We are continuing to focus on improving our repairs service and reducing the need for repeat visits by taking a closer look at our repairs data.
Our latest review found that around 12% of our homes account for over 70% of all repair orders. These repair outliers are individual homes, blocks or schemes that experience a high number of repairs over a 12-month period. We are focusing on these high repair addresses so we can better understand why some homes need repairs so frequently and how we can stop the same problems from happening again.
One of the most common challenges we see is heating breakdowns. Our data shows that two-thirds of homes that had seven or more repairs in the last year also experienced a heating breakdown, and around half of homes with five or six repairs had heating problems too. In some cases, residents have also reported concerns about workmanship, as well as issues such as damp and mould.
These repeated issues also lead to a high number of contacts with our teams. By truly understanding the root causes and getting repairs right first time, we can reduce disruption for residents, limit repeat visits and cut down on the need for residents to keep chasing repairs.
Over the past year, we inspected around 37% of homes with higher repair needs. Our aim is to increase this to 90% by 2026/27 by introducing a programme of MOT-style property inspections carried out by our Maintenance Surveyors. These inspections will look at the condition of the whole home, not just one reported issue, so we can identify underlying problems and prevent future repairs.
Inspections will take place throughout 2026/27, with our admin team starting to book appointments from spring 2026. If your home is selected, we encourage you to report any and all repair issues to the Maintenance Surveyor during the visit, even if they seem small. After the inspection, we will closely monitor any repairs raised in the following six months, to make sure all issues are properly resolved and that problems do not continue.
By taking this proactive and preventative approach, we aim to improve the quality of repairs, reduce repeat issues and deliver a more reliable service for our residents.
