Scottish Social Housing Charter enables each social housing provider to compare its performance against all social landlords in Scotland. The Annual Charter Return consists of 32 performance indicators and 14 contextual indicators and is submitted to the Scottish Housing Regulator (SHR) at the end of May each year. A report on Renfrewshire Council’s performance against the Charter in 2020/21 was presented to the Policy Board in August 2021. 3.2 Renfrewshire Council is a member of Scotland’s Housing Network which collects data from participating landlords and produces benchmarking information. The benchmarking data from Scotland’s Housing Network allows the Council to compare performance with a peer group of 26 local authorities. This report draws on that peer group data to benchmark Renfrewshire Council’s performance in 2020/21. 3.3 In addition, comparison with all landlords from the Scottish Housing Regulator’s Charter data is included (i.e. including all Registered Social Landlords in Scotland, irrespective of size) to allow comparison with a Scotland-wide average. 3.4 As reported to the Policy Board in August, Renfrewshire Council’s 2020/21 Charter Return highlighted the impact of the pandemic on the Housing service. Benchmarking is designed to assist with service improvement planning through comparison with other organisations. Key benchmarking results are summarised below. 3.5 This shows where Renfrewshire Council performs well compared to other social landlords as well as several areas where there is scope for further improvement. Nationally performance has been affected by the pandemic and in particular there has been a major effect on voids and re-let timescales. Other outcomes have been affected, with a wide variation across local authorities in impact. For example, tenancy sustainment has improved and there have been fewer evictions. 3.6 A full list of the Charter performance indicators for 2020/21 is provided at paragraph 4.8 of this report along with the Scotland Housing Network peer group average for 2020/21 and the Scotland-wide average published by the Scottish Housing Regulator for 2020/21. 4. Benchmarking Analysis 2020/21 4.1 Tenant Satisfaction Renfrewshire Council collects this information from a Tenant Satisfaction Survey which is carried out every two years by external consultants. The most recent survey was carried out in Spring 2022 and the headline results were reported to the Policy Board in August this year as part of the report on the Annual return on the Scottish Social Housing Charter.
Page 3
The Executive Summary of the Tenant Satisfaction Survey is attached to Appendix 1 of this Report and a link to the full document is provided for Members. The Survey along with the Performance and Benchmarking Updates will be used to inform the areas programme of ongoing improvement and commitments to meeting the needs of tenants that will be the subject to ongoing reports to this Policy Board. Members can access the link to the Tenant Satisfaction Survey below: https://www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/Tenants From the previous survey tenant satisfaction with the overall service provided by the Council has dropped to 82.4% from 88.8%. This is similar to the SHN group average of 82.7% in 2021/22 but below the Scottish average of 87.7% (21/22). There are areas of improvement, notably the percentage of tenants who feel rent represents value for money, this has increased to 83.4% and is better than both the SHN (81.2%) and Scottish averages (82.5%). 4.2 Customer and Landlord Relationship 91% of Renfrewshire Council tenants were satisfied with the way the Council keeps tenants informed. This compares favourably against the SHN (85.4%) and the Scottish (91.2%) averages. Similarly, 99% of Renfrewshire Council tenants said they were satisfied with ‘opportunities to participate’, a 5 percentage-point improvement from the previous survey in 2020/21, and considerably better than the SHN group average of 80.4% and also well above the Scottish average of 86.8%. In 2021/22, 95.9% of all 1st stage complaints were responded to in full, which is better than the SHN group average of 95.2%%, but slightly below the Scottish average of 96.8%. 96.2% of all 2nd stage complaints were responded to in full within Renfrewshire which better than both the SHN (92.8%) and Scottish (93.8%) averages. 4.3 Housing Quality and Maintenance As a direct consequence of the Council’s programme of EICR checks and smoke detector upgrades the Percentage of stock meeting the Scottish Housing Quality Standard (SHQS) (Indicator 6) dropped this year to 57%. The SHN average for SHQS compliance was 72% and the Scottish average was just over 74%. Both of these figures reflect a trend nationally in a reduction for SHQS compliance. This programme is nearing completion and our compliance with SHQS will increase significantly in next year’s return.
