High-quality social housing relies on effective repairs and maintenance, ensuring homes are safe, comfortable and fit for purpose. Unfortunately, delivering these services is more difficult than ever before, with mounting pressure on housing providers to raise standards during turbulent times.
To overcome the challenges outlined below, collaboration is going to be key. This will need to be underpinned by a proactive, tenant-centered approach where housing providers, repair operatives and residents work together to ensure maintenance efforts align with real needs.
At ROCC, we passionately believe in championing this collaborative approach, and hope that together we can transform repairs and maintenance into a more responsive, efficient and sustainable system.
In this article, we will explore the fantastic Rethinking Repairs and Maintenance project launched by the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) and National Housing Federation (NHF), which aims to promote better collaboration. Plus, we will discuss how our housing software and joined-up thinking can benefit both residents and housing providers alike.
Challenges facing housing repairs and maintenance
Social housing providers in the UK face a range of challenges that impact how they deliver repairs and maintenance.
Unless these challenges are properly addressed, housing associations and local authorities will struggle to maintain service quality and efficiency. Some of these key issues include:
- Rising costs: Inflation and increasing material costs.
- Aging housing stock: Many social properties are old and require extensive upkeep, with structural issues and outdated infrastructure.
- Lack of communication: Management, office staff and operatives still work in silos.
- Workforce shortages: Lack of qualified tradespeople and ongoing recruitment and retention challenges.
- Resident engagement: Communication with tenants can be poor, leading to frustration and complaints.
- Supply chain disruption: Brexit and global supply chain issues continue to be disruptive, with material shortages and longer delivery times.
- Tenant satisfaction: Tenants’ expectations continue to rise, wanting quicker, more efficient services.
- Sustainability pressures: Meeting net-zero targets requires costly retrofitting and energy-efficient repairs.
- Strict safety regulations: Tenant Satisfaction Measures require providers to be compliant, such as fire safety and damp/mould prevention.
To address these challenges, we believe housing providers need to focus on developing a collaborative and innovative approach to repairs and maintenance. While this may seem daunting, there is expert guidance and industry-leading software support on hand to help.
What is the Rethinking Repairs and Maintenance project?
The Rethinking Repairs and Maintenance project (RERAM) was established by the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) and National Housing Federation (NHF). It was launched to promote collaboration among residents, contractors and frontline staff.
The goal is to develop and apply new standards that define excellence in maintenance and repairs, ensuring that services are resident-centric and of high quality.
Based on extensive research, the project developed good practice guidance, case studies and “twelve guiding principles for how social landlords should work with their residents and colleagues to improve their repairs and maintenance services”.
The CIH and NHF grouped these principles into six themes:
- Improving cultures and behaviours
- Inclusivity and tackling discrimination
- Structuring your engagement
- Involving colleagues
- Understanding your performance
- Closing the loop.
Source: CIH
These themes are intended to be approached in order. The project also considered how social landlords should work with contractors, service providers and in-house repairs and maintenance teams more collaboratively to improve service delivery.
We advise you to read more about this expert guidance here.
How can ROCC help to improve collaboration at your organisation?
ROCC’s specialised, market-leading housing software is designed to enhance collaboration in social housing repairs and maintenance. Our multi-functional software suite enables seamless communication between housing providers, operatives and tenants, so repairs are conducted efficiently.
By streamlining the process of delivering repairs and maintenance, our platform promotes transparency and accountability, fostering a more cooperative approach to property management. This allows organisations to:
- Plan, schedule and manage repairs more effectively
- Facilitate better communication between tenants, operatives and office-based staff
- Increase the visibility of all property maintenance assets
- Access real-time information around the clock
- Keep an eye on costs
- Boost tenant and staff satisfaction
- Use extensive data to inform future business decisions.
For example, one of our customers, First Choice Homes, saved approximately £750,000 within two years of partnering with ROCC, highlighting the financial benefits of improved collaboration. Similarly, Thirteen Group emphasised the partnership’s value, noting that without ROCC and its new collaborative approach, their operations would falter.
So, if you wish to tackle the challenges set out in this article and foster a more collaborative approach to repairs and maintenance at your organisation, our solutions have you covered. By choosing ROCC, our collaborative tools will ensure you deliver more responsive maintenance services, reduce costs and improve tenant satisfaction.
For more information, get in touch with a member of our customer service team.
