The key findings of the survey were:

1. Nottingham Community Housing Association has a predominantly young general needs tenant profile.

• 33% of households are under 60 (22% single and 11% couples).
• 28% of households are families with children, a high percentage of which (18%) are single parent families which may pose child density problems in some areas.
• 3% of households consist of 3 or more adults. 41% contain a member aged 60 or over, either single (30%) or couples (11%)

2. Tenants

• 64% of principal tenants are under 60 years of age
• 24% of tenants have occupied the same home for 11 years or longer, however 31% are new to NCHA within the last 2 years, which represents quite a high turnover.
• 24% of principal tenants are in employment (13% full-time, 10% part-time and 1% self-employed). 27% are retired.
• 54% of tenants state they have a long-term illness and disability and 70% state that this limits activity. 10% use a wheelchair.
• 62% of tenants are wholly dependent on state benefits/state pensions and 69% have their rent paid, partially (18%) or fully (51%) by Housing Benefit.
• 54% of tenants have a weekly income of under £159.00.

 

3. Satisfaction with NCHA’s Service

• 76% of tenants feel the rent they pay represents good value for money, while 10% feel it is poor value and 15% feel it is neither good nor poor.
• 80% of tenants are satisfied with the overall service provided by NCHA, with 38% being very and 42% fairly satisfied. 9% of tenants are dissatisfied (4% very and 5% fairly) and 11% are neither satisfied nor dissatisfied.
• 81% of tenants are satisfied with the accommodation that they occupy and 80% of tenants are happy with the condition of their accommodation.
• 73% are satisfied with the area in which they live, with 14% dissatisfied.
• 73% are satisfied with the way their landlord deals with repairs and maintenance overall, and the individual aspects of the service are highly praised, with the attitude of workers (89%) and keeping dirt and mess to a minimum (86%), particularly so.
• 81% of tenants found the staff helpful and 69% found getting hold of the right person easy, the last time they made contact.
• With regard to communication issues, 80% of tenants felt that they are kept well informed and 69% feel NCHA takes account of their views. 70% are happy with the opportunities for involvement in management and decision-making, while 22% were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied.
• 84% favour the telephone as the preferred method of contact, with only 10% visiting the office within the last 12 months.

 

Whilst all services are felt to be good, a few concerns emerged:

A fairly high proportion of tenants are concerned about local problems such as litter/rubbish (64%), vandalism (51%), and dogs (42%).

Noise is a problem for 49% of tenants, a third of these consider this is a serious problem.
35% of tenants consider drug dealing in their area is a problem, 18% have a slight concerns and 17% serious concerns about this. Family groups express the most disquiet.

 

90% expressed satisfaction with the final outcome of their last contact with their landlord, with only 2% dissatisfied.