Page 4
79.9%of tenants were satisfied with the quality of their home, this is lower than both the SHN group average (81.2%) and the Scottish average (85.4%). This appears to be a trend across Scottish landlords over the past year, where satisfaction levels in this indicator are dropping. Renfrewshire Council’s average time to complete emergency repairs increased slightly to 7.1 hours from 6.2 hours in the previous year. This is longer than the SHN group average (4.5 hours) and the Scottish average (4.2 hours). The average time to complete non-emergency repairs was 14.6 days. This is longer than the SHN group average (9 days) and the Scottish average (8.9 days). 85% of non-emergency repairs were completed ‘right first time’ which is about the same as last year but lower than the SHN average (89.1%) and the Scottish average for 2020/21(88.3%). 95% of tenants who had repairs carried out were satisfied with the repairs service. This is better than last year (92%), and better than both the SHN average (87.2%) and the Scottish average (88%). 4.4 Estate Management, Anti-social Behaviour, Neighbourhood Nuisance, Tenant Disputes 87% of tenants were satisfied with their landlord’s contribution to the management of the neighbourhood, this has improved from the previous return (84.5%) and is better than both the SHN average of 81.5%. and the Scottish average 85.1%. The Council’s rate of refusal of tenancy offers has returned to pre pandemic levels at 39.6%, this is broadly similar to the SHN average (38.3%) but higher than the Scottish average (32.9%). 99.7% of anti-social behaviour cases were resolved. This is better than the SHN average (94%) and the Scottish average (94.7%). 4.5 Housing Options and Access to Housing 8.3% of lettable houses became vacant during the year which is an increase from last year’s figure of 6.6%. This is due to an increase in letting activity after the pandemic. Renfrewshire Council’s turnover is slightly higher than the SHN average (7.6%) and the Scottish average (7.8%). It took an average of 66 days to re-let properties this is considerably better than last year’s figure of 85.7 days. This indicator remains seriously impacted by pandemic restrictions. Wide differences in performance remain between local authorities, ranging from 124 days
Page 5
to 21 days. The SHN average was 55.5 days, and the Scottish average was 51.6 days. The average time to complete approved medical adaptations in 2021/22 was also affected by the pandemic restrictions as the average days increased to 142 days from 79 days. The SHN average increased to 52.1 days and the Scottish average reduced to an average of 54 days. The Council’s tenancy sustainment figure has improved slightly 92% to 92.2% of all new tenancies sustained for more than a year. This is marginally better than both the SHN average and the Scottish average who sit at around 91%. The rate of tenancy sustainment for new tenants who were formerly homeless continues to improve (89.4%) and is comparable to the SHN and the Scottish averages (90.2%). 4.6 Homelessness 32% of homeless households were referred to RSLs under ‘Section 5’ arrangements and through other referral routes which is higher than the SHN average of 26.7% and the SHR average of 27.4% 4.7 Good Value from Rents & Service Charges The amount of rent collected as a proportion of the total rent due in the reporting year was 98.2% which is slightly below both the SHN average of 98.7% and the Scottish average of 99.1%. The gross value of rent arrears as a percentage of rent due dipped in 2021/22 to 7.99% from 6.4%. Performance on gross rent arrears remains better than the SHN group average (8.2%) but higher than the Scottish average (6.3%). At 2% the proportion of rent lost through empty properties is above the SHN group average of 1.5% and the Scottish average of 1.4%. 4.8 Generally the legacy of the pandemic continues to present a number of specific challenges for the service, notably in terms of repairs, voids turnaround time and adaptations. These have been adversely affected with issues of supplies, materials and resources available to complete jobs. The Service will continue to address these challenges by using external contractors to assist our in-house service provider in meeting these demands.
