Housing Leeds annual report

Adapting Homes

Our Health and Housing team provide adaptations to council and private homes, supporting residents to remain independent. This reduces the likelihood of injuries and accidents and the need for carers or care placements. 

We completed 1,116 major adaptations in council homes and 955 in the private sector, an increase on the previous year. The service spent just under £18million on adaptations and the promotion of independent living for people across the city. 

Investing in your home

Some highlights of the work we carried out. 

• New kitchens and bathrooms: 238 in 2021/22 and 210 in 2022/23
• New gas boilers installed: 2,474 in 2021/22 and 1,975 in 2022/23
• Re-roofing and insulation: 417 in 2021/22 and 340 in 2022/23
• Homes supplied by ground source heat pumps: 274 in 2021/22 and 806 in 2022/23

Fit for the future

We completed a £9.5 million energy efficiency refurbishment programme to 300 homes in Boggart Hill. This included: 

• external wall and improved loft insulation
• new environmentally friendly ventilation systems
• energy efficient lighting
• electric vehicle charging points to 50 homes with driveways

“I went into the winter months feeling less worried about ... my home being cold” 

“I had lots of repairs on my property. This scheme has solved a lot of those issues I was having, worst of all the damp.” 

We want you to live in a home that is free from damp and mould. 

To make sure that we’re dealing with your reports of damp and mould we: 

• Set up a dedicated Damp and Mould Team
• Assessed ourselves against the Housing Ombudsman’s spotlight report on damp and mould
• Set up a Damp and Mould Prevention Board with senior officers overseeing all the work
• Updated our website with new damp and mould advice and information
• Developed a damp and mould policy
• Developed damp and mould awareness training for all frontline staff and contractors
• Changed the way we work to make sure that mould growth is treated quickly ahead of any survey visits or other activity
• Provided hundreds of free mould sprays to residents to treat small areas of mould
• Worked with the British Gas team to issue fuel vouchers to tenants with pre-payment meters
• Sent regular updates to our tenants on how to report and prevent damp and mould
• Translated the damp and mould leaflet into key community languages

To keep you safe we have: 

• Carried out 538 ‘safe and well’ visits to our more vulnerable residents giving home safety advice
• Fitted sprinklers to a further 22 high rise blocks. We’ve now fitted sprinklers to 62 blocks
• Completed fire safety work in ‘back to back’ homes, including internal fire doors, fire alarm systems, and fire safety work to basements
• Continued fire safety works to buildings that have been converted into flats. The works include fire stopping measures, new flat entrance doors, hard wired smoke alarms, and fire alarms in communal areas
• Commenced fire safety checks on passenger lifts, flat entrance doors, and communal doors in line with the new Building Safety Act.

We let 115 new council homes. This included apartments, bungalows, semi-detached and terraced properties. 

• Continue to improve the way we manage damp and mould, in readiness for the colder winter months
• Ensure we meet all the requirements of the Building Safety Act
• Reduce the time it takes us to re-let empty homes
• Invest £72m to undertake further improvement works to homes
• Continue to build new homes to meet housing need across the city

We aim to check in with you at least once every 3 years. This gives you opportunity to meet your local Housing Officer or Retirement Life Support Officer and talk about any issues you may have. We also check your home is in a good condition and there are no concerns. 

• 19,096 Annual tenancy check ins completed
• 256 Hoarding cases identified
• 176 Safeguarding cases identified and responded to

We support tenants to pay their rent, reduce their arrears, maximise their income and manage their overall living expenses. Rent collected is used to keep council homes in good repair and to provide services to our tenants. If a tenant leaves a council tenancy with arrears, we will seek to collect the money owed. 

We always try to work with tenants who are having difficulties paying their rent. We will only take eviction action as a last resort, if other attempts to recover arrears are unsuccessful. 

Evictions during the year: 3 in 2021/22 and 28 in 2022/23 

Last year we recovered 20 properties where we identified housing fraud. Tackling housing fraud enables us to let homes to those who need them most. Of the fraud cases we investigated: 

• 52% for subletting fraud
• 24% for right to buy fraud
• 17% for non-occupation fraud
• 6% succession/assignment fraud
• 1% application fraud

Supporting tenants with the cost of living We held several events across the city to support tenants with the cost of living. Working with partners we: 

• signposted to financial advice and support
• supported tenants with rent and council tax arrears
• helped reduce Yorkshire Water debt
• gave advice and support on job opportunities
• shared tips on how to save energy and reduce fuel costs

Our Housing Support Team helped tenants to maintain their tenancy by providing additional support with: 

• the cost of furnishings and carpets
• food parcels
• rent arrears and other debt
• unemployment
• day to day support

Our service supports over 4,500 residents to live independently in their homes in our 125 Retirement LIFE schemes across the city. 

