Housing Associations Guide Part 6 Appendix 5

Maintenance works

1.00 Introduction

1.01 Background – Associations need to be aware of their statutory, legal and contractual obligations as landlords to maintain the housing stock. In this respect, Associations are required by Regulatory Standards 3.3.1 and 3.3.2 – see The Regulatory Framework for Registered Housing Associations in Northern Ireland (2004) - to ensure that:

a. The homes their residents live in are well maintained and in a lettable conditions; and

b. Maintenance is carried out effectively and responsively and in ways that reflect residents preferences.

1.02 Regulatory Guidance - is used in assessing the Association’s compliance with the requirements of Regulatory Standards 3.3.1 and 3.3.2, i.e.:

a. The housing stock is maintained in a lettable condition that exceeds statutory minimum requirements;

b. There is a responsive repair service that meets legal and contractual obligations and is efficient and effective. It has published service standards and is sensitive to the needs of vulnerable residents;

c. All equipment and building components meet required legislative and regulatory standards.

1.03 Building Maintenance Policy Statement – Associations, as responsible social landlords, must therefore provide an effective, efficient and responsive repair service to their residents. To aid this objective, Associations should formally adopt a Building Maintenance Policy Statement, which sets out the organisation’s obligations, the approach to the maintenance of its housing stock and the priority that should be attached to undertaking this type of work. In order to progress this work, the Association should appoint a member of staff to oversee all maintenance works and have a ‘contact point’ for queries and progress. The appointment of consultants, contractual arrangements and the Association’s formal approval of schemes should be streamlined where possible, and performance/time targets established for the various processes.

1.04 As part of the service, Associations should also take account of the following considerations:

a. The Association has a published policy on repairs, drawn up in consultation with tenants, and covers:

Who is responsible for various types of repair;
The standard of service to be achieved;
How the specific needs of particular groups of residents, especially vulnerable residents, will be addressed;
How the need for repairs are to be reported and how an emergency service is to operate;

b. The Association has target response times, e.g.:

Emergency: 1 working day (24 hours) - defects affecting the safety, security or health of the tenant;
Urgent: 4 working days - defects causing loss of facility to the tenant or likely to cause further deterioration to the structure, fabric, fittings, fixtures or services to the building;
Routine: 28 working days - defects which can be deferred without seriously inconvenience to the tenant.

c. The Association has procedures for:

Defining, reporting and authorising repairs;
Undertaking procurement activities;
Identifying and prioritising repairs for the most vulnerable residents and arranging for access to undertake the works etc; and
Undertaking a (sample) customer satisfaction survey on the completed work and on the contractor’s performance

d. The Association takes account of the right to repair scheme:

Tenants are informed about the level of service they can expect;
Targets and response times are set for different types of repairs;
Tenants are informed of an entitlement to compensation where a service does not comply with agreed standards.

2.00 Advice on Some Aspects of Maintenance Operations

2.01 Tenancy Agreement and Tenants’ Handbook – as some repairs may be the tenant’s responsibility, the Tenants’ Handbook should explain the division of responsibilities between the tenant and the Association. Where possible, this should include;

Details of the Association and its work;
Contact details for the Association’s staff relative to various services;
Responsibilities for maintenance;
Advice on emergency arrangements;
Advice on insurance for tenants’ responsibilities;
Procedures for improvements by tenants;
Advice on using energy efficiently, water use, avoidance of condensation problems and cleaning of various urfaces;
Details of access required by the Association to allow for inspections and maintenance works etc, to be undertaken.

2.02 Organisation and Staffing for the Association’s Maintenance Task – this will depend on the size and nature of the Association’s stock. This could vary from part-time staff to a large section with in-house technical personnel. In most cases, the Association will need to appoint technical consultants to undertake surveys, and prepare and oversee maintenance contracts etc.

2.03 Need for Maintenance Works – initially this can arise as a result of a request from a tenant or tenants. These are more likely to be for emergency or urgent work, but can include requests for routine works. Routine work is more likely to arise from periodic inspection procedures that cover all aspects of the dwelling/property/estate.

2.04 Surveys – most Associations will have a detailed knowledge of the condition of the structure, fabric, services, fittings etc, of the various properties comprising the Association’s stock. Where there are ‘gaps’ in the Associations knowledge, regular surveys by technical consultants may be necessary to identify problem areas. Regular surveys, that precede normal cyclical maintenance works, may be necessary every five or six years. More frequent or annual inspections by the Association may be necessary to identify the need for minor preventative repairs that, if left, could cause more serious problems – eg, damaged or missing roof tiles, missing or damaged rainwater pipes, broken or damaged roof-lights.

