Autumn Special Edition 2013

SPECIAL EDITION Results From The 2013 Tenant Satisfaction Survey The association commissioned Ashbrook Research & Consultancy to carry out our 2013 Tenant Satisfaction Survey. This was a postal survey and questionnaires were sent to 1,404 households. Of these, 590 were returned, representing a very good response rate of 42%.

The survey focussed on issues such as:      

Satisfaction with the services provided by Ayrshire Housing Value for money of rent Communication and participation Standard and quality of home Repairs and maintenance Neighbourhood management Contact with Ayrshire Housing

The following is a summary of some of the findings from the survey but if you would like to see the full report it can be viewed on our website at www.ayrshirehousing.org.uk. A copy of it is also available on request.

We can supply this document in a print size to suit. It is also available in Braille, audio and other formats, and in other languages. Our website also has several accessibility features which you may find useful. j

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OVERALL SATISFACTION LEVELS

OFFOR RENT VALUE MONEY

It is encouraging to note that almost 9 out of 10 tenants (88%) stated that they were satisfied with the overall service provided by Ayrshire Housing. This outcome is very similar to what was reported in our previous surveys in 2005 – 86% and 2010 - 89% It is also good to note that only 6% of tenants noted their dissatisfaction with the overall service we provided.

We asked the question “Taking into account the accommodation and the services Ayrshire Housing provides, do you think that the rent for this property represents good or poor value for money?”

82% of tenants believed that the rent for their property represented either fairly good or very good value for money. Again, this is similar to the results in 2005 and 2010 – 85% and 81% respectively.

COMMUNICATION & PARTICIPATION Q: How good or poor do you feel Ayrshire Housing is at keeping you informed about services and decisions?

Approaching 9 out of 10 (88%) believed that Ayrshire Housing is good at keeping them informed.

In addition, 75% of tenants were satisfied with the opportunities provided to participate in our decision making processes. It should also be noted that whilst only 4% were dissatisfied with the opportunities given to participate 21% stated that they were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied in this regard.

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STANDARD & QUALITY OF HOME All tenants were asked how satisfied they were with the quality of their home and it can be seen from the graph that over 4 out of 5 tenants (82%) stated that, overall, they were satisfied with the quality of their home.

Of the tenants who had moved into their home within the last year 4 out of 5 (80%) indicated they were satisfied with the standard of their home when they moved in to the property. In contrast, around 1 in 7 tenants (14%) stated that they were dissatisfied with the standard when they moved in.

REPAIRS & MAINTENANCE

REPAIRS & MAINTENANCE cont.

It was very encouraging to note that almost all respondents who had a repair carried out within the last year (95%) indicated that they found it easy to report the repair to Ayrshire Housing. Indeed, only 4% noted difficulty in reporting a repair the last time they did so.

Of those who had a repair carried out within the last year 85% were satisfied with the repairs service with 56% stating that they were very satisfied with the service. There were, however, 9% of respondents who noted their dissatisfaction with the service the last time they had a repair carried out.

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REPAIRS & MAINTENANCE cont.

There was also an extremely high level of satisfaction expressed (92%) with our out of hours emergency repairs service.

The following graph highlights a very positive satisfaction level with particular aspects of the most recent repair that had been carried out and shows that 90% and over were satisfied with each of the 4 indicators under consideration.

CONTACT with AYRSHIRE HOUSING Typically, around 9 out of 10 respondents indicated that they were satisfied with their most recent contact with Ayrshire Housing across a range of 4 indicators. While these figures are, overall, similar to those reported in 2010 it should be noted that between 2010 and 2013 there was an increase in those who were very satisfied in relation to:  Helpfulness of staff (rising from 61% in 2010 to 68% in 2013)  Quality of advice assistance (rising from 54% to 63%)  How easy it was to get a hold of someone who could help (rising from 55% to 64%)

Around 4 out of 5 (79%) tenants indicated that they were satisfied with Ayrshire Housing’s management of the neighbourhood they live in with over a third (37%) specifically stated that they were very satisfied in this regard.

KEY FINDINGS The survey is generally characterised by a very large number of positive outcomes such as satisfaction with the overall service we provide, value for money of rent, keeping tenants informed our repairs service, opportunities to participate in decision making processes, management of neighbourhoods and general contacts with Ayrshire Housing.

There were also a number of challenges which are emerging, with the overarching challenge relating to us being able to continue to deliver the high levels of service within an increasingly difficult financial environment. Other more specific challenges included how we can respond to tenant priorities, particularly in terms of repairs and maintenance and the quality of their home, ensuring the systems for responding to the reporting of repairs are of high quality, addressing any areas where expectations are not being met and responding to tenants’ information needs across a range of areas. j

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