• Our dedicated and friendly team of Support Officers are available to provide regular well-being checks, offering choice and flexibility to suit changing needs
• ’Living in a Friendly Environment’ is at the heart of the services we deliver across all schemes. We have continued to increase staff presence on site, attending meetings with residents and social activities
• We are committed to scheme improvements, and in 2022/23 schemes at Cranmores, The Willows, Arthington Court and Greenside had new furniture, carpets and decoration to improve the look of the communal areas. Several schemes had successful HAP bids to provide outdoor furniture, garden storage and contributions to support tenants to celebrate events important to them.

Retirement LIFE service improvements

This year we’re: 

• Working closer with our partners Adults and Health, and local care partnerships to improve signposting/referrals to support older people to live independently
• Speaking to our residents about things that matter most to them to improve the service we provide
• Making sure that our engagement with residents and activities are diverse and inclusive

Extra Care Housing combines specialist housing with on-site care services for people 55+. It assists people with a range of support needs to live in their own home, within a community setting. It helps people maintain their independence and receive flexible support and care services. 

In partnership with us, Home Group opened a 62-unit Extra Care Scheme in Seacroft in October 2022. Another Home Group scheme in Woodlesford is due for completion in January 2024. Our 60-unit scheme in Middleton is due for handover in early July 2023. We’ve also built 12 bungalows for working age disabled adults in the area. The scheme includes a bistro, a hair salon, communal gardens, an amazing roof terrace, and orangery. Residents of the bungalows can use the Extra Care Scheme facilities. 

• Maximise rent collected from tenants to ensure that we are able to deliver our ambitious investment programmes to improve the quality of homes
• Support tenants who are affected by the increased cost of living, to maximise their income, pay their rent, and maintain their tenancies
• Visit as many tenants as possible through our Annual Tenancy Check In programme to identify any tenancy issues and ensure that tenants are supported in their tenancy
• Review our lettings policy to meet housing need, and to support new tenants into their home.

The Tenant Scrutiny Board reviewed how we listen and respond to your feedback, making a number of recommendations to us on how the new Tenant Voice Panel should work. We accepted these, and are grateful to the board in helping make the Tenant Voice Panel work as well as possible. In the second half of the year the board met with a number of staff from different parts of our service. As a result the board have chosen to review the advice and support we give to tenants about damp and mould as their topic for review in the year ahead. 

Who are the Tenant Scrutiny Board?

The Tenant Scrutiny Board are a group of tenant volunteers who review our services and make recommendations for improvement. When carrying out a review, they may speak to tenants, staff or any of our partners or contractors. They’ll also look at management and performance information, and good practice from elsewhere to help them identify areas for improvement. 

In February we launched a new ‘Tenant Voice Panel’ to strengthen your influence at all levels of our service. Open to tenants, residents and leaseholders, there are currently 170 members. The panel’s role is to: 

• Act as a general sounding board on strategic and operational issues
• Help hold us to account on our service planning and improvement activity
• Be an editorial group, testing draft communications

The panel is designed to be accessible, seeking to attract a wide range of people living in different communities, and to give choice in how and when members wish to take part. So far, the panel has been involved in helping design this annual report, and are helping the Tenant Scrutiny Board with a review on damp and mould. We thank everyone for coming forward and being part of the new panel. 

HAPs made 277 local funding decisions, to a value of £492,000, helping improve neighbourhoods and support community activity. You can see some examples of HAP funded activity in our HAP film. The 11 local Housing Advisory Panels, or HAPs, are made up of tenant volunteers and local councillors. They are given a budget to invest in local community or environmental activity in response to resident feedback and local priorities. HAPs also receive regular updates about performance and other issues or initiatives by local housing teams. Anyone can apply for funding, and each application is judged on it’s merits and the benefit for residents as a whole. 

Number of complaints received: 2,538 in 2021/22 and 2,405 in 2022/23 

Complaints responded to in timescale: 65% in 2021/22 and 73% in 2022/23 

We welcome your feedback as it helps us improve the service that we offer. If our service fails you, you can complain to us so we can put things right. 

Four out of five complaints were resolved at stage one and 98% were resolved without involving either Ombudsman. We work closely with both Ombudsman services to make sure that residents are given advice and information on how to access their services if they wish to. 

What your complaints were about

2021/2022

• Day to day repairs: 56%
• Tenancy management: 22%
• Other: 22%

2022/2023

• Day to day repairs: 58%
• Tenancy management: 20%
• Other: 22%

Our priorities for the year ahead

This year we will… 

• Continue to support staff and contractors to listen to you and put things right
• Improve our record keeping as recommended by the Housing Ombudsman
• Work with both Ombudsman services as they develop their joint Complaint Handling Code
• Complete our annual complaints self-assessment alongside the new Tenant Voice Panel
• Continue to support staff with training and development to better respond to complaints

Other improvements made as a result of your complaints

• Developed our ‘Early Intervention’ team to help resolve your repair queries quicker
• Worked with our contractors to improve responses to complaints
• Carried out quality assurance checks on our complaint responses and supported Investigating Officers with training, advice, and guidance

Leeds Anti-Social Behaviour Team (LASBT) work alongside Housing Leeds to respond to anti-social behaviour (ASB) complaints and concerns from across the city. 

