CHAIR’S WELCOME
We are delighted to share our annual performance report for the year ended 31 March 2025. The report tells you about our performance against the standards set out in the Scottish Social Housing Charter and gives us an opportunity to reflect on the last 12 months and celebrate some of the successes and share the challenges we have faced. This has been my first year as Chairperson and I have been inspired by the fantastic work Ayrshire Housing does on a daily basis.
We have also welcomed 3 new colleagues to the senior leadership team with Emma Robertson, Scott Cunningham and Alison Lamont joining as the Director of Finance, Director of Assets and Compliance and Director of Housing and Communities respectively, helping guide the strategic direction of the organisation in the key areas of finance, properties and housing and communities.
We have supported our customers by offering not only housing support, but additional support in the form of financial wellbeing services and energy advice, which are unfortunately needed due to the ongoing cost of living crisis. The organisation has also invested in our communities this year with the appointment of a Community Engagement Manager, a post that will ensure strong community
Vision, Mission and Values
Our People Delivering Excellence for our Customers and Communities.
partnerships are created and will allow Ayrshire Housing to establish excellent partnerships in our neighbourhoods. We continue to support local organisations through our Community Connect Fund and have disbursed £9,200 in grants to support local groups.
You will see from the performance figures throughout the report that Ayrshire Housing continues to provide excellent services to our customers. We are performing ahead of the national average on almost all the indicators and the early results from our most recent Tenant Satisfaction Survey show that these performance figures have improved again, reflecting the increased focus over the past 12 months on providing excellent and efficient customer service.
As a tenant, I have seen firsthand the hard work and dedication of the Ayrshire Housing team and I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Board and staff for their continued support, commitment and hard work in delivering positive outcomes for our customers and communities.
Kind regards Georgina Dawson
To create a culture of excellence by investing in our people, places, properties and processes, which leads to our customers feeling valued, listened to and included in their communities.
We understand and respond to the needs of our tenants, customers and colleagues, fostering a supportive and compassionate environment.
We embrace creativity and change, continuously seeking better solutions to ways of working, allowing us to drive long-term success.
We take ownership and accountability, following through on what we say we’ll do to provide a high-quality service.
We value everyone in our community, promoting an inclusive environment, encouraging collaboration and diversity.
PROVIDING HOMES
Westport, Tarbolton
We were delighted to complete our Westport development in November 2024. This was a 25 home development with a mix of bungalows, semidetached and terraced houses contained within a larger development of housing for sale. The bungalows have given us the opportunity to provide level access accommodation with adaptations to allow independent living for tenants with mobility issues.
Future Projects
Green Street, Ayr
We have a confirmed site start date of 1st September 2025 for our Green Street project in Ayr. This development will provide 32 town centre flats, with the ground floor flats providing a combination of level access and wheelchair accessible flats.
The properties will provide a suite of energy efficiency measures including high levels of insulation, triple glazed windows, photovoltaic panels on the roof which will provide direct benefit to the flats, an electric heating system and electric vehicle charging points within the private car park.
The properties are designed with energy efficiency in mind with great insulation qualities and air source heat pumps, to reduce energy consumption and tenants’ fuel bills.
The development has been nominated for the Chartered Institute of Housing’s “Excellence in Development for Affordable Housing award.” The winner will be announced on Friday 14th of November 2025.
Queens Terrace, Maybole
We continue to develop plans for a 28 home development in Maybole, however, this will require a fresh planning application and site start is not expected until early 2027.
Green Street
Investment in Our Houses
We currently own and manage 1,719 properties across Ayrshire and our dedicated Property Services Team work hard to ensure these homes remain at the highest standard possible.
We are undertaking our 2nd year of stock condition surveys with the full programme of surveys anticipated to complete next year. The surveys help us prioritise our investment plans and major works programmes for the properties that need it the most. By surveying the condition of various components such as bathrooms, kitchens, roofs and windows we can plan and schedule major upgrades more efficiently.
In 2024/25 we spent £1,285,323.29 on investment works. This year we are carrying out an extensive investment programme to ensure our commitment to enhancing living conditions for residents. The investment is crucial not only for upgrading the physical structure of the building, but also for ensuring safety and increasing energy efficiency which can lead to lower utility costs. In 2025/26 Ayrshire Housing have committed £2.9million to carry out investment works, including kitchens, bathrooms, boilers, roofs and window & doors.
