Agenda item

Resolved: to note the report.

Andrew Potter (Chief Executive, Lewisham Homes) introduced the report; the following key points were noted:

• Lewisham Homes (LH) was a company wholly owned by the Council to deliver housing management services.
• The business and delivery plan set out LHs’ performance for the previous year (2013/14) and its priorities for the coming year (2014/15).
• One of the key challenges in the previous year had been achieving the target for rent income collection.
• LH had successes in the previous year in re-letting properties; the delivery of the decent homes programme and performance on repairs.
• In the coming year LH would prioritise- customer service; improvement of communal areas; delivery of decent homes and the delivery of the New Homes Better Places programme.

In response to questions from the Committee, the following key points were noted:

• Complaints about decent homes work often had to be referred to contractors. This increased the amount of time it took to resolve issues, which was the principal reason for the target for responding to complaints being missed.
• The last customer survey had been in 2012, when customer satisfaction was 69%. The Housing Matters consultation found that customer satisfaction was above 70%. It was hoped that when the next satisfaction survey was carried out, satisfaction would be much closer to LH’s 80% target.
• Grounds maintenance had previously been provided by contractors. In the coming year, these services would move to the direct management of Lewisham Homes. It was hoped that this, along with other improvements in the core delivery of services would improve levels of satisfaction.
• The new build programme had been added to the organisational risk register in recognition that this was something that the organisation had not done before.
• The ‘failure to secure the future of Lewisham Homes’ had been added to the risk register because the management agreement with the Council was due for renewal.
• There were currently 14 board members, with space for one more resident board member, who was in the process of being recruited.
• LH had an enforcement team, which gathered information and intelligence from a range of sources to identify illegal occupants.
• A system of routine tenancy checks using photographic ID was already in place.
• Around 50 illegal occupants a year were removed from LH properties.
• LH would soon be introducing a credit score checking system. This had been successful in other boroughs at identifying illegal occupants.
• Checks were also carried out on people who wanted to exercise the right to buy. A number of cases each year were referred to the Council’s anti-fraud and corruption team.
• It was difficult to say where right to buy tenants raised the capital required to buy their homes because each case was different.
• The number of homes bought under right to buy had increased from 17 two years ago to 110 last year. This was thought to be the direct result of the increase in the right to buy discount to £100k. LH re-let around 500 homes a year so a loss of 100 lets each year was substantial.
• The reduction in properties, and rental income through right to buy was not combined with a reduction in costs, so the increase in sales would have an impact on LHs sustainability.
• The figures on voids were skewed by a small number of properties requiring extensive works and performance on sheltered housing – which was more difficult to let. Ordinary void properties were usually refurbished and re-let within a month.

In response to questions from the Committee, Kevin Sheehan (Executive Director for Customer Services) advised the Committee that:

• The Council would be negotiating the terms of the new management agreement with Lewisham Homes before renewal in 2017. However, there was no question over the organisation’s future.
• The Housing Matters consultation had demonstrated that many residents were happy with the current provision of housing services through Lewisham Homes.
• It had been agreed that the immediate course of action should be to deliver on the promise to build new homes.
• The option remained open in the future to change the form of LH, but this was not being pursued at present.

Resolved: to note the report.