People living in council homes across North Yorkshire are set to benefit from a new strategy that hopes to improve the quality of service they receive as tenants.
A new housing improvement strategy is due to be considered by councillors next week as part of a five-year blueprint to help provide the best possible outcomes for tenants.
It includes improving processes to tackle essential maintenance issues such as damp and mould inside homes, making it easier for tenants to report issues and ensuring they have a greater voice to help shape future service delivery.
More than 2,000 tenants helped to shape the proposed strategy by participating in satisfaction surveys which sought their views on the current quality of service provided, what they are satisfied with and areas where they feel improvement is required.
North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for housing, Cllr Simon Myers, said:
We take our responsibility as a social landlord seriously and it is important that we provide a safe and secure home for all our tenants.
We currently own and manage about 8,500 properties across North Yorkshire, and we are committed to providing good quality affordable and sustainable housing which meets the needs of our diverse communities.
That can only be achieved by better understanding and listening to our tenants, working collaboratively with them, and making sure their voices are heard in decisions that affect their homes and communities.
We have carried out significant work since local government reorganisation and the launch of North Yorkshire Council two years ago to improve the way we support residents, including launching an online reporting tool for condensation, damp and mould to make it easier for tenants to let us know when there is a problem.
Having a long-term strategy in place is designed to help us maintain this momentum and continue to improve the service we provide.
Following the creation of North Yorkshire Council in April 2023, a range of issues were identified within tenant services which led to a self-referral to the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH).
A subsequent inspection identified some areas that required improvements including governance, health and safety and providing adequate opportunities for tenants to influence and scrutinise the service being delivered.
With many of the identified issues pre-dating local government reorganisation, the council has since worked with the RSH to ensure progress is being made in identified areas.
Immediate action was taken including the creation of a housing improvement board tasked with overseeing the required improvements.
A scrutiny panel was also formed to help residents work more closely with the council to influence service delivery, as well as a new newsletter, ‘Open Door’, which has been launched and is co-produced by a group of tenants.
The publication keeps tenants updated with any issues that may affect them or their property, as well as signposting them towards extra support that is available.
These measures form part of a housing improvement plan which shows what the authority has already done and plans to do to on its pathway towards RSH compliance.
This plan will be presented to the council’s executive on Tuesday next week (April 15), as well as a wider five-year strategy which extends beyond becoming compliant, setting out how tenants will be at the heart of future service improvements.
In the most recent quarterly satisfaction survey conducted in February, seven out of 10 tenants said they were satisfied with the overall services provided by the council.
Among their recommendations on how to improve their overall satisfaction included enhancing repair response times for essential maintenance such as damp and mould issues, and improved communication with the council.
For more tenant information and advice, including how to report housing repairs, visit North Yorkshire Council’s website at https://www.northyorks.gov.uk/housingtenants