£1,070,000 Windows & Doors
£700,000 Kitchens
£300,000 Boilers and Heating Systems
£300,000 Bathrooms
Some of the works we have complete this year include:
£320,000 NetZero, Health & Safety (including Fire Doors), Close door entry systems
£155,000 Sunporches
£100,000 Roofs
New Kitchens, Hosiery Court, Troon.
New Windows and Doors, Knockbreck Road, Straiton.
New Bathrooms, Lochlea Drive, Ayr. New Roofs, Rowan Road, Girvan.
Tenant Safety Compliance
Damp and Mould
The Scottish Housing Regulator (SHR) monitors social landlords and their response to damp and mould issues through its Annual Return on the Charter (ARC). We have updated our Damp & Mould Policy to reflect these reporting requirements; this can be viewed on our website. We keep a register and have a case management programme to monitor each reported incident and ensure each case is resolved.
It is important that you notify us as early as possible if you have any concerns regarding damp or mould in your home.
Gas Servicing
Ayrshire Housing is legally required to service gas systems within a 12-month cycle to ensure the safety of your household. We are proud to confirm that we have reported 100% compliance this year, ensuring the safety of yourself, your family and your neighbours.
It is important that you allow access to our contractor for this check. We have a legal obligation to ensure it is completed and where necessary we will follow our process to gain entry to your property to complete the check. If we require to force entry to your home, you will be recharged for the cost of this work.
Lifts
Through our commitment to ensuring safety, we carried out a lift modernisation programme on 4 lifts at South Harbour Street, Ayr. This included new control systems, landing and car call stations and replacement door operators.
All our passenger lifts undergo regular servicing and inspection by our contractor to assess for any remedials required and a 6 monthly thorough examination (LOLER). We achieved 100% compliance for lift inspections.
Fire Safety
In relation to the requirements of the fire detection regulations in 2019, 99.6% of our stock is compliant with current LD2 standards for fire detection in domestic properties, the remaining properties are undergoing forced access procedures to ensure 100% compliance is achieved.
We are now able to carry out in-house fire door inspections, through training our Technical Services Officer. They will assess all fire doors to our common areas within our flatted blocks.
Electrical
To comply with updated legislation changes in 2015, all landlords must carry out Electrical Inspection Condition Reports (EICR’s) at intervals of no more than 5 years to help ensure that the electrical system in your home is in a safe condition.
These inspections require access to your home. Ayrshire Housing has a dedicated programme of EICRs, and our contractors will be in contact to arrange access for those involved in this year’s inspection programme. This will mirror the process for the gas servicing as mentioned earlier.
As at 31st March 2025, 99.7% of our properties had a valid EICR. We reported 86% of our properties to have had an electrical inspection carried out within 5 years anniversary date.
Asbestos
Asbestos may have been used during the construction of our properties built before 2000. Last year, we undertook a comprehensive review and redesign of our asbestos register to ensure all relevant information is accurately recorded and securely stored in a centralised system - enhancing safety for everyone.
With any repair or planned maintenance programme, we provide contractors with asbestos information for the properties. If required, we will carry out an asbestos check when one of our properties become empty.
Legionella
We have undertaken necessary Legionella Risk Assessments and continue to manage and assess periodically in relation to the assessed risk.
Our contractor shouldn’t need access to your home, although on the occasion that they do, you will be given advance notice.
Celebrating our Success
FINANCIAL WELLBEING
Over the past year, up to April 2025, our financial wellbeing work has focused on supporting tenants through significant changes in the benefits system. Wendy and Jacqueline from the team received 329 referrals and secured an amazing £1.23 million in benefit awards for our tenants throughout the past 12 months.
A major achievement was assisting claimants in transitioning from legacy benefits to Universal Credit, with all families previously receiving Tax Credits successfully moved over by April 2025. These transitions were often complex and challenging, and we provided dedicated support to help tenants navigate the process.
