Committee workplan progress update and Housing performance report

Quarter 4 and end of year 2021/22

This report provides updates on the Housing Committee priorities and work plan for 2019 to 2023, as well as a range of performance indicators. Delivery of a complex housing service during the Covid-19 crisis had been a challenge, and gratitude is expressed to residents for the patience and understanding they have shown.

While there continue to be areas of strong performance, with 20 Housing Committee Work Plan objectives on track for delivery and 9 performance indicators on target, some delivery challenges remain. The report highlights actions being taken to improve services where performance has been adversely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, and resource capacity issues.

Performance areas	Page
Housing Committee priorities and work plan Additional council homes
	5, 7, 21
Other additional affordable homes	6
Council home buy backs	5, 9, 10, 22
Right to Buy sales	7, 21
Sites identified for Community Land Trust development	7
Private sector housing ‘requests for assistance’ received	8
Rough sleepers and Covid-19 placements	9
Housing First placements	9
Energy efficiency rating of council homes	11, 28
Private sector empty homes returned to use	13, 17
Compliments and complaints – all Housing Services	16
Housing major adaptations
Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) licensing	17
Private sector housing adaptations	17
Housing Options and allocations
Homelessness preventions	18
Homelessness acceptances	18
Social housing waiting list	18
Temporary and emergency accommodation
Households placed	19
Rent collected	19
Empty homes	20
Gas safety compliance (Seaside Homes and leased)	20
Council housing supply
Additional homes by rent level	21
Council housing management
Rent collected	23
Universal Credit	23
Tenants evicted	23
Anti-social behaviour (ASB)	23
Calls answered (Housing Customer Services)	24
Tenancies sustained	24
Re-let times	25
Empty homes	25
Council housing repairs and maintenance
Repairs completed in time	26
Satisfaction with completed repairs	27
Calls answered (Repairs Helpdesk)	27
Decent Homes Standard	28
Gas safety compliance (council homes)	28
Lift breakdowns	28
Leaseholder disputes	29

This housing performance report covers Quarter 4 (Q4) of the 2021/22 financial year. It uses red, amber and green ratings to provide an indication of performance.

Part one provides an update of performance against the Housing Committee work plan objectives for 2019 - 2023:

Part two presents results for a range of performance indicators across Housing and similarly uses red, amber and green ratings, as well as trend arrows. Commentary has been included for indicators which are red. During Quarter 4, the ratings and trends were as follows:

Green – on target

(9 indicators)

Improved since last time

(8 indicators)

Amber – near target

(6 indicators)

Same as last time

(3 indicators)

Red – off target

(10 indicators)

Poorer than last time

(15 indicators)

During 2021/22, the ratings and trends were as follows:

Green – on target

(11 indicators)

Improved since last time

(12 indicators)

Amber – near target

(6 indicators)

Same as last time

(1 indicators)

Red – off target

(9 indicators)

Poorer than last time

(13 indicators)

Part one: Housing Committee priorities and work plan 2019-23

1. Provide additional affordable homes
1.1 Off track: Achieve 800 additional council homes (including develop the existing Hidden Homes strategy)
Regular updates on progress are provided to Housing Supply Member Board. A total of 459 homes are projected for completion between April 2019 and March 2023, including 321 already completed: · 2019/20: 77 homes – buy backs (43), Hidden Homes (6), Kensington Street (12), Tilbury Place (15) and Devon Lodge (1 lease handed back) · 2020/21: 144 homes – buy backs (64), Buckley Close (12), Hartington Road (38) and Hawkridge Court (30) · 2021/22: 108 homes – buy backs (66 general needs and 24 Housing First), Hidden Homes (8) and Oxford Street (10) · 2022/23: 130 homes – buy backs (50 general needs and 10 Housing First), Hidden Homes (10), Rotherfield Crescent (3), Victoria Road (42), Frederick Street (4) and Palace Place (11) · Although outside of the timescale of the Housing Committee workplan, there are a further 227 homes projected for completion during 2023/24 (including 176 Homes for Brighton & Hove dwellings)

