Working with Richmond Housing Partnership to improve their rent collection policies and repairs service

What are the problems?

Richmond Housing Partnership (RHP) is the housing association with the largest stock of social housing in the borough. Last year we met RHP senior management to discuss closer co-operation to improve the procedure for recovering rent arrears from our most vulnerable clients and we are monitoring progress with this initiative. However, in March 2018, we received evidence from three RHP tenants whose boilers broke down and who had to wait for effective repairs for several weeks in sub-zero temperatures. RHP was also slow to deal with complaints and claims for compensation. In addition, RHP refused to follow up another tenant’s report of cracks in a ceiling which later collapsed ruining a sofa, table and carpet. It took RHP a month to arrange to repair the ceiling and it refused to consider a claim for compensation.

What we are doing to help

On the basis of this evidence ,we plan to meet RHP’s senior management again to discuss improvements to RHP’s current procedures for dealing with urgent repairs and complaints and claims for compensation, and to develop closer collaboration with RHP staff to improve the response to our clients who are RHP tenants when they request urgent repairs.