A group of housing associations have signed a landmark joint agreement to invest millions of pounds in maintaining and improving social housing across Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire and Inverclyde.
The I-FLAIR group, comprising eight local housing associations, has joined forces to create a framework agreement for much of its planned maintenance work for tenants' homes, in response to the economic downturn which is leaving Scotland's housing associations feeling the squeeze.
The procurement agreement aims to get best value for tenants in difficult economic times while seeing huge investment in improvements and repairs to tenants' homes.
In total, £32 million of works, supplies and services will be channelled through the framework. This includes works such as re-roofing, re-wiring, the installation of new bathrooms, kitchens, heating systems, open space maintenance and painting for tenants.
I-FLAIR is a consortium Arklet HA, Barrhead HA, Cloch HA, Oaktree HA, Bridgewater HA, Linstone HA, Paisley South HA, and Williamsburgh HA. Together, the consortium has 10,000 homes throughout Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire and Inverclyde.
The Group decided to work together in response to the Scottish Government's encouragement of collaboration in the housing sector. Initially the its focus was efficiencies in the delivery of new social housing. As the economic downturn impacted in the numbers of new homes being built, the Group shifted its focus to the substantial planned maintenance programmes of its members.
By combining organisational strengths and resources, I-FLAIR recognised that significant savings could be achieved through working together, whilst combining the benefits of local knowledge and a commitment to support local communities and local enterprise.