Expert calls for people centred approach to housing compliance
Our housing compliance expert has called on the sector to look beyond headline performance figures and consider the individual homes and people behind them.
Philip Trickett, our Head of Heating and Compliance, was a guest speaker at the ASCP26 Conference in Newport last month.
His presentation, Compliance and Confidence: Driving Smarter Access and Increased Assurance, explored how housing providers can improve access to customers' homes, manage outstanding safety risks and gain greater confidence in their compliance data.
More than 80 per cent of our properties are accessed on the first visit and almost 95 per cent by the second. However, Phil explained that the greatest potential risk is often found among the small proportion of homes where repeated attempts to gain access have been unsuccessful.
To address this, we have extended our compliance process from eight to 12 weeks, creating more time to engage with customers who may be harder to reach and understand the circumstances preventing access.
CLO and housing colleagues now become involved earlier in the journey. Weekly locality meetings bring together teams with knowledge of the customer and local area, while flexible engineering resources allow us to respond to individual circumstances.
Adapting the approach and taking time to consider the customer, has resulted in us achieving 100 per cent gas compliance for the last six months.
Phil said: "Achieving compliance levels of 100 per cent is important, but the figure does not tell us everything we need to know about the safety of our homes or the circumstance of the people living in them.
"The greatest risks can sit within those hard to access properties. There is nearly always a story behind unsuccessful access, whether that's a customer's health, vulnerability, financial circumstances or another issue affecting their tenancy.
"By giving our teams more time and bringing together colleagues who understand the customer and their community, we have a much better chance of finding a positive solution. It helps turn access into a conversation rather than a confrontation."
Phil also discussed how we are using technology to strengthen customer communication and provide greater assurance.
This includes Voicescape to support customer engagement, notifications letting customers know when an operative is on the way and TCW technology to help confirm that reported performance accurately reflects what is happening inside customers' homes.
We have also brought our electrical installation condition report process more closely into line with our gas compliance model, supporting earlier intervention and stronger management of unsatisfactory outcomes.
Phil added: "We must distinguish between completing a contractual compliance process and having genuine assurance that a home is safe. A property may be returned to us following the completion of a no access procedure but that does not automatically remove the underlying safety risk.
"The ASCP conference was a valuable opportunity to share what we have learnt and hear how other organisations are responding to similar challenges. Safety should not be viewed as a competitive advantage and internal procedures should not be treated as trade secrets.
"By being open about our success, challenges and lessons, we can improve collectively and deliver better, safer outcomes residents across the social housing sector."
ASCP26 brought together housing safety and compliance professionals to share regulatory updates, practical solutions and best practice covering areas including gas, electrical and fire safety, damp and mould, building safety, resident engagement and emerging technology.
Photo caption : Philip Trickett, Head of Heating and Compliance at Platform Housing Group, was a guest speaker at the ASCP26 Conference in Newport last month.