We’ve seen an overall decrease in ASB across Leeds over the last year. Working with West Yorkshire Police, we’ve focused on early intervention and prevention, as well as enforcement. Several initiatives to tackle ASB across the city have been successful. 

Highlights from the last year include: 

• Investing in initiatives to reduce anti-social bike use
• Using the Safer Streets fund to increase officer visibility
• Working with Youth Justice Service and Early Help Hubs to divert young people away from crime
• Improving local partnership working in hotspot areas to reduce nuisance and ASB committed by young people
• Conducting targeted operations to minimise ASB during ‘peak’ periods
• Creating a Leeds-wide Public Spaces Protection Order to prevent anti-social cruises across the district
• Working with partners to help address arson and nuisance fires
• Holding ASB Awareness Week. The theme was the impact of anti-social behaviour on young people

Estate walkabout summary

Estate Walkabouts give residents the opportunity to walk a set route around their local area with a Housing Officer to spot problems and suggest improvements. During the year we consulted with residents and ward members about how often we do walkabouts in each area. We’re committed to completing two walkabouts per area each year. Last year we completed 547 across the city. We know that not everyone is able to attend a physical walkabout so last year we introduced Virtual Walkabouts. This allows more flexibility for residents to engage at times that suit them. Look out for virtual walkabouts in your area. 

Other highlights over the year include: 

• Working with the Tree Management Team to adopt a new approach to pruning work across the city
• Working with the Cleaner Neighbourhoods Team, Environmental Enforcement, and Waste Management to tackle environmental concerns
• Working with our partners to carry out ‘Estate Action Days’ to improve the environments of our estates
• Working with the Parks and Countryside Team to enhance ground maintenance during the winter months

Lincoln Green MAFWA partnership

Roxby Close Community Garden

A disused playground in Lincoln Green, has been transformed into a community garden. The area is now an attractive, open green space with seating, planting, and areas to meet and play. We’ve worked with MAFWA and the local community to create a space that can be used to grow food, join workshops, meet friends, eat picnics, and enjoy the garden. 

• Carry out more online estate walkabouts to hear from a wider range of residents about local issues
• Continue to respond to local issues, working with residents to achieve positive outcomes
• Take a proactive approach to managing the environment
• Work with our partners to improve how we manage anti-social behaviour

'Belle Isle Tenant Management Organisation (BITMO) manages 1,800 council homes in Belle Isle on behalf of Leeds City Council. It is run by tenants of Belle Isle and is the largest estate based TMO in the country. 

I’m pleased to share with you a short summary of the work of BITMO and what we’re doing to build a better future for Belle Isle. As a tenant led organisation we rely on the commitment of our tenants to tell us what their priorities are, and to provide leadership through our Board. 

If you would like to find out more about BITMO or get involved in our volunteering programme. 

Please get in touch, we’d love to hear from you.' 

– Deborah Kelly (BITMO Chief Executive) 

Percentage of rent collected: 96% in 2021/22 and 95.99% in 2022/23 

Investing in your homes: £1.5m in 2021/22 and £1.9m in 2022/23 

Additional income generated for customers: £166k in 2021/22 and £107k in 2022/23 

Homes with a gas safety certificate: 99% in 2021/22 and 99% in 2022/23 

Number of complaints received: 32 in 2021/22 and 42 in 2022/23 

Complaints responded to in timescale: 63% in 2021/22 and 69% in 2022/23 

Engaging with our residents

Working with our residents is important to us. We have lots of ways for tenants to get involved in reviewing what we do and helping us make decisions. Here are some examples of how we have improved services with you:        

• Improved security and décor in response to feedback from our residents living in flats
• Improved the cleaning standards in our blocks of flats and installed CCTV

Thank you to everyone who has come to see us at our consultation events. We’re listening to what you’re telling us and this will help improve our services to you. There are opportunities for tenants to be part of working groups and join our board, to influence how we work.        

Supporting our community

The BITMO Community Fund has been open for two years providing financial support to individuals and groups in six categories:        

• Decorating and minor works
• Tenancy sustainability
• Training and skills
• Environmental improvements
• Voluntary group initiatives
• Green strategy

The Community Fund is able to give grants up to £500 in each of these categories. We have supported 69 applications so far. We’ve seen the highest demand in the tenancy sustainability category, as this supports with purchases of essential items such as beds, fridges and cookers. Some grants have been given to groups to run activities linked to health and well-being. Equipment has been provided for a new community garden on the site of a disused garage area. Last year we gave out £11,000. We are relaunching the fund this year to support more of our residents.