We also responded to the evolving landscape of welfare support, particularly the transfer of
certain Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) benefits to Social Security Scotland. This included helping tenants understand and apply for the new Adult Disability Payment, which replaced Personal Independence Payment, and the Carer Support Payment, which took over from Carer’s Allowance. Additionally, we identified that the Scottish Child Payment was underclaimed and worked to ensure eligible tenants received the support they were entitled to.
To raise awareness and provide guidance, we promoted upcoming changes through social media and organised events both in our offices and within communities. These efforts aimed to empower tenants with the knowledge and confidence to manage their benefits effectively during a time of considerable change.
Here is some of the feedback we have received from our tenants who have benefited from the financial wellbeing service:
“The service helped me move to UC and took away the stress. Everything was explained so I could understand. This is a brilliant service for tenants.”
“Very professional and explained everything well.”
helpful service, nothing was a problem, very caring and pleasant.”
“Very
Couldn’t be happier with the personal service I received.
“I feel more confident dealing with other organisations knowing the financial wellbeing team are there to help”.
“I received extremely thorough and caring help and advice.”
“The service helped me get money that I didn’t know I was entitled to. I also received advice about services to look into.”
“Having your financial wellbeing service is a lifeline to me. Thank you for your help!”
“Just knowing this service is available gives me peace of mind knowing I can use it again in the future.”
Couldn’t deal with my benefit claims without the help of this service.
Celebrating our Success
Staff News
Claire Strachan –Receptionist
Claire has joined us as the friendly face at reception, greeting and welcoming customers and answering your calls.
Mark
Jenkins
–Community Wellbeing Officer
Helping vulnerable tenants to stay in their homes is the key role being asked of our Community Wellbeing Officer. Mark is working with us on a two-year contract, providing bespoke support to customers who may be seeking support to sustain their tenancies. Mark is employed by Ayrshire Housing but splits his time with us and Atrium Homes.
Sharon Mather – Community Engagement Manager
Sharon has joined us in this newly created role within Ayrshire Housing, showing our commitment to the communities we support. Sharon’s job will adopt a whole community approach and won’t just focus on tenants - it’s about looking at initiatives that can bring whole neighbourhoods together.
Emma Robertson –Director of Finance
Emma joined us in February and has worked in senior finance roles across accountancy practice; as well as the construction and premium spirits industries.
Scott Cunningham –Director of Assets and Compliance
Scott joined the team in May, bringing with him a wealth of experience from his career so far working in the housing sector. Scott is leading his team in delivering the ambitious package of investments in new kitchens, windows, bathrooms, heating systems and energy efficiency, all due to be delivered by 2030. The compliance element of his new role will be to ensure the association meets all its Health & Safety obligations.
Meghan Simpson –Housing Assistant
Meghan has recently joined the team in the newly created Housing Assistant role, dealing with a range of housing enquiries and supporting the Housing Officers.
Alison
Lamont
–Director of Housing and Communities
Our newest employee, Alison, will be undertaking the role of Director of Housing and Communities, leading the Housing Management and Community teams in achieving our exciting targets in our Business Plan 2030.
What our tenants are telling us
We welcome complaints, they give us valuable feedback, highlight where we haven’t got our service quite right and provide an opportunity to improve what we do and how we do it.
We have adopted the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) Model Complaints Handling Procedure, which is a two-stage procedure. We aim
to resolve your complaint at Stage 1, however if your complaint is complex, or you are dissatisfied with the outcome of your complaint at Stage 1, we will deal with it as a Stage 2 complaint.
The key areas that our tenants have said they would like us to focus on, to improve their experience at home and in their communities are:
Contractor did not leave my garden secure. Work with our contractors to make sure they understand the importance of keeping tenants’ homes and gardens secure.
Close cleaning is not being carried out to an acceptable standard.
Continue to address any reported issues with our contractors.
Works to my bathroom were not completed in an acceptable time frame.
We receive many positive comments about the services we provide. Knowing when things are working well is just as important as knowing when things are not working as well as we would like.
During the year we received 34 recorded compliments compared to 33 for the same period last year.
If you would like to give us feedback of any kind,
Continue to have regular meetings with our contractors to discuss reasons why jobs are delayed and ensure they keep our tenants updated.
please log into your MyHome account and go to the My Feedback tab, email us at info@ayrshirehousing.org.uk or give us a call on 01292 880120
You can find out more information about our Complaints Handling process on our website https://www.ayrshirehousing.org.uk/your-home/ complaints/
Who Regulates Us?
