A taste of tenant oversight for new repairs contractors

Residents pulled no punches when they were invited to spend the day grilling the contractors who’ve been chosen by Cornwall Housing (CHL) to deliver its new responsive repairs service, home safety checks and heating breakdown services.

As well as making sure the new contractors received a warm welcome, residents took the opportunity to give those present a taste of tenant oversight at Cornwall Housing.

With the go live date for its Repairs Project fast approaching, CHL gathered senior managers from the 4 new contractors to meet residents and face questions about how they planned to improve the service.

The event was attended by CHL executive directors and managers from:

CCS, who will provide countywide heating repairs from 1 April 2025 and electrical testing from 2026, and

the 3 contractors who will take over everyday repairs from 1 March – WMS (covering West Cornwall), Cardo (covering Northeast Cornwall) and MD Group (covering Southeast Cornwall).

John Harris, Chair of the Tenants Forum who attended the event said: “The event was both informative and friendly. All participants had the opportunity to ask questions and compare like for like, with each contractor laying out their own commitments and taking note of what their colleagues in the other companies were offering. In my opinion this was a successful start in building a good working relationship between the tenants and leaseholders of CHL, the new contractors and CHL itself.”

Hard-hitting questions raised by residents

Throughout the day, tenants raised questions, suggestions and concerns based on their previous experiences of the existing service and sought reassurance that things would get better.

Their asks included better communication from contractors, the ability to be able to track an operative (similar to other well-known delivery companies) so residents can better plan their days and improved ways of collecting feedback after repairs have been completed.

Contractors responded positively and explained the different IT systems they have in place to notify residents when operatives are on their way, communication tools to help send reminders of appointments and different methods to collect customer satisfaction information such as QR codes and postal surveys for those without the use of IT.

Ian Frazer, CHL’s Executive Director of Asset Management, told residents: “We know we haven’t got things right in the past and I can’t promise you that everything will be perfect from day one. But I really believe that, in the longer term, this new collective partnership working will bring lasting benefits to our residents and Cornwall as a whole.”

All 4 contractors admitted there would be no “overnight fixes” but committed to making improvements in the longer term with an emphasis on training local people to combat the current skills shortage, using local suppliers and supporting local community projects.

A better and more efficient service

Ian said efficiencies and improvements would be achieved with CHL’s upgraded IT system, compatible with the new contractors’ systems, the division of the county into 3 patches to reduce travelling time and collaborative working between the new partners.

The contractors all pledged to improve communication with tenants and they emphasised their commitment to “social value”, promising to work with residents to improve their quality of life. Examples of their existing community projects included supporting food banks, creating a memorial garden and local clean-ups.

The 3 everyday repairs contractors will each have a local base in their patch. CCS promised a dedicated office and resident liaison officer in Cornwall and a local training centre which residents will be invited to visit. The company is committed to providing at least 50 apprenticeships during the course of its contract.

Ian said: “We need to give our new partners time to build capacity and invest in Cornwall. They’ll be renting local offices, providing social value, using local merchants and training and employing local people – the positive impact for the county is going to be huge.”

In addition to the Q&A session, contractors have been visiting our estates with residents over the last few weeks to find out more about the communities they will be working in.