Page 6
4.9 Housing Charter Indicators INDICATOR Renfrewshire Council S H N (1) S H R (2) 17/18 18/19 19/20 20/21 21/22 DOT 21/22 21/22 1 % satisfied with the overall service provided 88.0% 88.0% 88.8% 88.8% 82.4% 82.7% 87.7% 2 % satisfied with keeping tenants informed 82.2% 82.2% 88.4% 88.4% 91.1% 85.4% 91.2% 3 % of all complaints responded to in full at 1st stage n/a n/a 99.7% 100% 95.9% 95.2% 96.8% % of all complaints responded to in full at 2nd stage n/a n/a 94.1% 100% 96.2% 92.8% 93.8% 4 Average time in working days for a full response at Stage 1 n/a n/a 3.6 4.97 6.6 7.4 5.8 Average time in working days for a full response at Stage 2 n/a n/a 14.6 13.9 16.6 40 27.4 5 % satisfied with opportunities to participate 87.8% 87.8% 93.7% 93.7% 99% 80.4% 86.8% 6 % meeting the SHQS % stock 93.5% 94.3% 94.6% *80.1% 57.1% 72% 74.6% 7 % Satisfied with quality of home 83.9% 83.9% 86.1% 86.1% 79.9% 81.2% 85.4% 8 Average length of time taken to complete emergency repairs (hours) 5.1 5.1 5.5 6.2 7.1 4.5 4.2 9 Average length of time taken to complete non-emergency repairs (days) 7.1 6.9 7.8 10.7 14.6 9 8.9 10 % of non-emergency repairs completed right first time 90.2% 88.1% 82.6% 85.1% 85% 89.1% 88.3% 11 How many times in the reporting year did you not meet your statutory obligations to complete a gas safety check within 12 months of a gas appliance being fitted or its last check. 3 3 17 1417 142 2016 total 3028 total 12 % Satisfaction with repairs service 98.3% 92.5% 90.8% 92.0% 95% 87.2% 88% 13 % of tenants satisfied with the landlord's contribution to the management of the neighbourhood they live in 83.2% 83.2% 84.5% 84.5% 87% 81.5% 85.1% 14 % of tenancy offers refused 37.7% 46.4% 40.2% 24.1% 39.6% 38.3% 32.9% 15 % of anti-social behaviour cases reported in the last year which were resolved. 95.0% 96.0% 99.4% 99.8% 99.7% 94% 94.7% 16 % of new tenancies sustained – Overall 88.5% 88.5% 88.5% 92% 92.2% 91.1% 90.8% Existing Tenants 91.2% 94.2% 95.4% 95.5% 93.51 94.6 94.2% Homeless Tenants 84.6% 82.1% 80.4% 88.4% 89.39 90.2 90.2% Housing List 89.3% 90.0% 91.7% 92.8% 94.5 90.3 89.9% 17 % of Lettable Houses that became vacant in last year 9.2% 9.7% 9.5% 6.6% 8.3% 7.6% 7.8% 18 % of rent due lost through properties being empty during the last year 1.3% 1.4% 1.5% 1.58% 2% 1.51% 1.4% 19 No of Households currently waiting for adaptations New indicator 46 129 107 3121 total 5090
Page 7
INDICATOR Renfrewshire Council S H N (1) S H R (2) 17/18 18/19 19/20 20/21 21/22 DOT 21/22 21/22 20 Total Cost of adaptations completed in the year by source of funding New indicator 402,000 £86,152 £608,555 £16.1m total £37.1m total 21 Average time to complete approved adaptations (days) 33.6 56.8 36.2 79.4 142 52.1 54.4 22 % of court actions initiated which resulted in eviction - all reasons 25.0% 27.4% 20% 0 0.8% 0.04 21.8% 24 Homelessness - % of homeless households referred to RSLs under section 5 and through other referral routes New indicator 26.3% 32.1% 32% 26.7% 27.42 25 % tenants who feel rent represents value for money 75.8% 75.8% 78.2% 78.2% 83.4% 81.2% 82.5% 26 Rent collected as % of total rent due in the reporting year 101.2% 100.0% 99.5% 99% 98.2% 98.7 99.3% 27 Gross rent arrears (all tenants) as at 31st March each year as a % of rent due for the reporting year 4.9% 5.8% 5.7% 6.4% 7.99% 8.2% 6.3% 28 Average annual management fee per factored property £90 £90 £108 £0 £57.70 £112.59 £104.67 29 Owners satisfied with factoring service 56.7% 61.0% 60.8% 62.4% 60.4% 51.6% 65.4% 30 Average length of time taken to re-let properties in the last year (days) 38.2 38.5 45 85.7 66 55.5 51.6 31 Gypsies/travellers - Average weekly rent per pitch N/A no sites in Renfrewshire 32 % of gypsies/travellers satisfied with the landlord's management of the site *Last year we initially reported an SHQS figure of 91.7%. We resubmitted our SHQS return when the SHR advised that if a property has an EESSH failure it cannot be SHQS compliant. After we resubmitted our data, the revised figure for percentage of properties meeting SHQS was 80.1% Source: (1) Scottish Housing Network website (LAs) (2) Scottish Housing Regulator Website (LAs & RSLs) Link to Tenant Satisfaction Survey https://www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/Tenants
