East Thames Housing Scrutiny Panel
Allocations and lettings Report and Recommendations
Introduction
This report is from residents’ perspective and focuses on the customer experience using Choice Based Lettings (CBL) and the customer experience during a viewing and a sign up. This report is based on examining policies and other allocations and letting information, interviewing staff, testing services, customer feedback and observing viewings and a sign up.
We decided to test the usability of the Choice Homes website as we know that many tenants’ can access the internet and are likely to bid using this method. We have made recommendations to improve the registering process, to improve accessibility to ensure that all tenants’ can access the service and to improve the information provided on successful bids. We are pleased that this scheme is relatively easy to use and that East Thames also provides a range of mutual exchange programmes for tenants’ wanting to move.
By observing viewings and a sign up we were able to experience the service that tenants’ are receiving and have used these observations to make recommendations to improve internal processes for staff and improve the customer experience for potential tenants’.
We also looked at customer feedback from the lettings survey and overall there has been a drop in satisfaction since 2011/12. Particularly in relation to the condition of the property when tenants’ move in, delays with outstanding repairs and communicating with tenants’ on the progress of their move. We recommend that future reviews include assessing the condition of ready to let properties, East Thames’s Lettable Standard and communication during the letting process.
We are aware that the allocations and lettings department was restructured in July 2013 and that this has impacted on the service delivery. We were also informed that the IT systems supporting Choice Based Lettings is currently being upgraded so we have considered both points when making our recommendations.
The following Housing Scrutiny Panel members took part in this review: Tracy Aldrich, Gavin Palmer, Donna Alcindor and Sabrina Butt.
The panel would like to thank Deborah Lamb for facilitating this panel and all the East Thames staff and residents who have contributed to this report.
Traffic Lights
The East Thames housing scrutiny panel has used traffic light coding to assess how East Thames is performing. The scrutiny panel will make recommendations for improvement and East Thames will provide details and actions of how they will implement recommendations. Once East Thames can evidence an action the scrutiny panel will decide if the traffic light will change and an update with be provided in the in the East Thames response column. The change in traffic light coding will be represented in the second traffic light column (TL). The aim is for all traffic lights to turn green.
Green traffic light This is at or above the levels expected by residents
Amber traffic light This is acceptable to residents but minor alterations could improve the service, customer
Satisfaction and possible provide a cost saving in some instances
Red traffic light This is below the level expected by residents. Actions on these points should improve the service and increase customer satisfaction
Recommendations and traffic light coding for this report:
Colour code / No. of lights / %6 / 40
5 / 33
4 / 27
Total / 15 / 100
Question / Evidence / Scrutiny panel comments and recommendations / TL
Feb 14 / TL / East Thames response and actions
Choice Based Lettings
1. / How can existing tenants move home using CBL? / Speaking to staff
Speaking to tenants
Tenure and Allocations policy / East Thames has nomination agreements with their local authority partners and homes and 50% of 1 beds and 75% of 2 beds empty homes are passed to the council for letting. Apart from Tower Hamlets council where the agreement is that 100% of empty homes are passed to the council for letting. Usually with new developments 100% of first lets are through the council.
The remaining homes that East Thames re let are through a Choice Based Lettings Scheme (CBL). They have been operating this scheme since 2003.
This scheme replaced the waiting list where a direct offer was previously made to the next applicant on the list. CBL was introduced to promote choice and reduce refusals enabling tenants’ to be able to choose the area that they wished to move to and the type of home that they want.
Available homes are advertised through East London’s letting company Choice Homes via the website www.ellcchoicehomes.org.uk and in East London’s lettings company Choice Homes magazine which is published every Friday.
CBL is an electronic system that has been configured to prioritise home seekers according to their housing needs using a banding system that assesses both medical and welfare needs. The greatest need is given the highest priority. If an applicant with the highest priority refuses the property it is then offered to subsequent applicants until the property is let.
Once registered applicants can bid for available homes every Friday. Applicants can bid via the website, using a multilingual hotline, at a touch screen kiosk in a council office or library and by text messaging
2. / Is the online CBL scheme easy to use? / We tested the Choice Homes website
We spoke to tenants / Yes, generally it is felt that the online system is easy to use.
Once registered an applicant is provided with a personal login and password. To access the scheme the applicant logs in and the system automatically allocates properties that the applicant can bid for. Bids are made simply by clicking a button. When a bid is made the system then displays the number of bids and the applicant’s position in terms of their priority. Applicants can withdraw bids at any time and their position may change as other bids may be withdrawn. Applicants have 4 days to bid for a property (Friday – Monday) and on Tuesday mornings applicants can check to see how successful their bid has been.
A range of accessibility support is provided including Browsealoud (free speech enabler that allows a user to listen the content rather than read it), Microsoft Translator that changes the language displayed and 3 text size options.
We also tested the system by logging in at different times and as you would expect on a Friday night when bidding starts there is delay logging in however logging in was straight forward over the weekend.
