SHG HAS STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES IN BALANCENewsletter Editions - Daily housing news for 19.03.09
Southern Housing Group Limited
Southern Housing Group Limited (SHG) has strengths and weaknesses in balance according to a report released by the Audit Commission.Audit Commission inspectors reached this conclusion following a short-notice inspection of how the London and South east based housing association is: responding to repairs that tenants report; involving tenants in decision making; and managing rent arrears accrued by those experiencing debt.This was because repairs reporting is tailored to tenants� wishes, diverse communities are informing service improvements, dedicated resources support the association�s commitment to involving tenants, services are easy to access and the management of arrears is reasonable.Hugh Boatswain, Audit Commission Lead Housing Inspector, said: �Overall, SHG is delivering a reasonable service which includes various means by which tenants can influence the servces they receive. It now needs to ensure consistency in action to minimise early arrears and arrangements for repair appointments and to ensure greater tenant input at a strategic level.�Strengths include that tenants receive a phone service that compares well with other social landlords; tenant information is generally clear and informative; the approach to repairs reporting is tailored in accordance to tenants' wishes; in-house services provide help to tenants unable to make rent payments or experiencing other debt and satisfaction with tenants� views being taken account is high.Weaknesses include the prioritisation of service improvements is not informed by tenants; benchmarking is not fully developed or consistently used to understand how value for money could be improved for tenants; and arrears levels are high against national comparators.
www.audit-commission.gov.uk/reports
www.shgroup.org.uk
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