Page 8
__________________________________________________________________ Implications of the Report 1. Financial – None 2. HR & Organisational Development - None 3. Community/Council Planning Building strong, safe, and resilient communities – Improving and maintaining neighbourhoods and homes. Working together to improve outcomes – Increasing resident satisfaction with neighbourhoods and communities 4. Legal –None 5. Property/Assets – None 6. Information Technology – None 7. Equality & Human Rights – The Recommendations contained within this report have been assessed in relation to their impact on equalities and human rights. No negative impacts on equality groups or potential for infringement of individuals’ human rights have been identified arising from the recommendations contained in the report because it is for noting only. If required following implementation, the actual impact of the recommendations and the mitigating actions will be reviewed and monitored, and the results of the assessment will be published on the Council’s website 8. Health & Safety – None 9. Procurement – None 10. Risks – None 11. Privacy Impact – None 12. COSLA Policy Position – N/A 13. Climate Risk – None ___________________________________________________________________
Page 9
Background Papers Report to the Communities, Housing and Planning Policy Board on 26 October 2021, ‘Annual Housing Performance Benchmarking Report 2020/21’. The foregoing background papers will be retained within Communities, Housing and Planning Services for inspection by the public for the prescribed period of four years from the date of the meeting. The contact officer within the service is Ray Walkinshaw, Housing Regeneration and Development Manager, Communities & Housing, ray.walkinshaw@renfrewshire.gov.uk ___________________________________________________________________
Page 10
Prepared by: Prepared for: Research Resource Renfrewshire Council Contact: Lorna Shaw Contact: Paul McLean Tel: 0141 641 6410 E-mail: Lorna.shaw@researchresource.co.uk Tel: 0141 618 6264 E-mail: paul.mclean@renfrewshire.gov.uk Renfrewshire Council Tenant Satisfaction Survey May 2022 Appendix 1
Page 11
1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND Research Resource was commissioned by Renfrewshire Council to undertake their 2022 Tenant Satisfaction Survey. The aim of the research was to seek tenants’ views on the services that Renfrewshire Council provides as a landlord, how well it performs these services and to help identify areas where the service can be improved. A total of 1,316 interviews were carried out with tenants using a telephone methodology. 1,316 interviews provides data accurate to +2.54% (based upon a 50% estimate at the 95% confidence interval). Interviews were spread across all areas of Renfrewshire Council’s stock. KEY FINDINGS The key findings of Renfrewshire Council’s 2022 Tenant Satisfaction Survey are as follows: OVERALL SATISFACTION The majority of respondents (82%) were very or fairly satisfied with the overall service provided by Renfrewshire Council as a landlord. MOVING INTO YOUR HOME Just under three quarters (73%) of the tenants who had moved into their current home within the last five years were very or fairly satisfied with the condition of their home when they moved in. All respondents were then asked if they were happy with the type of house they currently have. The majority of respondents stated yes (87%). More than 8 in 10 respondents felt they had about the right number of rooms in their home (85%). COMMUNICATION AND PARTICIPATION Just over 9 in 10 tenants (91%) felt their landlord was very or fairly good at keeping them informed about their services and decisions. Over 6 in 10 tenants (62%) stated they use the internet. Tenants were most likely to access the internet using a smartphone (52%), followed by a tablet (31%) and a home computer (16%). All respondents were asked if they would be interested in using ‘My Account’, the Council’s online customer account which allows access to Council services online 24 hours a day. Just over half of tenants (53%) stated they were already registered and a further 15% said they would be interested in using ‘My Account’.