2.05 Planning – Associations need to plan for undertaking various maintenance activities. Generally, the work can be separated into three broad headings:

Response Maintenance – this include emergency, urgent and routine repairs. These activities are essentially event driven and the Association need to have procedures and contracts in place to allow the work to be completed within target response times.
Planned Maintenance – this activity is essentially time driven, in that they are normally carried out at set or periodic time intervals to take account of good practice and code of practice recommendations published by the building industry etc.
Voids and Relets – this normally comprises response maintenance, but may require an element of planned maintenance to dwelling/property that is to be relet.

2.06 Procurement Procedures for Maintenance Works – advice on Procurement Requirements for Housing Associations is contained in Appendix: 2 to Part 4 of the Guide - this provides, amongst other things, guidance on selective competitive tendering procedures. Associations should aim to reduce the time and need for tendering each individual scheme by using longer-term, competitively tendered - contracts such as Measured Term Contracts (MTC) - which would cover the Association’s requirements for a number of years and also include ‘Partnering’ which may be particularly appropriate for maintenance type works.

2.07 Operations – in undertaking maintenance work, key stages normally comprise:

Initiation – by tenant or Association or both;
Authorisation by appropriate officer of the Association;
Specification and estimate prepared;
Tenant consultation, extent of work/timescales;
Tendering – if Measured Term Contract not available;
Contract let/work-order issued by the Association;
Tenant consultation start/completion dates;
Work undertaken by contractor;
Quality checks on work by Association;
Approval of completed works;
Certification and payment;
(Sample) customer satisfaction survey on the completed work and on the contractor’s performance.

2.08 Further advice – on various aspects of maintenance can be found in the following publications:

Good practice Briefing: Repairs and Maintenance. Chartered Institute of Housing (2001).
Report – Right First Time: How Housing Associations are improving their responsive repairs. Chartered Institute of Housing (2005).
Inspection Uncovered: Repairs and Maintenance Services. Housing Corporation (2003).
Building Maintenance: Strategy, Planning & Procurement. RICS (2000).

3.00 Checklist of key issues to be considered in meeting the Regulatory Guidance

Regulatory Guidance*

[*used in assessing the Association’s compliance on meeting the DSD’s Regulatory Standards 3.3.1 & 3.3.2]

Examples of the key issues to be considered in meeting the Regulatory Guidance

[The issues apply mainly to Associations with a stock of over 250 units. Where an Association has a stock of less than 250 units, services commensurate to the stock size should be provided]

a. The housing stock is maintained in a lettable condition that exceeds statutory minimum requirements.

Inspection:
Do sample inspections/surveys of the Association’s stock and records indicate that generally this is the case?

Policy & Procedures:

Does the Association have a Building Maintenance Policy that sets out the organisation’s obligations, the approach to the maintenance of its housing stock and the priority that should be attached to undertaking this type of work etc?
Has the Association appointed a member of staff to oversee all maintenance works?
Is there an Association ‘contact point’ for maintenance queries and progress?
Does the Association have target response times for different types of repair?
Does the Association have procedures for defining, reporting and authorising repairs?
Does the Association have procedures for identifying and prioritising repairs for the most vulnerable residents and arranging for access to undertake the works?
Does the Association take into account the specific needs of particular groups of residents, and especially vulnerable residents?
Does the Association take account of the right to repair scheme?
Does the association undertake a (sample) customer satisfaction survey on the completed work and on the contractor’s performance

Procurement:

Does the Association’s procurement follow generally, guidance contained in Appendix: 2 to Part 4 of the HA Guide, and especially in respect of:
-‘Achieving Excellence’ (Ref 6.00, Appendix: 2 to Part 4 of the HA Guide;
-appointment of consultants (Ref 7.00, Appendix: 2 to Part 4 of the HA Guide;
-contractor selection (Ref 8.00, Appendix: 2 to Part 4 of the HA Guide);
-Building Contracts (Ref 9.00, Appendix: 2 to Part 4 of the HA Guide); and
-pre & post tender procedures (Ref 10.00, Appendix: 2 to Part 4 of the HA Guide)?
Is the Association introducing more efficient procurement methods including partnering and longer-term contracts such as MTCs?
Does the Association undertake quality checks on work undertaken?

Information for Tenants:

Has the Association published its repairs policy stating who is responsible for various types of repair, services to be provided, targets and response times etc for different times of repair?
Has the Association informed Tenants of how the need for repair is to be reported and how an emergency service operates?
Has the Association informed Tenants of an entitlement to compensation where a service does not comply with agreed standards?