Tenants have their say on social landlord’s future services
Tenants with a social landlord turned out in force to hear about its plans for the future. Bernicia, which has tenants from areas including Tyne and Wear and Durham, was at the heart of discussions on its ‘essential’ and ‘added value’ services.
Forty nine tenants and leaseholders attended a series of events to learn more about the services which Bernicia must provide as a social landlord, and those which are provided as an additional benefit.
Davina Brain, head of customer services at the Bernicia Group, said: “Following our merger with Four Housing, it is essential that we are clear about the services which we offer, and that this is consistent across the regions in which we operate.
“We decided that the best people to help us with this process are the people who will benefit from the changes, our customers.”
At the first event in March, people talked about the services which they believe are essential to the business and the added value services which, while they are not essential, would hold benefits for both existing and potential new tenants.
The tenants then took this a step further at the second event and discussed the principles for each service and how they should be delivered both now and in the future. They also agreed that Bernicia should look to provide more online services in the future.
Davina added: “The feedback we received was invaluable and will be used to firm up our service offering and feed into the new business strategy for Bernicia from April 2018.” The essential services identified during the two events included repairs and maintenance, income collection, lettings, estate services and tenancy management.
The tenants also provided reasons why improving neighbourhoods, tenant involvement and care and support services should remain part of the essential service offering, which they believe represent value for money.