RBH moves with the times

Date published: 13/05/2008

Following a review of its local housing offices Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) intends to focus on developing much more flexible service to tenants whilst reinvesting savings into improved services.

Part of the review included the monitoring of face-to-face business carried out at each office. Results show that the pattern of tenants’ contact with RBH staff has changed from visiting local offices to more convenient options such as telephone contact and pre-arranged home visits.

In fact, during the period of refurbishment to Smallbridge library a surgery was held for tenants at the local Tenants and Residents Association when the housing office was forced to close temporarily. However, only one resident has so far attended the surgery and the number of visits to the Smallbridge office were also relatively low prior to the work being carried out.

As a result, RBH officers will now seek approval from its Board to close the Smallbridge office at the May Board meeting. It is proposed that the housing management resource for the area will then be strengthened so that staff will be available on the estate via the surgery, able to carry out more home visits and be accessible by phone so that they can react more effectively to tenants’ needs.

In addition, there will still be an accessible free phone service at the library to enable tenants to communicate with the Repairs, Housing Benefits and Rehousing departments and to speak directly to a Housing Officer.

RBH says it is is committed to working with Smallbridge Tenants and Residents Association and with individual tenants to continue to improve and provide excellent services to residents on the estate.

RBH Director of Operations, Andrew Toft, said: “Our tenants tell us that they want services that are flexible and meet their needs – rather than staff having to spend their time maintaining a fixed access point that is little used, they will be out on the estate, accessible at the end of a phone line and available in person in tenants’ homes, in order to deliver the service their customers demand. “