1.2 On track: Achieve 700 other additional homes (registered provider, affordable rented, shared ownership)
A total of 967 homes (353 rent and 559 shared ownership) are projected for completion between April 2019 and March 2023, including 210 already completed: · 2019/20: 87 homes – Montpelier Place (5), Kingsway (54) and Circus Street (28) · 2020/21: 48 homes – Freehold Terrace (8), Plumpton Road (2), Nevill Road (4) and Preston Road (34 from two providers) · 2021/22: 75 homes – Preston Barracks (19), Falmer Avenue (13), Hangleton Way (33) and Lions Gardens (10) · 2022/23: 757 homes – Edward Street (33), Longley (22), School Road (104), Preston Barracks (226), Eastergate Road (30), Dunster Close (2), Graham Avenue (125), Sackville Hotel (7), Sackville Estate (56) New Church Road (5), King’s House (92), Ovingdean Road (18) and St Aubyn’s Rottingdean (37)

1.3 On track: Review the rent policy to maximise the number of council homes replaced at social or living wage rents (especially those at 27.5% Living Wage)
40% of new general needs (GN) council homes delivered during 2021/22 are at social or 27.5% Living Wage rents (29 of 72) and the remaining 60% (43 of 72) are at 37.5% Living Wage rents. The 36 new temporary accommodation (TA) council homes are at Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates.
1.4 On track: Develop a policy for the council to take the role of developer on major sites
· Homes for Brighton & Hove Joint Venture is now a delivery company
1.5 Slightly off track: Bring a report to committee identifying suitable sites to work in partnership with Community Land Trust (CLT) for development
· 5 out of 10 sites so far identified for Community Land Trust development · Planning applications are regularly reviewed to seek opportunities for self-build plots on large private development sites, but this has not yet yielded suitable plots

2. Improving private rented housing
2.1 Slightly off track: Review and resubmit selective licensing scheme proposal to improve the management and standards of private rented sector homes in the city
· Private Sector Housing Update went to Housing Committee in March 2022
2.2 Off track: Research and review an ethical loan scheme
· This work has been deferred due to Covid-19 priorities and resource capacity issues
2.3 Off track: Develop or commission an information or advice hub for private renters and consider options for a private tenants’ forum
· This work has been deferred due to Covid-19 priorities and resource capacity issues
2.4 On track: Research and develop a social lettings agency
· Report taken to Housing Committee in September 2021, which agreed to re-brand ‘Direct Lets’ work which places households into the private rented sector
2.5 On track: Develop the enforcement approach to private sector housing to reflect the full range of potential options available to improve management and standards
· Request for assistance top categories during Q4: 43 disrepair (34%), 17 dampness (13%) and 6 neighbour’s disrepair (5%)

3. Alleviating homeless and rough sleeping
3.1 On track: Develop a rough sleeping strategy (to include partnerships with community homeless and faith projects and delivery of homeless enterprise projects)
· Homeless & Rough Sleeper Strategy approved by Housing Cttee in June 2020 · Homelessness and Rough Sleeping update went to Housing Cttee in March 2022 The November 2020 figure used a blended methodology of an estimate with a spotlight count. Please note that estimates have only been carried out at times when counts have not been. While it would have been desirable to do both simultaneously and compare them, staff capacity has not allowed this over the last few years
3.2 On track: Review/consult/adopt the Homeless Bill of Rights
· Values of the Homeless & Rough Sleeper Strategy approved by Housing Committee in June 2020 align to the Homeless Bill of Rights. Strategy states that ’The Homeless Bill of Rights should be viewed as a standard against which the Council and its partners judge our policies and practices’ · The Homeless Bill of Rights was adopted by Full Council in March 2021 and is an aspirational document against which to measure services and progress
3.3 No longer applicable: Provide a 365 day night shelter
· Night shelter was closed in early April 2020 on the advice of MHCLG and Public Health England due to Covid-19 restrictions, as it had congregate sleep sites
3.4 On track: Expand Housing First
· 60 homes are currently used for Housing First, including buy backs · 24 homes have been bought for Housing First during 2021/22 to date
3.5 On track: Develop a strategy for the provision of council run temporary accommodation including Seaside Homes
· Hartington Road – 38 homes became ready in February 2021 · Oxford Street – 10 homes completed in March 2022 · Buy backs – 76 of 211 homes purchased are for temporary accommodation
3.6 On track: Develop a homeless strategy, ensuring homeless people are involved in the design and development of services which directly affect them
· Homelessness & Rough Sleeper Strategy approved by Housing Cttee in June 2020 · Homeless Reduction Board has been meeting since September 2020 and its role includes monitoring progress of the aspirations contained in the Homeless Bill of Rights and making recommendations to Housing Committee · Homeless Reduction Operational Board met for the first time in July 2021 and includes people with a lived experience of homelessness

