Learn how our estates are managed, from governance, policies and finances to resident engagement, feedback, repairs and maintenance. We work closely with residents to maintain safe, welcoming communities and continually improve our retirement living provision.
Learn how our estates are managed, from governance, policies and finances to resident engagement, feedback, repairs and maintenance. We work closely with residents to maintain safe, welcoming communities and continually improve our retirement living provision.
Learn how our estates are managed, from governance, policies and finances to resident engagement, feedback, repairs and maintenance. We work closely with residents to maintain safe, welcoming communities and continually improve our retirement living provision.
Estate managers are responsible for the running of the estates and have a number of staff who work onsite with them, which includes housing assistants, maintenance staff, administrative staff and on some estates, a catering team.
We also have staff members who work with all the estates. They include a facilities and compliance manager, housing services manager, digital services manager, and head of fundraising and asset optimisation. We hold weekly virtual team meetings and six in-person meetings a year.
The property and retirement living provision is overseen by the managing director of property and residential services, who is part of a wider executive team who meet virtually on a weekly basis, with in-person meetings once a month.
The executive team report to the board of trustees on a quarterly basis. Bruce Findlay and Vivienne King sit on our housing committee which is a sub-committee of the board and meets quarterly with the managing director of property and residential services and a member of the finance team in attendance. The minutes from the meetings are submitted to the full board.
Quality assurance and auditing is undertaken by engaging external inspectors and auditors as well as through our internal mechanisms.
We hold a register of active policies related to:
Residents and people across our estates
The homes, buildings and infrastructure of the estates
Our role as a landlord.
Rent and service charges are set on an annual basis which are linked to the estate budgets. These are agreed with the finance team and estate managers, approved by the exec team before final approval from the board of trustees.
Management accounts are reviewed monthly by the finance team and estate managers with the managing director oversight.
An independent financial auditor reviews the charity accounts annually which are approved and published as per charity commission regulations.
Each estate has an active programme of resident engagement and inclusion that is designed to maximise how residents can have a voice, to influence the running of the estates they live on.
Quarterly resident-only meetings occur, run by the estate manager, with the managing director for property and residential services attending at least two a year. A record of the meetings is shared with all residents and a ‘you said we did’ update completed to share progress or completion.
A residents association constitution is in place to help residents set up a residents’ committee, if they desire, to:
Represent the views, concerns and interests of residents on housing and related issues
Foster and maintain good links between residents and the Retail Trust
Receive and reflect upon any significant proposals from the Retail Trust which may affect residents.
The monthly newsletter is shared digitally and printed where required. Residents can attend regular drop-in sessions held by housing support staff and estate managers to raise any issues. The reception staff are also available Monday to Friday across all estates to receive any queries.
Every home has a housing proactive system, from Alertacall, where residents and their visitors can send and receive either a typed or voice recorded message direct to the onsite support staff or request the landlord contacts them back.
Annually, we seek feedback from residents about the services and accommodation they receive using the housing regulator’s tenancy satisfaction measures, which is then published. This then informs individual estate and departmental action plans to generate further improvements and changes.
We will also share annual summaries and reports including building or property compliance, repairs and maintenance performance and any anti-social behaviour concerns and actions.
We encourage residents to engage with their estate staff positively to discuss any queries in person.
Additionally, our suggestions, concerns and complaints policy aligns with the Housing Ombudsman’s recommendation.
We complete and publish:
An annual assessment of our complaint handling and benchmark this against the statutory requirements of the Ombudsman’s complaint handling code.
A summary report of the complaint handling, acknowledgement of complaints and share where we have learned and improved our processes and services as outcome from complaints and investigations.
Our approach to complaints is to focus on early resolution, as such we encourage our residents and visitors to share suggestions and concerns with us at any time.
Repairs and maintenance are completed through a hybrid approach to ensure cost effective and efficient repairs. We undertake repairs through:
Internal maintenance and repairs, housekeeping and grounds people
Specifically selected and vetted contractors, who have passed our contractor compliance approval process.
We also ensure maintenance, tidiness and cleanliness throughout our internal communal areas and external grounds and gardens.
We have invested heavily in updating, upgrading and refreshing many of the communal areas and facilities, including developing community-based spaces that positively impact people in the wider neighbourhood.