Copy of Tenant Satisfaction Measures – Annual Performance

Delivering a dependable and cost-efficient repairs and maintenance service is essential to fulfilling our commitment to providing affordable and comfortable homes. This means ensuring urgent issues are addressed promptly, managing routine maintenance efficiently and so our homes meet the Decent Homes Standard (DHS) and remain safe and well maintained.

Our rental customers are asked how satisfied they are with the overall repairs service and the time taken to complete their most recent repair. Repairs satisfaction overall has improved by 3.5% since last year as 69.5% of our customers are happier with the repairs service we provide. There has also been an increase in the number of customers who are satisfied with the time taken to complete their most recent repair with 61.1% stating that they are satisfied, resulting in a 0.8% increase since last year.

We’ve made improvements in this area in the following ways:

• More operatives have been recruited throughout the year
• We have a new, dedicated team in place to deal with larger jobs
• There have been improvements in how we manage repairs that require parts, including checking ordered parts have arrived two days prior to scheduled appointments, and working with suppliers to see what the most commonly used parts are, with a view to increasing stock levels
• Our customer-led Service Improvement Panel (SIP) has been working closely with bpha to analyse reoccurring issues such as when there is ‘no access’ to customer properties to carry out repairs
• When analysing customer comments, we have identified that customers who are dissatisfied most commonly mention that bpha repairs are slow or there is an issue with their repair. We’re hoping that satisfaction with the time taken to complete a repair will continue to improve now that we have recruited more operatives to carry them out.

Positive customer comments relating to repairs primarily focus on repairs being attended to quickly and bpha being responsive. Negative comments mention repairs being slow and taking too long.

Example comments:

“You phone up if anything [is] broke down, they're here right away, they come quickly.”

“Generally speaking, when you contact bpha, nothing is their responsibility, and they take far too long to fix anything”

At bpha, maintaining building safety is a top priority, and we are committed to ensuring that all necessary checks are completed on time. Our safety programme covers key areas including gas checks, fire safety, asbestos management, water safety and lift maintenance, all of which contribute to ensuring that bpha provides a safe home.

We’ve achieved 100% compliance in the following areas:

• Gas safety checks
• Fire safety checks
• Asbestos safety checks
• Water safety checks
• Lift safety checks.

bpha customers were asked:

“Thinking about the condition of the property or building you live in, how satisfied or dissatisfied are you that bpha provides a home that is safe?”

In our latest TSMs, 76.9% of rental customers reported being satisfied with the safety of their home, an improvement of 1.4% since last year. Among homeowners, satisfaction rose by 2.9% since the previous year, reaching 72.5%.

We are committed to continuous improvement in building safety. Recent initiatives include:

• All required safety checks being completed in time, reflecting our commitment to customer safety
• Building safety guides have been produced for high rise blocks in Bedford, providing residents with information specific to their block, including how to raise concerns and get involved in building safety decisions.
• A new system was successfully trialled at Greengates Court, Cambridge. It allows customers to access their block via mobile phone or a bpha-provided handset. Plans are underway to roll this out to a larger block in Bedford
• Touchscreen digital noticeboards have been trialled at Greengates Court. These allow for richer content, including videos and interactive features such as surveys
• Sensors are being installed to monitor and address severe damp and mould issues proactively
• New technology enables remote diagnosis of boiler issues - often before customers are aware of a problem. 1,076 units had been installed by year end.

We have made improvements in the following areas:

• Launch of bpha’s Customer Strategy 2025-2029, which was developed based on customer feedback
• Ongoing programme of empathy training being delivered to bpha staff, resulting in fewer complaints received year-on-year relating to a lack of staff empathy
• Engagement initiatives have been trialled to increase customers’ usage of bpha’s online customer engagement platform, The Place
• A shared ownership working group is in place, targeting issues that shared owners say are most important. SIP are monitoring the progress of the changes that are being made.
• Our Independent Living Team has increased the level of information provided to customers by launching welcome packs for each of the bpha schemes, new information packs about the bpha Respond response service, and information leaflets giving practical guidance and support to customers and family members who have lost a loved one. This initiative was developed in response to customer feedback highlighting the need for vital information to be more accessible. Once fully rolled out, this will ensure that important information is available right from the start of a tenancy.

To help us understand customers more thoroughly, we asked IFF Research to ask questions that aren't included in the TSMs:

How strongly would you agree or disagree with the following statement, “I trust bpha to do what they say they will do?”.

60.8% of rental customers and 46.9% of homeowners agreed with this.

On a scale of one to 10, where one is very little effort and 10 is a lot of effort, how much effort do you generally have to make when you deal with bpha?

This was a new measure for 2024/25 and we’re pleased to report an effort score of 4.9 for 2024-25. In this case, a lower score indicates a better outcome.