Page 12
The majority of tenants would prefer to use the telephone to get in touch with their landlord (94%), this was also the method tenants prefer their landlord to use when they need to get in touch with them (88%). Tenants were most likely to say they would prefer to be consulted by telephone call (71%), letter (62%) or magazines, newsletters or People’s News (32%). Almost all respondents (99%) were very or fairly satisfied with the opportunities given to them to participate in their landlord’s decision-making processes. CONTACT WITH HOUSING SERVICES Just under 6 in 10 respondents (56%) had been in contact with the Council about a housing or housing related matter in the last 12 months with a query other than to pay their rent. The majority of tenants who had contacted the Council did so by telephone (92%). Just under 9 in 10 tenants (89%) were either very or fairly satisfied with the contact they had with the Council during the pandemic, compared to 5% who were very or fairly dissatisfied and 6% who were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied. Tenants were most likely to say they were in contact about repairs (69%). Of tenants who had contact with the Council within the last 12 months: o 80% said it was easy to get hold of the right person, o 84% found staff to be helpful, o 68% said their query was answered or issue was resolved within a reasonable time, COMPLAINTS 1 in 20 respondents (5%) stated they had complained to Housing Services in the last 12 months. The majority of complaints were regarding repairs (44%) or anti-social neighbours (29%). Satisfaction with service-based complaints was mixed, ranging from 29% regarding how well tenants were kept informed about the progress of their complaint to 74% with regards to how easy it was to make their complaint. One third of respondents (33%) who made a service-based complaint were very or fairly satisfied with the way their complaint was handled by the Council. Satisfaction with anti-social complaints was also mixed, ranging from 26% with regards to the speed with which the complaint was dealt with to 74% with regards to how easy it was to make the complaint. Just under 4 in 10 tenants (37%) who made an anti-social complaint were very or fairly satisfied with the way their complaint was handled by the Council. REPAIRS
Page 13
All respondents were asked generally, how satisfied they are with the way Renfrewshire Council as their landlord deals with repairs and maintenance. The majority of respondents (83%) were very or fairly satisfied in this respect. Just under 4 in 10 respondents (38%) stated they had repairs carried out in their property within the last 12 months. Respondents who had had a repair carried out in their property within the last 12 months were then asked if they were satisfied or dissatisfied with various aspects of the repairs service. Satisfaction was high, ranging from 81% with regards to the repair being done ‘right first time’ to 94% with regards to keeping dirt and mess to a minimum. The majority of tenants (79%) who had a repair carried out in the last 12 months said the worker or tradesperson showed proof of their identity. With regards to appointments, 97% of respondents stated they were offered a suitable appointment time for their repair, with almost all (96%) stating the appointment was kept. YOUR HOME The majority of tenants (80%) were very or fairly satisfied with the quality of their home. 1 in 20 respondents (5%) stated that they had major improvements carried out over the last two years. The most common major improvements were new bathrooms (2%). The majority of tenants (83%) who have had major improvements carried out in their home within the last two years were very or fairly satisfied with the quality of work. Tenants were then asked if they were satisfied or dissatisfied with various aspects of their home. Satisfaction was high, ranging from 77% with regards to gutters and drains to 93% with regards to the wiring. NEIGHBOURHOOD MANAGEMENT Tenants were asked to rate how satisfied or dissatisfied they were with their landlord’s contribution to the management of the neighbourhood they live in. 87% of tenants were very or fairly satisfied in this respect. Tenants were most likely to say the best thing about their neighbourhood is that it is quiet and peaceful (46%) followed by there being good neighbours and friendly people (41%). More than half of tenants (58%) did not believe there were any problems or issues in their neighbourhood. Where tenants did believe an issue to be present, this was most likely in relation to anti-social behaviour/ anti-social neighbours (16%). RENT AND BENEFITS Just over 8 in 10 tenants (83%) were of the opinion their rent represents very or fairly good value for money.
Page 14
Just over half of respondents (51%) stated that they were in receipt of full housing benefit, 4% in receipt of partial housing benefit, 21% in receipt of Universal Credit, 24% said they did not receive any housing benefit and 1% were unsure. The majority of respondents (99%) stated that they did not require any help with maintaining rent payments. More than 1 in 10 respondents (14%) said they have spoken to Renfrewshire Council Housing staff about money advice. Of these respondents, 84% found the advice and assistance very or slightly helpful.