Print
Save PDF
Maintenance
It’s the bread and butter work that matters most
First class training at our Gas Training Centre
Making sure repairs are carried out on time, filling empty homes and collecting the rents. It’s the bread and butter work that matters most to our 8,200 tenants and their families.
Take repairs. In 2006/07 we carried out 24,000 repairs – that’s nearly 500 a week. About 95 per cent of them were handled by our direct maintenance team, which is now 53-strong and deals with everything from joinery repairs and plumbing to the annual gas servicing checks we are required by law to carry out in every one of our homes.
Take repairs. In 2006/07 we carried out 24,000 repairs – that’s nearly 500 a week. About 95 per cent of them were handled by our direct maintenance team, which is now 53-strong and deals with everything from joinery repairs and plumbing to the annual gas servicing checks we are required by law to carry out in every one of our homes.
We took gas servicing in-house four years ago because we were dissatisfied with the quality of contractors’ work and concerned about the safety of our residents. We now have an accredited Corgi training centre and train gas-fitters for the private sector and other social housing organisations alongside our own staff. The income we raise from this more than covers the £45,000 a year it costs to rent the centre. Training for solar panel fitting is also provided.
The maintenance team also handles our boiler replacement programme, which has seen 50 per cent of our gas-fired boilers replaced with A-rated condensing boilers.
The maintenance team also handles our boiler replacement programme, which has seen 50 per cent of our gas-fired boilers replaced with A-rated condensing boilers.
By employing our own maintenance team we can ensure better quality work and good training. We also offer security of employment and we operate a strong health and safety culture in an industry with a poor safety record. The icing on the cake is our apprentice scheme. Four apprentices are training at the centre.
One of the 24,000 repairs carried out last year
Filling empty homes quickly
The direct maintenance team handles all the repairs carried out on our vacated homes before they are relet, an arrangement that makes it possible to turn the homes round and have new tenants moving in within an average of 21 days, which puts us among the best performers in England. Our rent losses on empty homes during the year were less than 1 per cent.
It is not always easy to turn homes round quickly. Some tenants trash their flats and houses before moving, leaving us with a huge repair bill of nearly one million pounds and a great deal of work to do.
Click here to return to the Annual Report 2007.
