Ascham Homes and Osborne deliver top-class London repairs

The partnership between Osborne and Ascham Homes means the landlord is now one of the best-performing in London, according to two independent reports.

A study by benchmarking body HouseMark of the repairs services of 19 of the capital’s local authorities and arm’s-length management organisations (ALMOs) found 12,400-home Ascham Homes is in the ‘upper quartile’ for the low cost per property of its repairs service. This is £230 lower than the median for London boroughs and ALMOs. 

An average repair costs £127.45 – 8.2 per cent less than the median amount it costs Ascham’s peers. As a result, Ascham Homes is classed in the ‘upper quartile’ across a range of key HouseMark performance measures.
In a separate piece of research on the repairs service solely at Ascham Homes, consultancy HQN commented that data collected by Osborne showed ‘customer satisfaction levels have increased significantly’ to 98 per cent on the most recent repair. This is compared to a previous study in 2013 when Osborne and Ascham Homes began working together.

Resident responses to the most recent STAR survey, conducted by Ascham Homes in 2014, showed overall satisfaction with the repairs service had risen 6.4 percentage points since 2012. The survey also showed a 9.5 percentage point fall in the number of residents who had requested a repair in the past six months compared to 2012.

Madeleine Forster, chief executive of Ascham Homes, said: “We are really pleased that our relationship with our partnering contractor has resulted in improved customer satisfaction alongside demonstrable value for money.”

Nick Sterling, managing director of Osborne Property Services, said: “These excellent results demonstrate you can provide a more efficient repairs service and improve customer satisfaction into the bargain.”

“We are incredibly proud of the work we have done in partnership with Ascham Homes and plan to continue its presence at the top of the tree for London ALMOs,” he added.

Other highlights of the repairs performance by Ascham Homes and Osborne include:

• The average re-let time for void properties in 2014 was 21 days – 19 days fewer than in 2013. This is 13 days better than the median achieved by other London boroughs and ALMOs. Osborne contributes to this improvement through its works to void properties. (HouseMark)

• 98 per cent of tenants are satisfied with their most recent repair. (Osborne customer research)

• Average repairs costs are some of the lowest in the capital, when compared with those of other London social landlords. (HQN)