Clapham Park Homes provides a fair service but improvement is uncertain
The landlords service provided by Clapham Park Homes (CPH) housing association is “fair” but prospects for improvement are “uncertain”, according to an independent report released today by the Audit Commission.
On a scale from zero to three stars, the Audit Commission inspection team gave the service a ‘fair’, one-star rating. The inspectors found that the service is easy to access and information is useful and comprehensive and CPH is improving and rebuilding homes to a high standard. However, overall tenant satisfaction is low, gas servicing is poor and CPH does not tailor services to the needs of vulnerable tenants.
Hugh Boatswain, Lead Housing Inspector for the West of London said;
“rent arrears have been reducing recently, vulnerable tenants are getting some support and some efficiency gains have been made. However, responsive repairs and void turnaround are slow, the income maximisation service is basic and the eviction rate is high. The organisation is slowly improving but it is held back by a lack of self awareness, weakness in partnership working and the lack of clarity and consultation of its plans.”
The inspectors found a number of positive features of the service. These include:
- a robust approach to asbestos and health and safety;
- appropriate arrangements to address anti-social behaviour which is reducing; and
- some initiatives on resident involvement.
However, inspectors did identify some weaknesses:
- insufficient knowledge of the stock condition with underdeveloped plans for cyclical works
- low tenant satisfaction with work on anti-social behaviour; and
- weaknesses in monitoring.
To help the service improve, inspectors made a number of recommendations, including:
- to improve the approach to resident involvement in service development
- to improve services to vulnerable residents
- to improve the approach to improvement planning and partnership working.
Clapham Park Homes was established in 2006 to take transfer of the 1,945 homes in the Clapham Park estate from the London Borough of Lambeth. Clapham Park Homes is part of the Metropolitan Housing Partnership and it was created in order to help deliver a £550 million pound refurbishment of the estate. The Association employs over 50 staff and had a turnover of £7 million in 2007/08.