4. Achieving carbon reductions and sustainability in housing including address fuel poverty
4.1 On track: Develop an action plan to set out how we will work collaboratively to ensure housing contributes to making the city carbon neutral by 2030
· A report on ‘Housing action towards carbon neutral 2030’ was approved at Housing Committee in January 2021 · A further ‘Carbon Reduction in Housing’ report was considered at Housing Committee in November 2021, with a costed retrofit plan towards carbon neutral by 2030 to follow in 2022
4.2 Slightly off track: Develop a new PV and energy efficiency strategy for council homes to include standards for new homes
· Standards for new council homes are guided by the revised new build specification – minimum Energy Performance Certificate rating of A · Procurement of domestic solar PV programme on council homes (1,000 by 2023) expected to start in 2022 once additional project management support recruited
4.3 On track: Review the energy efficiency and provision on all new developments
· A report providing an ‘Update on Sustainability Measures for New Homes and Housing Supply Sustainability Policy’ went to Housing Committee in January 2021 and the committee endorsed a draft New Build Housing Sustainability Policy · Victoria Road new build scheme will pilot a low energy ‘microgrid’ heating and electricity solution integrating ground source heat pumps and solar panels to reduce residents’ bills
4.4 On track: Investigate and report the possibility of bulk buying PV panels and other energy saving resources
· Round 1 of the Solar Together Sussex (STS) scheme was launched in Autumn 2020, to date approximately 70 installations have been completed · Round 2 of STS was launched in September 2021. Over 7,000 homes registered across Sussex and a local supplier has been appointed to begin installations from January 2022

5. Improving council housing and community involvement
5.1 Slightly off track: Work with tenants to develop a ‘decent environment’ standard
· Delayed due to service pressures and other priorities due to Covid-19
5.2 On track: Develop a fire safety programme in conjunction with tenants and residents
· Sprinklers are now fitted as standard in all council new build homes · Sprinkler systems at St James’s House and Essex Place – currently reviewing following feedback from residents · Council is working to consider the likely impacts of the proposed Building Safety legislation including proposed resident engagement strategy for building safety · Fire Risk Assessments are carried out regularly to council housing buildings · Currently engaging consultancy services to support a review of the new building safety guidance and implementation
5.3 On track: Review and develop a new tenant and community involvement policy/strategy for housing, ensuring we learn from the lived experience of our clients, meet the ‘Involvement and Empowerment’ standard and that co-production is at the heart of our tenant and resident involvement work
· New Tenant and Leaseholder Engagement Strategy was approved at Housing Committee in March 2021
5.4 On track: Extend participatory budgeting
· Report approved at March 2021 Housing Committee including development of a policy for extending participatory budgeting
5.5 On track: Develop the work undertaken with leaseholders to develop a new leasehold involvement policy, setting out how leaseholders can be supported to be more proactively involved in capital works and other leasehold matters
· Consultation with leaseholders on new planned maintenance and improvement programme contracts has concluded and contracts are now operating. Leaseholders are being consulted where the council has plans to undertake works under these contracts on a block-by-block basis · A new procedure is now in place for engagement with tenants and leaseholders for proposed projects that will be tendered through the major works framework · The council has completed a survey of all leaseholders and shared the results with the Leaseholder Action Group

6. Enabling more affordable home ownership

6.1 On track: Work with Community Land Trust (CLT) to develop self-build opportunities

· CLT focus is on affordable rented homes which are likely to be self-build

6.2 On track: Work with Homes for Brighton & Hove and registered providers in the city to develop 500 shared ownership properties for essential workers who live and work in the city