Ayrshire Housing is regulated by the Scottish Housing Regulator (SHR). SHR’s role is to “safeguard and protect the interest of current and future tenants of social landlords, people who are or may become homeless, and people who use housing services provided by registered social landlords (RSLs) and local authorities”.
Their website has lots of information https://www.housingregulator.gov.scot
You can:
• Compare our performance with other landlords
• View the information we reported on our Annual Return on the Charter
• Find out more about the Regulator’s role and how they work.
As a registered social landlord, we must follow strict rules and guidelines to ensure our tenants receive the best possible service in high quality homes that are safe, warm and affordable. Following submission of all our regulatory returns we received “compliant” status from the Scottish Housing Regulator which confirms we are meeting all the standards required. If you want to find out more about this, you can visit the “About Us” section on our website https://www.ayrshirehousing.org.uk/ about
If you are dissatisfied with our service, then you should let us know in order that we can investigate and let you know our decision. If you remain dissatisfied, you can report a significant performance failure to SHR.
Complaints and serious concerns – information for tenants and service users of social landlords | Scottish Housing Regulator
As a charity we are also regulated by the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR).
https://www.oscr.org.uk/
Annual Performance and Value for Money Report
The Scottish Social Housing Charter sets standards and outcomes that we, as a landlord, should achieve. We are pleased to report our performance against these standards. As well as seeing how we have performed during the year, you will be able to see how we measure up against other local and national registered social landlords. Where we have not performed as well as expected, we will outline a
brief plan of work we will carry out over the year to remedy this.
SHR have created a comparison tool that makes it easy for you to compare our performance against others https://www.housingregulator.gov.scot/ comparison-tool/
Performance Results at a glance!
of our tenants think their rent charge is value for money. of anti-social behaviour cases were resolved within timescales.
Average weekly rent in 2024/25 increased to
73.9% 95.3% £108.35 80.3% 100% 3.5%
of our tenants are satisfied with the quality of their home. of Stage 1 complaints were responded to within timescales.
Average rent increase applied in 2025/26.
Our
of our tenants are satisfied with the service provided by Ayrshire Housing.
of our tenants are satisfied with the opportunities to participate in the work of Ayrshire Housing.
83.0% 154 81.9% 12 87.9%
Stage 1 complaints were responded to within timescales.
of our tenants feel that we are good at keeping them informed.
Stage 2 complaints were responded to within timescales.
Proposed actions for this year to improve our performance:
We have invested in a new communication tool – CX Feedback - to make it easier to communicate with customers.
We have carried out our three year tenant satisfaction survey and the feedback from
The senior leadership team are tracking the key performance indicators every month to identify any emerging issues early and action them timeously.
The senior leadership team review complaints regularly to ensure they are being properly addressed and any emerging patterns in dissatisfaction with service delivery are identified and fixed.
Maintaining Your Home
of our tenants are satisfied with the quality of their home.
Medical Adaptations. Each year, we apply for funding from the Scottish Government to help us put adaptations into homes where tenants have mobility, sight, hearing or other ailments. Adaptations such as grab rails and level access showers make it easier for people to continue to live in their homes.
We completed 29 medical adaptations during the year.
80.3% 8.6 days 120 88.8% 89.4% 5.7% 2.9hrs 27.2 days
on average to complete non-emergency repairs.
properties were let during the year.
of our stock meets the Scottish Housing Quality Standard (SHQS). of our tenants were satisfied with our repairs service in last 12 months. of our stock became vacant throughout the year. on average to complete an emergency repair.
to relet empty homes on average.
Proposed actions for this year to improve our performance:
Doubling of our Planned Investment Budget to accelerate our component replacement programmes.
Our Property Services Team continue to engage with our contractors to strive for continuous service improvement.
Conduct a full review of our Aids and Adaptations Policy, reviewing our spend for simple/complex adaptations.
Analysis of collected Stock Condition data to programme identified works to improve SHQS performance.
Creation of new focused working groups to analyse performance of Repairs and Maintenance, Compliance and Investment.
