Regulatory judgement improvement plan

Regulatory standard

Area of weakness

Intended outcome(s)

Reduction in time taken to complete repairs to empty homes before they are ready to let.

Lead

Ian McLackland (Service Director, Repairs and building maintenance)

Laura Atkinson (Service Manager, Repairs and voids)

Target completion

Average days to let a home - void to ready to let - 80 day target (2025/26) 

Step targets (where possible)

Short/medium/long term plans

Short Term

Reduce voids in work to less than 300.

Medium Term

Achieve 80 day target by end of March 2026.

Long Term:

Prioritise older voids first to get a clearer picture of average turnaround time and service performance.

Organisational risks

1. Complexity of repairs
2. Levels of tenant damage
3. Level of capital replacement work and budget

Potential impact on customers if we do not achieve intended outcome

1. Longer waiting times for housing allocation
2. Increased reliance on temporary or unsuitable accommodation

Current position

At end of quarter 3, it took an average of 93 days from void to read to let- with the shortest time being 1 day and longest being 340 days. Several long term voids were resolved in this period.  

Void in work turnaround times remain high as the service is working through older, more complex voids that have not been let for a long period of time due to being low demand, alongside high work content driven by stock age, customer‑related damage and required damp and mould prevention. 

Additional works being carried out to temporary accommodation properties which are not included in overall completions.

We are reducing the scope of void property works by carrying out repairs rather than large-scale replacements, unless elements are beyond repair, which will help to improve void turnaround times.  We won't start seeing from this until the new year.

In November and December additional staffing resource was put into void properties whilst a review of asset renewals was carried out and that capital resource available, and this resulted in a 22% reduction in voids in work.

While proactive damp prevention work in void properties continues to help reduce future issues and safeguard tenants, the additional time required to carry out this work can negatively impact overall repairs performance.

RAG

Evidence

Performance reports to Housing Environment and Healthy Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee (HEHC OSC) and Strategic Housing Board