· 583 shared ownership homes are projected for development by March 2023

· The Living Wage Joint Venture, Homes for Brighton & Hove, has started construction on its first two sites totalling 346 homes

· Homes for Brighton & Hove is becoming a delivery company, with 168 Hyde shared ownership homes and 178 rented homes (176 council and 2 Hyde) expected for completion in 2023/24

7. Make fuller use of shared housing capacity

7.1 On track: Review our empty homes policy to ensure 650 empty homes are brought back into use

· 145 homes brought back into use during 2021/22

· It is anticipated that additional properties will be confirmed as back in use once council tax records have been updated

7.2 Slightly off track: Develop a policy to incentivise households to relinquish council tenancies as an alternative to right to buy

· Work on this will start in April 2022

7.3 Slightly off track: Investigate the possibility of supporting a ‘lodger’ scheme and report to Committee

· Committee report due for March 2021 – deferred due to Covid-19 priorities and capacity issues

7.4 On track: Undertake an impact assessment of short-term holiday lets and Air BnB in the city and consider options that may inform an approach to alleviate the most detrimental issues arising

· Report on Regulation of Short-Term Holiday Lets was agreed at Tourism, Equalities, Communities & Culture and Housing committees in March 2020. It included using existing powers to deal with complaints, ensuring coordinated approach to enforcement between services and lobbying central government for enhanced enforcement powers and a national registration scheme

· A new system is now in place for the public to report issues with short term holiday lets, so that relevant council teams can take appropriate enforcement action where possible

8. Alleviating poverty

8.1 Slightly off track: Ensure the in house repairs services include measures to: provide opportunities for young people to develop skills for example through apprenticeships; maximise community benefits, including through use of local firms and labour for supply chain as well as planned and major works; and, develop pathways to employment that are inclusive in offering opportunities to all the communities we serve

· Due to the Covid-19 outbreak, the planned and major works procurement was paused as were other areas of the programme, including taking on apprentices

· Some existing apprentices were moved to empty property works so they could physically distance while working, but it has not yet been possible to recruit many additional apprentices

· However, the service has recruited three electrical apprentices and further apprenticeship opportunities will be advertised later in the year

8.2 Slightly off track: Review arrears policy to ensure all action is taken at the earliest stage, support given and eviction is used as a last resort

· Business Process Review of income collection, including arrears policies, has been delayed while resources have been diverted to the Covid-19 response

8.3 On track: Develop an arrears policy for temporary accommodation, which gives tenants the same level of support and assistance as those in permanent accommodation

· Policy is in place for long term temporary accommodation which matches that in council owned housing

Part two: Performance indicators

The council is responsible for managing 11,746 council owned homes and 2,291 leaseholder homes, as well as providing temporary accommodation for 1,890 households.

		Customer feedback – all Housing services		Target	Q3 2021/22	Q4 2021/22	Status against target	Trend since Q3		2020/21	2021/22	Status against target	Trend since 2020/21
9.1			Compliments received from customers	Info	60	112	n/a		n/a	349	304	n/a	n/a
9.2			Stage one complaints responded to within 10 working days	80%	82% (120 of 146)	86% (133 of 155)				68% (234 of 346)	84% (429 of 511)
9.3	Stage one complaints upheld			Info	49% (72 of 146)	40% (62 of 155)	n/a		n/a	49% (168 of 346)	49% (250 of 511)	n/a	n/a
9.4	Stage two complaints upheld			18%	43% (6 of 14)	63% (5 of 8)				26% (11 of 43)	49% (25 of 51)
There is an increased focus on how complaints are handled across the council, especially on improving the overall quality of complaint responses in the early stages of the complaints process, in order to reduce the need for cases to be escalated from stage one to stage two for further investigation.

