Social Housing Improvement Plan

Our Social Housing Improvement Plan (SHIP) sets out a clear vision and a road map for driving improvements to existing social housing. It centres on putting the resident voice at the heart of decision-making, improving customer service and repairs and investing in building safer, stronger, thriving communities.

Our partners

We are not a stock-holding authority, so our principal role here is in bringing together our four main housing association partners and forging a new positive partnership.

Our partners are committed to improving existing social housing. They are:

• Richmond Housing Partnership (RHP)
• Paragon Asra (PA) Housing
• Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing (MTVH)
• London & Quadrant (L&Q)

Together, we have agreed this five-point plan, based on what residents have told us their priorities are. 

The five-point plan

Our Social Housing Improvement Plan includes five commitments:

1. Putting the resident voice at the heart of decision making

This means:

• Staff will be visible and be easy to contact by residents
• Ideas and concerns from residents will be listened to and will inform decision making
• All residents will have an opportunity to be heard and involved at a level that meets their needs
• Options for involvement will include opportunities for resident scrutiny, monitoring of performance and a clear route for residents to feed into the board of their housing association
• Ways to get involved will be clearly publicised and promoted
• Positive outcomes from resident participation will be publicised
• The Community Ambassadors Scheme and Residents’ Associations will be supported, developed and championed by housing association partners and the Council, working together

2. Improving repairs services

This means:

• Housing association partners will ensure the provision of an effective repairs service
• Residents will be able to book a repair in a variety of ways that meet their needs
• There will be clear and regular communications with residents about their repair. Communications will be tailored for those with additional needs
• Repairs will be completed to a satisfactory standard and within the given timeframe which should be made clear. Where this has not been possible, residents should be given a reason why and an alternative timeframe
• Residents should be able to access improved data quality and information on contractor/provider performance.  Information on how contractors are held accountable for not meeting agreed service standards should also be available
• It should be easy to track a repair and raise a query, with clear expectations set out on what to expect when this happens
• Housing association partners will work to minimise the number of repeat visits needed to complete a repair
• Residents should be kept up to date when further investigation or follow-up action is required

3. Tackling defects and disrepair

This means:

• Residents will be able to easily access information needed to manage their homes and report defects through the correct channels
• Reports of damp and mould will be responded to as quickly as possible
• There should be transparency on how cases of mould and damp will be managed
• Where there are repeat cases of disrepair, an appropriate professional will be contacted to address the issue without delay
• Housing association partners will undertake proactive, planned improvement works to all residents’ homes including the provision of new kitchens and bathrooms at appropriate intervals and ensuring homes meet the decent home standard

4. Investing in sustainable homes

This means:

• Housing association partners will set out clear strategies to invest in retrofitting homes in Richmond borough for sustainability and their targets for doing so
• The Council and its housing association partners will work together to identify funding opportunities to deliver decarbonisation
• The Council will work closely with housing association partners to identify opportunities to work together to improve air quality and biodiversity
• Support will be provided to residents who live in the least energy efficient homes (EPC D and below)
• Residents will have access to information, advice and guidance to ensure they are less likely to experience fuel poverty

5. Investing in safe and strong communities

This means:

• The role of Community Ambassadors will be promoted to as many residents as possible, with new membership encouraged
• Estate inspections carried out by housing association partners should be promoted to the local community and Community Ambassadors in particular
• There will be further investment by housing associations in community spaces, so they are safe and appealing, supporting strong communities with a zero-tolerance approach to visible disrepair 
• Housing associations will continue to make funding available for resident-led improvement projects and events
• The Council will continue to make available Council match-funding opportunities for resident-led improvement projects and events
• The Council and housing association partners will work together to promote and enable the local community to bid for grants and match-funding opportunities, including funding opportunities from external organisations
• The Council will work with housing association partners to ensure effective refuse and recycling collections; to maximise recycling rates and expand the types of waste collected to include food waste
• The Council, housing association partners and the Police will work together to keep communities safe, prioritising the tackling of anti-social behaviour, the safety of women and girls and broader public safety issues
• Strong partnership working should be established/maintained to promote stronger and safer communities, working together to support victims and reduce perpetrator reoffending
• Housing association partners should have clear domestic abuse policies to ensure victims and survivors receive the best response and ongoing support possible

Why we are focusing on existing homes

While it is vitally important to build new homes, as existing homes get older it is vital to invest in improving conditions to drive better health, wellbeing and happiness for tenants, enabling them to live in safer and stronger communities, in sustainable homes that are safe and affordable to heat. We want to ensure that both new and existing homes are treated with equal importance within our borough.

Who is responsible for achieving this plan

Housing associations themselves will be directly responsible for investing in improvements to customer services, repairs, tackling disrepair and retrofitting for improved energy performance. The housing associations signed up to the SHIP have all committed to invest in improving these in the ways set out in the plan.

In addition, important priorities in the plan include putting the resident voice at the heart of decision-making, community safety and ensuring good condition of communal areas, streets, playgrounds and parks. We recognise that this is something that we and housing provider partners have to work together to achieve in partnership, and this plan will guide our commitments and joint investment to enable our work to do that.

Overarching priorities, across all areas are:

• Being transparent around processes and expectations
• Taking an empathetic approach to residents’ circumstances (tailoring an approach as and when required)
• Recording and managing information on residents’ needs