Resident feedback published by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) shows that the overwhelming majority of social housing tenants are very happy with the design and quality of their homes, funded by the Agency.
The report, Quality Counts, summarises the main findings of a series of Quality Assurance and Impact Visits carried out by the HCA for homes delivered under the Agency’s National Affordable Housing Programme (NAHP) 2008-11, across 520 schemes nationwide.
The Quality Assurance and Impact Visits complement the Agency's compliance activity, providing an understanding of what residents really want from their homes. Findings from these will be used to inform the Agency's approach to delivering the new Affordable Homes programme.
Key findings from the Quality Assurance and Impact Visits include:
As recipients of NAHP funding, HCA investment partners were also invited to comment. One of the most recurrent themes was the importance of successful partnership working.
The findings also highlighted some areas where the Agency is continuing to work with partners to improve, such as inside storage space, external space and achieving energy efficient and comfortable temperature levels within the home.
HCA Deputy Chief Executive, Richard Hill, said:
To download the report, visit the HCA website."Ensuring value for money and a fit with locally identified priorities, and in particular, that the homes we have funded meet the needs of those who live in them, are core strands running through all the HCA's work. So we are pleased with this feedback, from residents and our partners, which shows the tangible ways in which we are doing this. The quality of people’s homes make a massive contribution to their own wellbeing, and this report is a real proof of that.
"But it also shows that we cannot be complacent on the issue of quality, and we will continue to engage with our partners and listen to their views and those of their residents. This will enable us to continually improve on delivery for our remaining NAHP commitments, and take lessons learnt forward into the new Affordable Homes Programme."