		Private sector housing	Target	Q3 2021/22	Q4 2021/22		Status against target		Trend since Q3		2020/21		2021/22		Status against target		Trend since 2020/21
10.1	Total licensed Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs)		Info	3,368		3,460		n/a		n/a		3,532	3,460	n/a		n/a
10.2	HMOs where all special conditions have been met (for licences issued over 12 months ago)		47%	52.97% (1,016 of 1,918)		56.50% (1,112 of 1,968)						49.8% (821 of 1,649)	56.50% (1,112 of 1,968)
The indicator above measures cases where the council has verified that conditions have been completed. We are currently working through a backlog of cases that need to be verified as complete and so it is anticipated this figure will rise.
10.3	Private sector vacant dwellings returned into occupation		32	40		19						136	145
The Q3 figure above has increased from 37 to 40 since last reported. This is because Council Tax records have identified more homes brought back in use during this period, and there is a reporting lag between the date they were back in use and the date this could be confirmed. The 2021/22 result of 145 exceeds the target of 126 for the year.

		Housing adaptations		Target	Q3 2021/22	Q4 2021/22	Status against target	Trend since Q3	2020/21	2021/22	Status against target	Trend since 2020/21
11.1	Private housing – average weeks taken to approve Disabled Facilities Grant applications		10		15.7	14.9			17.8	19.08
The amber threshold for this indicator is set at 26 weeks based on historic guidance timescales, with the target of 10 weeks reflecting revised guidance timescales. The indicator relating to adaptations to council homes is temporarily absent from this report while work is underway to develop new reporting systems following the switchover of our main housing management IT system since the start of July 2021. Once this work is complete, we intend to retrospectively provide the results in future versions of this report.

		Housing Needs – Housing Options and allocations	Target	Q3 2021/22	Q4 2021/22	Status against target	Trend since Q3	2020/21	2021/22	Status against target	Trend since 2020/21
12.1	Households prevented from becoming homeless by council and partner agencies		424	401	416			1,676	1,680
12.2	New households accepted as homeless		Info	68	113	n/a	n/a	195	309	n/a	n/a
12.3	Number of households on the housing register		Info	5,265	7,686	n/a	n/a	6,982	7,686	n/a	n/a

		Housing Needs – temporary accommodation (including emergency accommodation)	Target	Q3 2021/22	Q4 2021/22		Status against target	Trend since Q3		2020/21	2021/22	Status against target	Trend since 2020/21
13.1	Total households in temporary accommodation (homeless and through service level agreements)		1,911	1,965		1,890				2,111	1,890
13.2	Rent collected for emergency accommodation (year to date including loss from empty homes)		89.21%	81.12% (£3.8m of £4.6m)		80.41% (£4.9m of £6.1m)				78.35% (£4.5m of £5.7m)	80.41% (£4.9m of £6.1m)
The indicator above includes rent loss from empty emergency accommodation dwellings, which has been higher than usual while people who were placed in hotels and hostels in response to Covid-19 are moved on. The collection rate was 97.19% for occupied properties.
13.3	… as above but excluding rent loss from empty homes		For info	97.69% (£3.8m of (£3.8m)		97.19% (£4.9m of £5.0m)	n/a		n/a	87.30% (£4.5m of £5.2m	97.19% (£4.9m of £5.0m)	n/a	n/a
13.4	Rent collected for leased properties (year to date including loss from empty homes)		96.10%	86.68% (£4.8m of £5.5m)		85.59% (£6.7m of £7.8m)				96.96% (£7.3m of £7.5m)	85.59% (£6.7m of £7.8m)
A new reporting system has recently been developed for this indicator following the switchover of our main housing management IT system, and we will closely monitor trends into the next financial year. Some Q3 figures have changed following additional end year quality checks.
13.5	… as above but excluding rent loss from empty homes		For info	93.54% (£4.8m of £5.1m)		92.91% (£6.7m of £7.2m)	n/a		n/a	102.21% (£7.3m of £7.1m)	92.91% (£6.7m of £7.2m)	n/a	n/a
13.6	Rent collected for Seaside Homes (year to date including loss from empty homes)		91.00%	90.72% (£3726k £4107k		89.50% (£5.2m of £5.8m)				89.81% (£4.5m of £5.0m)	89.50% (£5.2m of £5.8m)
13.7	… as above but excluding rent loss from empty homes		For info	97.22% (£3.7m of £3.8m)		96.22% (£5.2 of £5.4m)	n/a		n/a	95.46% (4.5m of 4.7m)	96.22% (£5.2 of £5.4m)	n/a	n/a
13.8	Empty temporary accommodation homes		For info	141		99	n/a		n/a	112	99	n/a	n/a
The indicator above does not include empty council owned temporary accommodation, as this is reported as indicator 15.19 on page 25
13.9	Seaside Homes properties with a valid Landlord’s Gas Safety Record		100%	99.5% (424 of 426)		100% (426 of 426)				99.8% (425 of 426)	100% (426 of 426)
13.10	Leased properties with a valid Landlord’s Gas Safety Record		For info	82.3% (508 of 617)		82.9% (505 of 609)	n/a		n/a	91.6% (592 of 645)	82.9% (505 of 609)	n/a	n/a
The indicator above does not have a target because when it comes to leased properties the council’s role is to monitor progress and remind landlords to arrange gas safety checks, whereas the council’s gas contractor carries out checks in Seaside and council owned homes. The calculation includes empty properties and the service is looking into revising this indicator to apply only to occupied properties.

