We continue to invest in improving the standard, quality and efficiency of our existing homes to make sure all our customers have a safe, secure and well-maintained home they’re proud to live in.
Last year our investment included:
| Structural, groundworks and fencing improvements – £2.3m | Kitchens, bathrooms, windows, doors and roofs – £1m |
| Energy efficiency measures – £2.2m | Communal doors, door entry and warden call systems – £930 |
| Boiler replacements and heating upgrades – £2.2m | Showers – £510k |
| Electrical rewires and new alarms – £800k | Fire safety enhancements – £2m |
This year we will continue to invest in our homes, and so far this year our priorities have been:
- Completion of the next phase of our shower installation programme, with a shower fitted to over 550 properties since April.
- Energy efficiency works, meaning that over 95% of our homes are now at an energy rating of EPC C or above.
- £1.4m of fire safety works, including fire alarm upgrades and compartmentation works.
As we move into the second half of the year, we will continue to prioritise fire safety, but also deliver kitchen, bathroom, roof and communal door replacements, prioritising those homes and blocks most in need.
If we’re planning any work to your home or block we’ll contact you to let you know.
Stock condition surveys
We’re now starting to plan our investment for the next 3-5 years and our priorities and approach will be set out in what is known as an ‘Asset Strategy’.
To support us in developing this strategy we’re currently carrying out a large number of ‘Stock Condition Surveys’ to our homes and blocks. These surveys provide us with detailed information about the condition and safety of our homes and blocks so we can ensure your home is safe and comfortable and plan for when future investment may be needed.
This year’s surveys are being carried out by Savills. They’ll write to you let you know when they will be in your area, provide more details about the survey and how you can arrange access. If you’re contacted by Savills about carrying out a survey to your home, it’s important that you allow access so that we can identify when improvements to your home may be needed. The survey should take no longer than 45 minutes and won’t cause any mess or disruption to your home.
When improvement work is carried out in your home will depend on the condition and functionality of key elements and the Stock Condition Surveys help us to confirm this. The table below gives you an idea of the age at which we may look to replace elements in your home, however this is also subject to their condition, functionality and other investment priorities we have, e.g. fire safety.
| Kitchen | 25 years |
| Bathroom | 30 years |
| Roof | 65 years |
| Windows & Doors | 40 years |
| Boiler | 20 years |
Our approach to improvement work aims to ensure that all our homes meet the ‘Decent Homes Standard’.