STATUS Survey Success for Magna West Somerset Housing Association

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Introduction

We carry out full tenant satisfaction surveys every 2 years. The last survey was carried out in 2005. At the end of 2007, the postal survey was sent out to 1500 MWS tenants and we received back 891 replies, which is a good overall response rate of 59.4%.

The survey is undertaken by the National Housing Federation and the results have recently been received. Most of the survey questions are standard and used across the country by Housing Associations and other landlords, and this allows us to make comparisons with previous surveys and other landlords. Some of the standard questions were updated and some were new and these were included in the survey. In addition, our survey included some MWS specific questions on internet use and on office opening hours.

The Results

The results are very good and have improved in almost all areas since the last survey in 2005.

Overall satisfaction has now reached 89%, a rise of 3% in the last 2 years.

84% of tenants who responded, thought the rent was either fairly good (40%) or very good (44%), value for money. This is an increase of 3% on the 2005 figure. Satisfaction with accommodation occupied is 90%, the same as in 2005. 89% of tenants feel their property is in good condition, up 1% from 2005. 86% of tenants were satisfied with the overall repairs service, up 2% from 2005. This is good news because tenants rated repairs and maintenance as the single most important service.

Further on repairs, 86% were satisfied with the time to wait for work to be done, 94% felt the speed at which work was done was good once on site, 97% felt the attitude of workers was good, and 91% rated the quality of work carried out.

Satisfaction with the Local Neighbourhood

86% of tenants are satisfied with their neighbourhood as a place to live, down 1% from 2005.

Questions were asked about local problems and to what extent they are a concern. The questions have changed, so it is difficult to compare directly with what was said in 2005. However, the top four concerns for all MWS tenants were as follows:

% of tenants concerned

Greatest concern is car parking 62%
Rubbish and litter 52%
Disruptive children/teenagers 46%
Noisy neighbours 46%

Concerns about dogs and vandalism have decreased since 2005.

There were also new questions asked about anti-social behaviour (ASB). 15% (110) of tenants who responded said they had made reports of ASB. Of these, 57% found it easy to contact the right person, although 25% had some difficulty. 61% found staff helpful and 19% found staff unhelpful. 43% were satisfied with how their complaint was dealt with and 40% were dissatisfied. 43% were satisfied with the final outcome of the complaint and 36% were dissatisfied. So, this was a mixed response. Dealing more effectively with ASB is an area we have already identified we need to improve on.

Communication and Participation

Staff at the frontline of services were also commended by way of high levels of satisfaction with customer contact. Tenants who had contact with staff scored them highly on the ease of getting hold of the right person, their helpfulness and their ability to deal with the enquiry.

85% of tenants felt they are kept well informed and 66% feel their views are taken into account in decision making. 85% of tenants read Opendoor and the fact that 51% find it enjoyable to read and useful, is positive.

Comparisons with other Landlords

To help us make comparisons, these results were compared with 10 similarly sized Housing Associations across the South West. These results compared very favourably and in many areas, MWS performed higher than the peer group. In fact, the response of 89% overall satisfaction , was the joint highest rating in the group. The results also compare very well nationally and put MWS in the top 25% of Housing Associations for all of the key questions.

What happens next?

Tony Murray, MWS Director, said: “I am very pleased with the positive feedback from tenants and it was impressive to see further improvements on the good results from the 2005 Survey. These results are testament to the continuing hard work and dedication of staff. Continuous improvement is our aim and we do not rest on our laurels. There is always room for improvement and we will look closely at any weak areas where service could be improved and we will use the feedback to implement an improvement plan over the next 12 months”.

There are a number of pointers where further work could help improve services. In particular:

· Despite high levels of satisfaction with neighbourhoods, there are some local problem issues, such as car parking, litter and rubbish which we are aware of, and dealing with ,in partnership with local Councils.

· We need to ensure we take appropriate action to tackle any ASB.

· We will make more use of the internet to make services more accessible. 30% of tenants now have access to the internet and tenants with access are keen to use it to report repairs, to enquire about their rent or use it for rent payments.

· We shall consider extending office opening hours. 32% of tenants would like to see an office open on a Saturday morning and 24% favour later opening during the week.

· For the first time, we have all of the results analysed by postcode and this will enable staff to focus actions on specific towns and villages, if we find that tenants are less satisfied with certain aspects of the services provided.

Last updated 01.07.08