3. / Is property information easy to understand? / We tested the service
Choice Homes website and mag / Yes, descriptions of property location and all relevant information is easy to understand and well-presented both on the website and in the Choice Homes magazine if you can read English language. Pictures are available for most properties and it is the general feel that applicants are able to make an informed decision to bid for a property.
4. / Is it easy to register? / Speaking to residents / To register for CBL, ET tenants’ can contact ET directly, through ET’s website or by registering online on the Choice Homes website.
Information provided to tenants’ via ET’s website says that login details will be provided within 5 working days however tenants’ have told us that registration is taking much longer and they are having to contact ET to speed up the process.
The current registration process is part automated and processing information is approved manually by ET staff. We were also told that delays in approving applications and sending out login details is due to staff capacity and the system not being fully automated. We were told and are pleased that funding has been agreed to fully automate this system to increase the efficiency of the registering process.
It is the general feel that an efficient registering process is important because of the impact of welfare reform particularly for tenants needing to downsize because of the ‘bedroom tax’ - spare room subsidy. Applicants affected by this change are given highest priority. This approach not only prevents potential homelessness but also frees larger properties for overcrowded families.
We recommend that ET provides timescales for the new automated system and improves the current process for registration in the interim period.
Recommendation
To improve the current process for registering applications / Agreed. Automation of CBL is key to improve the service that East Thames can provide to our residents
An upgrade to the CBL system was scheduled for January 2014 but this has been delayed as Orchard (our core information management system) needs an organizational upgrade and the CBL upgrade is now part of a wider Information Systems upgrade.
The planned upgrade of the CBL system is now scheduled for Qtr 3 (December 2014).
UPDATE 3/4/2014
All members of the Lettings Team in the process of being trained to process CBL applications manually on the ORCHARD system until the implementation of the CBL automation which is due in December 2014
UPDATE 3/9/2014
Full automation of CBL is still pending on IS ORCHARD upgrading which is anticipated in December 2014
Update 25/09/14 – HSP agreed that this light should turn green as all members of the team have now been trained to manually register applicants and are confident that the additional resources will improve the process for registration.
5. / Can all residents access CBL? / Requesting information
Tenure and allocations policy / Housing providers are required by the HCA to support tenants unable to bid independently and as per the Tenure and Allocations policy ET states that they provide ‘assisted bidding assistance’.
We asked for information on the number of applicants that ET are currently providing this service to. We were not provided with this information but told that Housing Options Consultants work with residents’ on a one to one basis.
Assisted bidding is important to ensure that CBL is accessible to all tenants and we would expect ET to be providing this service given the diversity of their residents.
It is the general feel that this service is not being provided because we were not given the number of tenants’ that ET are supporting.
We are concerned that ET are not meeting this regulatory requirement and potentially tenants’ needing and wanting to move are unable to do so because they cannot access CBL .
Recommendation
To provide an assisted bidding service and record the number of tenants using this service / Agreed and in place. Apologies for not providing adequate information during the review.
This service is provided and we do record details of residents who we support with assisted bidding.
As at March the Housing Options Consultant (HOC) is currently working with:
· 53 residents affected by the bedroom
· 16 medical cases
· 13 families who are overcrowded.
UPDATE 3/4/2014 – HSP agreed to turn light green based on the information provided and are pleased that East Thames is providing this much needed service to residents particularly given the impact of Welfare Reform.
6. / Can ET tenants view information on successful bids? / Speaking to tenants’
Talking to staff
Choice Homes website and magazine / All housing providers using Choice Homes provide information of successful bids for previously advertised properties which includes information such as the:
· Number of bids
· Registration date of the successful bid
· Band of the bid
· Special features – such as direct offer employment status of bid, special requirements
This information is intended to provide transparency of the allocations process.
The information currently provided by ET is limited providing only information on the number of bids. We have been told that this is because the IT system used to integrate information is currently being upgraded.
It is the general feel that this information should be available as soon as possible and we recommend that ET provide the information above in line with the other housing providers and improve transparency.
Recommendation
To confirm the information that will be provided once the system goes live
To provide timescales for when this information will be available / Agreed. This improvement in feedback to our customers will be included in the upgrade of the Orchard CBL system and Abritias system (see above).
UPDATE 3/4/2014
Feedback on successful bids to mirror local authorities advertising in CBL – this will need to be part of the ORCHARD upgrade which is a Group project during 2014 and will be part of the CBL upgrade for December 2014
UPDATE 3/9/2014
This action is still pending and reliant on the full automation of CBL through the ORCHARD upgrade
UPDATE 25/9/2014- HSP are aware that the allocations and lettings team have no control over the Orchard Upgrade and that this is the reason for the action still pending. HSP agreed to change this light amber based on the information provided above. This action will be reviewed Dec14/Jan15 once CBL has been automated.
7. / Can all tenants’ access the Choice Homes website? / Speaking to tenants
Speaking to staff / We are aware that many tenants may have access to the internet from home using broadband or via their mobile phones so are likely to be accessing the service using these methods.