Three-quarters of council tenants are satisfied with the services they receive from their landlord, according to an independent report commissioned by Oxford City Council.
Like other social landlords, the council carries out an annual tenant satisfaction (STAR) survey. The council commissioned Acuity to undertake the 2022 survey, with 928 tenants completing phone interviews. The council uses survey results to identify and deliver service improvements, and to benchmark itself against other social landlords.
Key results
Overall, 75% of tenants said they were satisfied with the services they receive. While this is a slight decrease from 2021 (76%), the council is above average compared to other social landlords. Acuity concluded that “satisfaction with the services delivered by Oxford City Council is good and is maintaining good levels despite a general fall in satisfaction across the sector.”
Tenants were most satisfied with:
- 87% believe their rent is value for money
- 86% are satisfied with the council’s customer service
- 85% are satisfied with the repairs service they received in the last 12 months
- 85% are satisfied their home is safe and well-maintained
- 84% are satisfied with their neighbourhood as a place to live and also with the overall appearance of their neighbourhood
A number of areas targeted for improvement after the 2021 STAR survey saw a significant increase in satisfaction:
- the final outcome of an antisocial behaviour complaint (up 19%)
- how a complaint was handled (up 17%)
- the overall appearance of their neighbourhood (up 9%)
- the council treats them fairly and with respect (up 9%)
- they are kept informed about things that might affect them (up 7%)
Repairs
The day-to-day repairs service is always the main reason social housing tenants are not satisfied with their landlord. Overall satisfaction with the repairs and maintenance service increased from 76% to 79%. Satisfaction with the repairs service in the last 12 months was higher, with 85% of tenants satisfied compared to 79% in 2021. The main reason for dissatisfaction with the service was the time taken to complete repairs.
Service improvements
A range of measures have been or are being put in place by ODS to improve satisfaction with repairs.
These include better communication with tenants over appointments and progress, as well as improvements to IT allowing ODS and tenants to book follow-up calls and report, view and track progress with cases. ODS is also using more dynamic matching of staff availability with demand for repairs.
Last November, a coroner found mould caused the death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak at his home in Rochdale in 2020. The council has taken a proactive approach to this issue and has written to all its tenants encouraging them to report damp and mould in their homes. ODS is following up on all reported cases to offer advice and, where needed, take action to remedy damp and mould problems.
The council has recruited new staff in tenancy management and allocations, to support the delivery of a new generation of council homes by its housing company, OX Place. Recruitment of a customer care and complaints officer is also helping improve tenant engagement.
The council is in the second year of a four-year programme to invest £51 million in refurbishments, maintenance and improvements to estates. This includes work like replacing doors and windows, re-roofing, structural repairs, lifts and door phone entry systems, cyclical repairs and decoration, fencing and improvements to internal and outdoor communal areas.
A separate £7.6 million programme will see the council investing in better energy efficiency for more than 300 council homes in the next two years. A tenant representative sits on the project board for this programme, which is selecting the most suitable homes for energy efficiency improvements.
Comment
“Three-quarters of our tenants say they are satisfied with the service we provide as a landlord. This puts us in the top half of social landlords nationally and this is encouraging.
“But we’re not complacent. Although we’ve seen some significant improvements in satisfaction with some of our services, this has not translated into our tenants’ overall view of the council as a landlord. We’ve been working to deliver improvements to all aspects of our services and this work will continue.”
Councillor Linda Smith, Cabinet Member for Housing
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