charter housing voids review
TRANSCRIPT
TopTip’s aim
• Understand what expectations are for people when moving into a new property.
• What is important to them when moving in and what do they worry could happen?
• Look at views of both those who have recently moved and also those on the waiting list
Methodology• Door to door visits were made to tenants who had
moved in within the last year. There were 250 re-lets in 2014, Charter staff managed to speak to 11 of these when out door knocking with Evie during the first week of December 2014
• A random sample of people on housing waiting lists in all 4 local authorities were contacted via telephone to get their views. We spoke with 44 on this waiting list on Monday 8th December 2014.
3 core questions asked
1. What would be the most important thing to you when you open the door for the first time?
2. What would give you the wow factor?
3. What would be the worst thing that could happen?
Executive summary• A clear theme came out that the most important thing for
people when they move into their new home is quite basicThese minimum standards were• A clean property• Services (gas, electric, water, heating) all work correctly• Safe and secure property
• When asked about what would wow them, a high majority restated their basic expectations we’ve listed above
• The wishes were consistent whether they had recently moved or had been waiting for some considerable time
A dirty home in a poor condition is considered to be the worst thing that could be found when
moving in
No services, gas or electricity
No heating
Maintenance issues
Dirty, this property took 2 weeks to clean
Current Charter tenant views
It would be a mess. lots of work to do kitchen and bathroom falling apart as they are the
most important things
Views of people on waiting lists
Dirty and badly layed
out
Poor condition, rubbish left out
Property would smell of animals and be not clean
and damp in the property
Damp, untidy
Horrible house in bad
conditionProperty un-kept not clean and
dark and have loads of decorating to do as I am elderly and not able
to do decorating
Loads of work needed and
property in a mess
Messy
Moving in and having loads of work that
needs to be done like back garden a mess loads of repairs that
need doing
Broken windows, bad kitchen and property where there have been animals previously and flees have
not been treated. This has happened to me before with the council
be in a poor condition a
dump and not clean
Make sure everything works including heating and hot water as
when I moved in my current property there was no boiler and
took me three weeks after moving to get this fixed
Question asked: “What would be the worst thing that could happen when moving in?”
Property left in a poor condition and a mess
Not clean, mould and
damp on the walls
For most people, the most important thing when walking through the door for the first time is a clean property with
a minimum standard of decoration
Tidy and working properly
To have new appliances.
When I moved into Merchant Court it was brand new so I
had all brand new appliances which was excellent.
I want it to be clean and tidy.
Current Charter tenant views
Everything in good working condition
Views of people on waiting lists
So long as everything basic is there I’m happy.
A good heating system and
working wellI want it to be clean
and fresh
To make sure the property
was clean
Clean and having my own home
Would settle for anything, would be
happy to have a roof
I would expect it to be in a reasonable
condition and clean
working heating and hot water
Clean and tidy I have moved in to plenty of
property's that have been awful I do not want to
clean up other peoples left overs and to have heating
that works
Space for my child and cleanliness.
Not too bothered about decoration as I would change this
to suit my taste.
Property must be clean and decorated to
minimum standard, maybe magnolia
To be able to move in its clean and tidy and fresh looking would be nice if it was decorated to a nice standard
until you can afford to start to do things as when you first move in you can not afford to do much because
of the moving expenses
Question asked: “What would be the most important thing to you when you open your front door for the first time?”
Clean and tidy
feel safe and property secure
Cleanliness
Cleanliness!
Decoration
Everything in good working condition
That the property is safe
Clean and tidy and plenty of space and
good heating
Clean & tidy no odours
Would like it to feel like a home – no
damp
Nicely decorated
Nice kitchen
Wow factor? Most people just want a clean and tidy home with services that work
Question asked: “What would give you the wow factor?”
What is important is a nice sized clean house, that is safe and secure which they can call their own
Open fire would be incredible
If it was a brand new
house
Newly decorated, or
newly built
Quite a new property
would make me go wow
If it was light and
welcoming
Bonus would be having carpets or
flooring coverings. It would be a huge relief
as its expensive
Modern and safe
If no decoration
was needed
1. Get the basics right consistently
Wow factor key words are:
Clean Nice
Tidy New
The wow factor is the new home that they can call their own
A minimum letting standard that we consistently achieve would leave the new residents happy
Having to deal with a dirty or messy home when moving in creates hassle and could destroy the wow factor
2. Options
Everyone is in a different position when moving in
Giving a few choices can help different people in different ways:
Paint colour
Decoration vouchers
Appliance or carpet/flooring packages
Not too bothered about decoration as I would change this
to suit my taste.
Would be nice if it was decorated to a nice
standard until you can afford to start to do
Bonus would be having carpets or flooring coverings
If no decoration
was needed
3. Cleaning
What does clean mean?
Further research into what people mean when they say it should be clean
Ideas to prompt discussion:
Photo of property prior to let
Review specific complaints
Comparison with Private Rented Sector cleanliness expectations
“Is it a Mothers’ clean” Andrew Frame 2014
4. Common issues
Let new tenants know what to expect
What are the common issues that occur
Gas capped
Water off
Boiler may have problems if it’s been off
Providing easy to access information – on the boiler?
No services, gas or electricity
No heating Maintenance issues
Make sure everything works including heating and hot water as
when I moved in my current property there was no boiler and
took me three weeks after moving to get this fixed
5. A real Wow?
Having my own homeWould like it to feel like a home
Feeling of homeSomewhere in a nice area
Having my own
place
Nice little garden, quiet and peaceful
House of my own
Sample numbers overall are sufficient for qualitative study
However, we would encourage triangulating any options that you consider
Possible ways to triangulate:
• Tenant groups
• Social Media polls
• 3rd party research
• @Contact
• Tenant Survey
Reality Check