		Council housing – supply		Q2 2021/22	Q3 2021/22	2020/21	2021/22
14.1			Additional council homes	20	37	144	108
14.2	… at Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rents			25% (5 of 20)	46% (17 of 37)	67% (97 of 144)	33% (36 of 108)
*All homes at LHA rates were for use as temporary housing
14.3	… at 37.5% Living Wage rents			65% (1 of 20)	27% (10 of 37)	18% (26 of 144)	39% (42 of 108)
14.4	… at 27.5% Living Wage rents			10% (2 of 20)	5% (2 of 37)	12% (17 of 144)	19% (21 of 108)
14.5	…at social rents			0% (0 of 20)	22% (8 of 37)	3% (4 of 144)	7% (8 of 108)
14.6	Council homes sold through the Right to Buy			11	13	24	48
Of the 21 homes sold during 2021/22, 25 were for leasehold (flats) and 23 were for freehold (houses)
14.7	Net change in the number of council homes – all rent levels			+9	+24	+120	+60
14.8	Net change in the number of council homes – social and 27.5% Living Wage rent homes only			-9	-3	-3	-19
14.9			Total council owned homes	11,722	11,746	11,686	11,746
Total council owned dwelling stock of 11,746 includes 10,714 general needs, 877 seniors housing and 155 temporary housing (including dwellings not yet handed over)

		Council housing – management			Target	Q3 2021/22	Q4 2021/22	Status against target	Trend since Q3	2020/21	2021/22	Status against target	Trend since 2020/21
15.1			Rent collected from council tenants (forecast for whole financial year)		95.68%	95.58% (£50.8m of £53.2m)	95.66% (£52.3m of £54.7m)			96.40% (£51.0m of £52.9m)	95.66% (£52.3m of £54.7m)
The Q3 figures above are forecasts for the whole of the 2021/22 financial year, and the Q4 figure is the actual result for the year. The methodology excludes rent loss from empty properties and includes arrears from the end of the previous financial year.
15.2			Tenants on Universal Credit (UC)		Info	25% (2,820 of 11,298)	26% (2,933 of 11,340)	n/a	n/a	25% (2,886 of 11,297)	26% (2,933 of 11,340)	n/a	n/a
15.3	Tenants on UC who are in arrears and have an alternative payment arrangement				Info	48% (875 of 1,837)	51% (838 of 1,646)	n/a	n/a	50% (762 of 1,534)	51% (838 of 1,646)	n/a	n/a
15.4	Arrears of UC tenants as a proportion of total arrears				Info	63% (£1.5m of £2.4m)	61% £1.4m of £2.4m)	n/a	n/a	69% (£1.3m of £1.9m)	61% £1.4m of £2.4m)	n/a	n/a
15.5	Tenants evicted due to rent arrears				Info	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	0	n/a	n/a
15.6	Tenants evicted due to anti-social behaviour (ASB)				Info	2	0	n/a	n/a	0	2	n/a	n/a
15.7	New reports of ASB from victims and witnesses				Info	203	183	n/a	n/a	-	-	-	-
15.8	ASB perpetrator cases opened				Info	155	142	n/a	n/a	-	-	-	-
15.9	ASB perpetrator cases closed				Info	99	151	n/a	n/a	-	-	-	-
15.10	Average days to close ASB perpetrator cases				Info	56	76	n/a	n/a	-	-	-	-
15.11	Active ASB perpetrator cases at quarter end				Info	175	166	n/a	n/a	-	-	-	-
The anti-social behaviour (ASB) indicators in this section have been developed to reflect the way ASB is recorded on the new housing management IT system, which includes reports from victims and witnesses as well as linked cases dealt with in relation to the perpetrators. There are often multiple victims and witnesses linked to a single perpetrator. Directly comparable data is not available prior to July 2021.
15.12				Calls answered by Housing Customer Services	85%	90% (4,272 of 4,763)	86% (5,010 of 5,826)			94% (3,193 of 3,410)	86% (19,240 of 22,456)
15.13	Tenancies sustained following difficulties				90%	92% (12 of 13)	97% (28 of 29)			96% (69 of 72)	95% (93 of 98)