Your Community
82.8% 100% 17.4% 83%
of our tenants are satisfied with the management of their neighbourhoods. of Stage 1 complaints were responded to within timescales. of tenancies offered were refused. of tenants were satisfied with overall services provided by us.
Proposed actions for this year to improve our performance:
1.
2.
We will strengthen our presence in Ayrshire by working in partnership with local organisations and establishing a dedicated Community Engagement Team to serve as a trusted anchor within the community
We will deliver inclusive, respectful, and responsive services that make customers feel valued and confident in Ayrshire Housing, supported by the creation of a Customer Service Improvement Group to drive continuous improvement.
3.
4.
We will foster a sense of safety, security, and wellbeing for our customers—both in their homes and communities—by establishing a dedicated Community Wellbeing Service focused on supporting tenancy sustainment.
We will champion a wellbeing economy by embedding environmental sustainability and equality at the heart of our operations— starting with targeted improvements to the EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) performance of our homes in Barr and Crosshill.
1. 2.
We have set up a Voids Task Force to review how we can turn empty properties around as quickly as possible. This ensures the organisation is maximising its rental income, but also that we are able to offer a tenancy as quickly as possible to customers on our waiting list. Our Financial Wellbeing Team and Energy Advisor will continue to advise and support customers to ensure they are receiving all the support and financial help they are entitled to so they are able to pay their rent on time.
CE Closing Comments
I hope you enjoyed reading about our performance over the last 12 months. It has been a successful year for the organisation as we welcomed new colleagues and embraced changed. All colleagues have worked incredibly hard over the last 12 months to provide the best possible service to our customers. 31 March 2025 was the end of the 3-year business plan and the new 2025-30 Business plan launched on 1st April, following consultation with Board, customers and colleagues.
As I reflect on the previous 3-year business plan, the organisation met all the objectives it set out to meet and added real value to our customers and communities through support and guidance from our colleagues, provision of new build properties offering affordable and modern homes for rent and a presence in local communities, as well as great partnership working with other community based charities and support organisations.
The national and global political and economic climate remains challenging for us as a business and also for our customers who are still trying to manage with high energy
and food bills as well as general cost of living challenges. We are trying to support where we can with the creation of our new Community Engagement team and free financial wellbeing and energy advice. I am confident the new 5-year plan, which puts our customers at the heart of everything we do, will allow Ayrshire Housing to continue to go from strength to strength.
If you have any comments or concerns about anything in the report, I can be contacted at l.junnner@ayrshirehousing.org.uk
Lesley-Anne Junner
Equality & Human Rights Statement
We are committed to promoting an environment of respect and understanding where diversity is encouraged, and discrimination is avoided. This commitment covers all areas of our work, as an employer of staff, as a landlord and provider of services. A copy of our Equality and Human Rights Policy can be found at www.ayrshirehousing.org.uk.
Move to Digital
This report is digital by standard which helps us to provide value for money for tenants and reduces our impact on the environment. We will continue to make this report available on our website www.ayrshirehousing.org.uk and on MyHome. However, if you would like a paper copy, please contact our office.
We are always here to help:
Call: 01292 880120
Text: 07860 020 459
Email: info@ayrshirehousing.org.uk Visit: www.ayrshirehousing.org.uk
Out of hours repairs: 01294 468113
Like: www.facebook.com/ayrshirehousing
Other Formats
On request, we can provide translations of all our documents, policies and procedures in various languages or other formats such as large print, Braille etc. These can be obtained by contacting our office.
Board News
We appointed 5 new Board members at our AGM on 10th September 2025.
TELL US HOW YOU THINK WE DID
To tell us what you think about this year’s report and be in with a chance to win a £50 Asda Voucher, please complete our online survey through your MyHome account by 14th November 2025.
We would also love to hear if there is any information about our services and performance that you would like to know more about or if you have any ideas or stories for future newsletters.
If you don’t already have a MyHome account signing-up is quick and easy. Go to https://www. ayrshirehousing.org.uk/your-home/ You will need your 6-digit tenancy number. Or give us a call on 01292 880120 or email myhome@ayrshirehousing.org.uk and we will send you a link to the site. You will need a smartphone or other device with internet access.
Barry Kerr Richard Toner
Julie-Ann Huggins
Richard Reid Kirsty Aitken