Satisfaction up among Council tenants - but still work to do
Hackney Council tenants are seeing improvements in the way its Housing Services delivers services to them, with improvements across all of its Tenant Satisfaction Measures.
The Council is committed to providing better services for people living in its homes and while acknowledging that there is still more to do, the results of the latest tenants satisfaction survey show the steps it is taking are helping towards achieving this.
The independent survey, carried out between August and October, shows satisfaction levels among tenants increasing in all areas since the previous year - with the overall satisfaction level in the service rising from 52% in 2022/2023 to 59%.
Over the last year the Council has taken a number of steps to improve its housing services including speeding up its inspections of reports of leaks and damp and mould; bringing in more people to increase its capacity to deliver repairs; and introducing a new online tool for people to be able to report non-emergency repairs to the inside of their home 24 hours a day 365 days a year.
It has also agreed a Resident Engagement Strategy to improve the way the Council’s Housing Services talks to, listens to and involves residents in helping to shape its services and put them at the heart of everything it does.
Tenant satisfaction with housing repairs increased from 58% to 63%, while 60% were fairly or very satisfied with the time it took to undertake a repair compared to 52% the previous year.
It also found that among tenants:
- there was an 8% increase saying their home was well maintained - up to 61% from 53%
- 71% felt the Council kept tenants informed about things that matter compared to 56% in 2022/2023
- there was a 10% increase in those saying the Council listens to tenants views and acts on them - up to 54% from 44%
- 69% said the Council makes a positive contribution to their neighbourhood - a 13% increase on last year
- satisfaction in the way the Council deals with complaints increased slightly from 26% to 28%
There was a 9% increase in the tenants satisfied with the way the Council deals with anti-social behaviour (61% from 50%) and also in those saying the Council treats them fairly and with respect (70% compared to 61%).
We are working hard to improve our housing service. These results show that while we still have a way to go to fully embed the changes we are making, people are beginning to reap the benefits of them
In the past sometimes the service we have provided to our tenants has not met their or our own expectations and standards. This is why we had to take steps to improve what we do.
I am pleased our tenants are seeing the fruits of our work - but there is no denying we still have more work to do to fully ensure we fully deliver the changes we need to make and our residents want. This is the start of a journey - and we clearly have some way to go, especially in how we manage complaints, which is a priority improvement area for us in the coming year, but it's good to see we are setting off on the right foot.
Results for all the Tenant Satisfaction Measures are listed in the table below
Measure | 2023/2024 | 2022/2023 |
Overall Satisfaction | 59% | 52% |
Satisfaction with overall repairs service in the last 12 months | 63% | 58% |
Satisfaction with time taken to complete the most recent repair | 60% | 52% |
Satisfaction that home is well maintained | 61% | 53% |
Satisfaction that home is safe | 63% | 58% |
Satisfaction that landlord listens to views and acts on them | 54% | 44% |
Satisfaction that landlord keeps tenants informed about things that matter | 71% | 56% |
Agreement that landlord treats tenants fairly and with respect | 70% | 61% |
Satisfaction with landlords approach to handling complaints | 28% | 26% |
Satisfaction landlord keeps communal areas clean and well maintained | 62% | 59% |
Satisfaction landlord makes a positive contribution to neighbourhood | 69% | 56% |
Satisfaction with landlord’s approach to handling ASB | 61% | 50% |