The Chief Executive, West Kent Housing Association (WKHA) will be in attendance to answer questions on their service including new housing provision and maintenance of current stock and future challenges.

The Chairman welcomed Tracy Allison the Chief Executive of West Kent Housing to the meeting, who gave a presentation on the work of West Kent Housing within the District. The Chief Executive provided Members with some highlights of the services which included overall customer satisfaction at 4.3 out of 5, and complaints down from 2021.  West Kent Housing were also reconfirmed as ‘Gold’, following their Investors in People assessment, and had also recently been a finalist at the UK Housing Awards and Winner at Kent Housing Group awards.

An active approach to damp and mould was undertaken from summer 2022 and a dedicated expert had been employed to help and support residents to live well in their homes. The Chief Executive of West Kent Housing further advised on the plans for investment in their current housing stock. A key piece of work would be looking at how the current homes could be modified to meet net zero.

An overview was given on some of the recent regeneration which had taken place. There was an ambition to build more new homes, but there were further challenges ahead including the ending of s106 monies, as 47% of affordable housing nationally came from this money. A lack of planning conditions requiring affordable homes, and the continued increase of land value. Challenges also included that as a sector there were not any guidelines for net zero or the standards for new decent homes legislation, access to skills to complete the works and upward pressure on prices.

In response to Member questions the Chief Executive advised that West Kent Housing worked closely with their communities through Tenancy support officers, annual health and safety checks such as gas safety, were also carried out in house as well, which enabled yearly contact with residents. During the pandemic it was a priority to contact those who had not been in contact, as well as actively checking that anyone over 70 had been contacted to make sure that they had necessary support. Close attention was given to those residents who did not want visitors.  All staff who go into homes had received safeguarding training and often some residents would only trust the West Kent Housing Team and they would work with support services. There was also support for staff in suicide awareness.

In response to questions which were centred around customer satisfaction, Members were advised that in 2021 all residents were written to, asking them to complete a survey which was undertaken by an independent organisation for satisfaction. The survey covered a range of questions including benchmarks which were used across the sector. West Kent Housing also introduced their own rant and rave survey. This survey was sent to residents who had received a service within the month and asked for their rating. If a low rating was provided, a follow up call would take place to find out what went wrong and satisfaction levels had increased. This was carried out alongside a random survey for tenants on their thoughts of the service which all Local Authorities who hold housing stock carried out.  

The Chief Executive advised that responsive repair measures had been in place for some time, and now included monitoring emergency repair times, urgent, and routine repairs within the agreed timeframe. It was unfortunate that they had had difficulties with a sub-contractor, and this had led to low satisfaction rates. Monitoring was also undertaken on sub-contractors and satisfaction rates for data and benchmarking. There was also a residents scrutiny panel who reviewed the key performance indicators.

In response to further questions, Members were informed that each month all unoccupied homes were reviewed, and an update was provided as to the process. Monitoring was undertaken on how long it takes for a property to be ready and how quickly it was re-let, as well as moving in satisfaction surveys undertaken.  The Chief Executive advised that void days were measured once the property had been let. Recently there had been delays with some properties being let as there were specific requirements that had to be met, such as level of needs or older people’s housing. The team were always looking at ways they could negotiate around some requirements based on the needs of individuals. A key project would be looking at the needs of older people.

This was the first Strategic Partnership agreement between the Council and West Kent Housing, and it was helpful for the sharing of priorities.

In response to funding questions, Members were advised that it was impossible to compete against commercial developers, but if site were purchased through West Kent Housing, then the Homes Grant would be available as it would be investigated for grant provision for shared ownership/social rent. The challenge would remain, at bidding costs, and therefore it was important to be looking at how to regenerate some of the existing sites and better use of the space available.  The Business plan was regulated, and stress tested. There were challenges but there were steps and governance in place to help manage. Impact of the increases in costs were having an impact and priorities were looked at for replacing windows and doors over bathroom and kitchens.

The Committee expressed their thanks to The Chief Executive of West Kent Housing for her attendance.