		Council housing – empty homes		Target	Q3 2021/22	Q4 2021/22	Status against target	Trend since Q3	2020/21	2021/22	Status against target	Trend since 2020/21
15.14			Average re-let time in calendar days excluding time spent in major works	21	89	132			97	96
Re-let times are high while recovery efforts remain underway to tackle the backlog of empty council homes, which includes many homes which have been empty for long periods of time. However, the number of re-lets during 2021/22 (472) was up on 2020/21 (213) and above pre-pandemic levels seen during 2019/20 (445).
15.15	Average ‘key to key’ re-let time in calendar days including time spent in major works			Info	223	211	n/a	n/a	135	210	n/a	n/a
15.16	Number of previously occupied council homes re-let (general needs and seniors)			Info	122	140	n/a	n/a	213	472	n/a	n/a
15.17	Number of new council homes let for the first time (general needs and seniors)			Info	16	8	n/a	n/a	58	43	n/a	n/a
15.18			Empty general needs and seniors council homes (includes new homes)	Info	293	251	n/a	n/a	268	251	n/a	n/a
15.19	Empty council owned temporary accommodation homes (includes new homes)			Info	15	21	n/a	n/a	27	21	n/a	n/a

Please note the figures for the first three indicators in the table below are provisional as there are currently issues with reporting of repairs data arising from the switchover of our main housing management IT system since the start of July 2021. At present two IT systems are being used and it is not possible to integrate reporting between them, meaning that performance data is currently being extracted and manually combined from the two systems, which is likely to be less accurate than automatic system reporting (due to the volume and multiple stages of the jobs managed by the repairs and maintenance service). We are in the process of procuring a new works management system. Once we have this new system, we should be able to report on all jobs automatically. Please note also that additional quality checks have been carried out upon completion of the 2021/22 financial year, which has slightly changed the results for Q3 2021/22 when compared to the previous report.

		Council housing – repairs and maintenance		Target	Q3 2021/22	Q4 2021/22	Status against target	Trend since Q3	2020/21	2021/22	Status against target	Trend since 2020/21
16.1	Emergency repairs completed within 24 hours			99%	95.6% (2,572 of 2,689)	95.0% (2,494 of 2,626)			98.7% (11,338 of 11,486)	96.0% (10,611 of 11,052)
Emergency response times are still being impacted by a shortage of trades people and the impact on staff resource of the Covid pandemic and self-isolation guidance, athough this situation has improved since the start of Q4. Recruitment to full staff capacity is still underway although progress has been appointing to positions across trade and office-based roles.
16.2			Routine repairs completed within 28 calendar days	92%	63.6% (2,425 of 3,810)	53.8% (2,076 of 3,861)			71.2% (7,415 of 10,417)	63.5% (9,976 of 15,702)
Recently completed routine repairs have included jobs from a backlog which has built up since the start of the pandemic and due to reduced staffing levels and availability of contractors. This means that these jobs took longer than their target timescales once they were completed. Recruitment to full staff capacity is underway (as per the comment above) and the service is currently exploring options for additional fixed term positions as part of a plan to clear the backlog.
16.3	Average time to complete routine repairs (calendar days)			15	44	55			35	46
As above.
16.4			Calls answered by Repairs Helpdesk	85%	93% (19,739 of 21,159)	80% (18,415 of 22,891)			95% (40,253 of 42,502)	90% (77,186 of 85,737)
16.5			Surveyed tenants satisfied with standard of work	96%	97% (199 of 205)	97% (107 of 110)			95.5% (3,749 of 3,924)	98.1% (1,195 of 1,218)
16.6	Surveyed tenants satisfied with overall customer service			96%	99% (203 of 205)	99% (109 of 110)			98.1% (3,851 of 3,924)	99.4% (1,211 of 1,218)

