Osborne Achieves 200 Zero Day Voids

Osborne Property Services are celebrating with partners, Dacorum Borough Council (DBC), as they approach 200 ‘zero day voids’.
In 2015, the housing sector as a whole lost 1.04% of the rental income it should have collected because of vacant properties; so keeping voids as low as possible is a key target for any housing provider. But it is unusual to have such a low voids rate.

As DBC’s partner for delivering repairs and maintenance, Osborne looks after approximately 10,500 homes on their behalf.  They have been instrumental in keeping the voids rate down by working with DBC to create an incredibly efficient process to turn around void properties on the same day.

Through the close and continuous communication through the partnership along with Osborne’s agile approach to respond to the works on the same day that the keys are dropped off, means that properties are not left empty.

But this focus on quality has not come at a cost to Dacorum.  In the first two years of their partnership, Osborne managed to deliver an improved service and an all time-high customer satisfaction rating of 98% for the Council’s housing repairs and maintenance service realising direct savings of £1.3m.

Osborne’s James Quy says a key factor in their success has been an investment in planned maintenance which has reduced the need for reactive repairs.

He said, “We have a great working relationship with Dacorum and a shared focus on working ‘smarter’.  The results are evidence of how the approach has paid off.  As our ‘zero voids’ record has grown, the team has built a real enthusiasm for the process and there is a fantastic ‘buzz’ each time a property is returned.”

Back in 2014, Dacorum Borough Council awarded this housing management contract, worth up to £235 million, to Osborne Property Services.

The Council carried out a thorough two-year search to find the best contractor to carry out all repairs; maintenance and improvement work to its council homes.