Tenant Satisfaction Measures - Quarterly update

Between April and June, we continued to improve how repairs are diagnosed, scheduled and communicated.

We are reviewing repairs that require more than one visit to understand the reasons why. This will help us identify opportunities to resolve issues sooner, while recognising that some repairs need multiple visits to achieve the right outcome.

Our new van-tracking service is helping customers see when their operative is on the way. Customers receive a link by text message or email so they can follow the operative's journey to their home. As we continue to roll out and improve the service, tracking may not yet be available for every appointment.

Improving support for customers with disabilities: feedback and research show that some customers can be more affected by repair delays than others. We are reviewing how we identify and record customers' support needs so we can respond more effectively and provide the right support when repairs are needed. You can find more information about this here.

Between July and September, we have been:

• Continuing recruiting to improve the speed and quality of service we provide to customers
• Building on our existing approach to managing damp and mould by improving how we identify and respond to issues that could affect customers health, safety or wellbeing. This will help us take action sooner, create safer homes and deliver better outcomes for customers, while meeting the requirements of Awaab’s Law
• Asking colleagues speaking with customers to check contact details regularly, helping to prevent missed appointments and access issues
• Improving how we manage no-access appointments (appointments that are booked but our operative or surveyor is unable to gain access to the home) through clearer guidance for colleagues, reflecting feedback from the Customer Service Improvement Panel and teams involved in supporting customers and arranging access to homes. This helps ensure a more consistent approach and reduce unnecessary delays to repairs
• Improving the quality of initial repair diagnosis. This includes trialling video inspections, where appropriate, to help us better understand repair issues before visiting. By gaining a clearer picture of the repair required, we can reduce unnecessary inspection visits, speed up repairs and reduce the amount of time customers need to spend attending appointments.

The most recent feedback continues to show that communication is central to customers’ overall experience. Our immediate focus is therefore on proactive communication, clear management of expectations and more complete customer records. Your feedback is being used by teams to explore how we can improve. For example, Housing Officers who are dealing with anti-social behaviour will be expected to agree how often and how they keep in touch with you.

In April and May 2026, we delivered the Big Welcome project, visiting customers that had recently transferred to bpha from Clarion Housing Association in Luton, Central Bedfordshire and Bedford. This enabled us to listen directly to customers and understand more about them and those that live in their households.  Any enquiries and/or concerns that came from these visits were followed up promptly by the relevant teams.

Following the Big Welcome, we are planning the next Local Listen door-knocking sessions for September. We will be out and about in three areas of Bedford listening to customers on their doorstep telling us about how they feel about where they live. The Local Listen will be an opportunity for us to understand more about what’s important to customers and help us to find out more about the residents living there. 

We have completed a substantial customer-led review of the bpha website and in the coming months we will make updates to help ensure that it is clear, contains relevant information, and is inclusive and accessible to customers.

Within Independent Living, scheme-specific welcome packs are being rolled out. The aim is to provide customers with the right information in a consistent but locally relevant format. Research into the personal circumstances and communication needs of customers living in Independent Living schemes will also support more tailored communications.

The Independent Living team will continue carrying out scheme-by-scheme audits and gather more consistent evidence about customer engagement, customer service and local communication. This is a longer-term activity, so its impact may not be reflected in the set of feedback results.

Throughout the year, we will be running a series of customer focus groups to gain direct feedback and better understand customers' experiences. These discussions help us identify opportunities to improve our services and ensure customer voices are at the heart of our decision-making.

Alongside service-specific focus groups, such as those recently held with shared owners, customers affected by anti-social behaviour (ASB), and customers providing feedback on our website, we will also be running a programme of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion focus groups. These sessions will give us the opportunity to hear from ethnically diverse customers, customers aged 18-25, and customers with disabilities, ensuring their views and experiences help shape the services we provide.

Between April and June, we have identified that more regular grounds maintenance is having a noticeable impact in some locations, and customers have praised the quality and reliability of some caretaker and cleaning services. However, customers also raised concerns about inconsistent grounds maintenance, bin stores, window cleaning, fly-tipping and parking. 9 in 10 planned visits are successfully completed with improvements to increase this ongoing.

Regarding positive contribution to neighbourhood, our next Local Listen visits will give customers further opportunities to tell us how they feel about their neighbourhood and whether they feel part of their community. This time these visits will take place in a few areas of Bedford.

bpha Community Hubs and drop-ins provide welcoming spaces for both our customers and the wider community to connect, build relationships and access support. Operating across Queens Park, Kingsbrook/Cauldwell, Brickhill and Greyfriars in Bedford, as well as two in Trumpington and one in Linmere, our hubs and drop-ins help reduce social isolation, improve health and wellbeing, and offer opportunities for learning, skills development and community participation for adults and children.

Working closely with residents, we consult with local communities to understand their needs and partner with a range of agencies to deliver tailored activities, services and support that make a positive difference to people's lives.

During Q1, some customers spoke positively about the management of anti-social behaviour (ASB) in their area. However, TSM feedback also showed that customers do not always report incidents directly to bpha, which can limit our ability to investigate and take appropriate action.

We will follow up with customers who mentioned anti-social behaviour in their survey responses but had not previously reported it. We will also hold a dedicated anti-social behaviour focus group to explore customers’ experiences in more detail and identify ways to improve reporting, communication and case handling.

We will be focusing on four key areas as part of an improvement plan for our management of ASB reports:

• Risk assessments and action plans: We will strengthen our focus on understanding the impact ASB has on customers and agreeing appropriate contact arrangements and action plans
• Reporting: We will explore new reporting tools and apps, as well as ways to make reporting ASB simpler and more accessible for customers
• Communication: We will review the language, tone, and frequency of our communications to ensure customers feel informed, supported, and listened to
• Noise complaints: As this is the area where we receive the highest number of ASB reports, we will look at ways to improve how we respond to and manage noise-related cases.