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Transforming Maintenance & Repair In Social Housing

Edward Bell December 9, 2022August 18th, 20235 min read
High rise council flats in social housing estate in Port Glasgow, Inverclyde UK

The Field Service Technology Transforming Maintenance In Social Housing

Social Housing providers are under immense pressure to deliver more with less. Each day, housing associations must manage their complex property portfolios and the tenants who inhabit them while facing increased operational costs, media scrutiny and renewed legislative pressures. Meeting these challenges is unenviable, and the sector is under enormous strain.
Despite the broader macroeconomic pressures, motivation to enact meaningful change that eases pressure and prioritises tenant welfare is gaining tremendous momentum. Totalmobile’s Managing Director for Property & Facilities Management, David Webb, notes:

"Increasingly, housing providers across the board are placing their tenants at the centre of their service provision. More and more providers are pursuing repair and maintenance services that deliver on the right of their tenants to a good quality and safe home".

David Webb, Managing Director of Property & Facilities Management for Totalmobile UK.

However, David highlights the need for more far-reaching change. He describes social housing as a sector that stands to gain the most from an effective transformation of technology-enabled services. “Landlords and HA’s who can shift from a reactive provision of services to a proactive one stand to deliver best on their duty of care to tenants”.

Pressure on Social Housing

Higher operational costs due to inflation, the rising cost of borrowing and a rapidly changing legislative, regulatory and political landscape all place pressure on social housing providers and landlords. In England, a 7% cap on social rents (Property Reporter) will be enacted from April 2023, potentially reducing the revenue providers can generate. This loss of revenue, combined with inflation, increases the challenge providers face when reinvesting in their existing stock.

Why Reinvestment Matters

This reinvestment is essential to meet decarbonisation targets, comply with new building safety regulations, and address damp and mould issues. Meeting these challenges and prioritising tenant experience will cut into development budgets, with many providers already scaling back development programmes to focus on improving stock condition. In summary – the challenges facing the social housing sector are ongoing and multifaceted.

landlord reviewing property condition and changing locks for new tenant

What options do Social Housing providers have?

Working with forward-thinking housing authorities, we have seen first-hand how incoming legislation has motivated them to transform services. Our customers are choosing to get ahead of tenant safety and increase the choice and protection they offer. These housing authorities have reorientated their operations to embrace a holistic, tenant-focused service experience delivered by all stakeholders across their repair and maintenance services. This serves to better maintain and grow the value of their assets, David explains:

”"This is not about short-term changes. This is about long-term, holistic change. This will require a shift from reactive property management and repair methods to a proactive approach for the sector. An approach that puts tenant satisfaction and stock condition at the centre".

Implementing solutions and prioritising these pain points will align housing providers with the long-awaited Social Housing (Regulation) Bill. This bill will attempt to increase protection for tenants and empower their relationship with landlords. Knowing this, social housing providers should take the opportunity to be proactive and transition towards tenant-led service delivery.
End-to-end digitisation shows excellent promise for enhancing repairs and maintenance services. To get ahead, social housing providers should implement service technologies that emphasise tenant satisfaction and stock condition at every step. With this, a better and more equitable tenant-landlord relationship is possible.
By partnering with a field service provider who provides a diverse range of capabilities, housing associations can drive significant improvements in a range of areas, including:
Solution Capabilities for Social Housing
1. Tenant Communication through enhancing how tenants raise potential jobs and increasing the visibility of requested work when it has been made. Two-way communications enable a seamless and auditable trail of communications. Auditable from the initial incident to the final resolution, accessible by all relevant stakeholders.
2. Service Delivery by improving the scheduling of required work while ensuring staff have everything they need to complete the job the first time. By centralising resources into one location, creating a ‘digital twin’ for each property managed by an HA is possible. This digital twin will host all relevant information on a property. This includes stock condition to records of maintenance and asset compliance documents. This provides property services, asset management and compliance management with everything they need to efficiently inspect, triage and action repairs, planned works and compliance work.
3. Service Intelligence by receiving a comprehensive real-time insight into service delivery, social housing providers ensure compliance with services as they are delivered. By understanding long-term trends in performance, housing associations are empowered to make timely decisions on how service can be provided. This drives efficiency gains while ensuring specific issues, such as mould and dampness, are fixed the first time, every time.

Closing Thoughts

Ultimately, this enables maintenance and repair services that place tenant health, experience and safety first. Service is driven by data rather than assumptions. Combined, this empowers Social Housing providers to action a step change in delivering safer housing. This builds on the impressive work they are already doing and eases pressure where it is most needed.

Edward Bell

Edward Bell

Edward Bell, Totalmobile's Content Strategist, shapes and delivers compelling content spotlighting their unique SaaS solutions. With 6+ years in MarComs, his journey spans diverse marketing roles, driven by tech passion. Edward fuels Totalmobile's mission, educating and advocating for impactful solutions across sectors, ensuring ROI for customers.

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