		Council housing – repairs and maintenance			Target	Q3 2021/22	Q4 2021/22	Status against target	Trend since Q3	2020/21	2021/22	Status against target	Trend since 2020/21
16.6				Dwellings meeting Decent Homes Standard	100%	96.9% (11,359 of 11,722)	95.6% (11,229 of 11,746)			91.9% (10,737 of 11,686)	95.6% (11,229 of 11,746)
The stock condition survey identified many dwellings which did not meet the standard, and there had been a lack of planned installations of new kitchens and bathrooms through 2020 due to Covid restrictions, shortages of supplies and components, and until the mobilisation of new contractors was completed (eg for kitchens and bathrooms). Despite a slight decrease during Q4, performance has increased during 2021/22.
16.7	Energy efficiency rating of homes (out of 100)				76.8	68.1	68.2			68.0	68.2
A very ambitious target was set in line with performance by other local authorities (the median for our HouseMark peer group was 76.8 at the end of March 2021). A retrofit plan is being prepared for Housing Committee to show how Housing can contribute to the Carbon Neutral 2030 objective, and a programme to install solar panels on 1,000 council homes began in 2022.
16.8			Council properties with a valid Landlord's Gas Safety Record		100%	100% (10,044 of 10,044)	100% (10,044 of 10,044)			100% (10,026 of 10,026)	100% (10,044 of 10,044)
16.9				Lifts restored to service within 24 hours	95%	92% (288 of 312)	94% (159 of 169)			94% (690 of 736)	92% (954 of 1,038)
There have been delays in repairing some lifts due to aging equipment and difficulties and delays in sourcing spare parts from European supply chains. Aging equipment is being modernised at Seniors schemes and the lift contactor has placed a bulk order for critical spares, which will mean a greater stock of spares once they have arrived, which in turn should hopefully improve performance. Please note the indicator ‘Lifts – average time taken (days) to restore service when not within 24 hours’ has been taken out of this report as part of a review of lifts performance measures and targets.

Following a request at Area Panel in February 2022, a summary of the capital works programme will be included as an accompaniment to future versions of this report.

		Leaseholder disputes	Q3 2021/22	Q4 2021/22	2020/21	2021/22
17.1	Stage one disputes opened		6	4	37	17
17.2	Stage one disputes closed		7	1	18	15
17.3	Active stage one disputes (end quarter)		21	24	22	24
17.4	Stage two disputes opened		1	1	5	5
17.5	Stage two disputes closed		1	1	5	3
17.6	Active stage two disputes (end quarter)		3	3	1	3
17.7	Stage three disputes opened		0	0	1	0
17.8	Stage three disputes closed		0	0	0	1
17.9	Active stage three disputes (end quarter)		1	1	2	1

Total purchases	Social rent	27.5% LWR	37.5% LWR	LHA rate	No. rent reserve applied	Total rent reserve applied	Net modelled subsidy (surplus) over all properties to date (£)
211*	5	43	87	76	46 **	£1.973m ***	£232,000

Buy backs by application date	2017/18	2018/19	2019/20	2020/21	2021/22	Total
Total applications	5	53	88	157	157	460
Of which, became purchases	2	32	53	88	36	211
Council declined	1	13	11	16	9	50
Owner declined offer	1	5	12	15	11	44
Owner withdrew	1	3	12	33	43	92
Outcome pending	0	0	0	5	58	63

Completed buy backs by rent level	2017/18	2018/19	2019/20	2020/21	2021/22	Total
Completed purchases	1	13	43	64	90	211
… general needs social rent	0	0	1	4	0	5
… general needs 27.5% Living Wage	0	0	5	17	21	43
… general needs 37.5% Living Wage	1	5	24	14	43	87
… temporary housing at LHA rates	0	8	13	29	26	76