Improving the way we let empty properties
A team of staff from across the organisation recently completed a review of our 'voids' process, which means looking at everything that happens between one resident moving out of a property and a new resident moving in.
The aim of the review was to reduce the time properties are empty, so that we are getting best value for money, as well as improving the experience for both the outgoing and incoming resident.
Here are some of the issues that we uncovered and the changes we have made as a result.
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What we found |
What we did |
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It is a legal requirement that notice to move out is given in writing. A form existed to assist this, but it was complicated and there weren’t clear instructions on where to send it.
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We redesigned the form to make it much clearer and now send it out with stamped, addressed envelope. Information on how to give notice is also available online. |
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We sometimes sent 2 letters to residents confirming the end of their tenancy. This was confusing and unhelpful.
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We changed the process so all letters come from one team – they send a single letter with information tailored to that resident. |
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Keys were going missing because residents weren’t clear about what to do with them when they leave.
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We introduced the use of secure key boxes at the property where residents leave their keys until a member of staff attends. |
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We would send out letters for appointments but residents sometimes would not attend as the time was not convenient for them.
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Wherever possible we are phoning to discuss and arrange appointments and then sending a letter as confirmation. |
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New residents (and staff) had to fill out a lot of forms during application, interview and when they moved in. Much of this was duplication.
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We designed a single form that removed the duplication. We also reworded questions to make them clearer. Overall we have reduced paperwork by more than 60% |
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Sometimes, new residents would move in before we were able to input their details on our IT system. This caused confusion when they called in to our Service Centre
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We now input resident details earlier in the process to reduce the confusion and help them to access services as soon as possible. |