Dacorum Extends Osborne Contract After ‘Excellent’ First Year
Osborne’s ‘total asset management’ contract with Dacorum Borough Council has been extended by a year to 2020, following an excellent first year of the partnership.
Since taking on the repairs, maintenance and asset management projects with the 10,500 home landlords in July last year, Osborne has helped realise savings and generate rental increases that will be worth £1.1 million to Dacorum by April 2016.
Other highlights of the TAM partnership to date include:
– 60 homes ready to re-let on the same day they were vacated (compares with zero previously)
– 20 fewer days taken to re-let general needs homes than the previous year, when it took more than 40 days
– 17 jobs created in a new out-of-hours call centre in Hemel Hempstead at no extra cost to Dacorum Borough Council
– Customer satisfaction with repairs at 96 per cent and 99 per cent for planned maintenance
Nick Sterling, Managing Director of Osborne Property Services, said: “The team worked really hard during the two-month contract mobilisation to ensure we hit the ground running from 1 July 2014. I am delighted that this effort working in partnership with Dacorum Borough Council has yielded such excellent results for the council and, most importantly, for its tenants.”
Elliott Brooks, Assistant Director at Dacorum Borough Council, said: “There is only one thing we will do with any savings or funds generated as a result of the contract and that is to reinvest this in the service, whether in new homes or existing homes.”
Rose Kosmalski, chair of the Tenant and Leaseholder Committee and a Dacorum Borough Council tenant, said: ‘While working with Osborne and the council in this partnership we have found both parties to be passionate, willing to listen and most importantly flexible, where possible, to meet our needs. We feel we are on the road to a very successful partnership.’
Getting involved in local community events is a focus for Osborne and recently they took part in Hemel Hempstead’s first mass participation running event which supported the local charity, Rennie Grove Hospice Care.