Group Repair Schemes are major external renovation and refurbishment of a whole block or street in one contract. Work varies from house to house. It could include re-roofing, installing new UPVC windows and doors, rebuilding front boundary walls to palisade terraces, fitting lockable entry gates, external painting and repairing or replacing chimneys, brickwork, gutters and pipe-work.
The Area Renewal team, at the Pear Tree Home Improvement Centre, decides the order of Group Repair Schemes within an area.
The cost
Housing associations pay half the final cost of the work and private landlords pay a quarter. Owner-occupiers pay a maximum of a quarter but, if they have lived in their home for two years, can choose to be means tested. This could mean having to pay less or nothing at all, especially for those claiming an income related benefit.
We send out invoices for any contribution towards the cost at the end of a contract and can sometimes arrange payment by instalments if people want.
Conditions
The house must not be sold or left empty in the three years after the scheme is complete. If the owner or landlords break these conditions, they must repay one-third of the grant. If a means test results in paying less than 25% and the house is then let, the owner must pay the remainder of the 25% contribution.
Free work in a Group Repair Scheme
Some work that helps improve the appearance of a whole block or street is included as ‘free work’ and owners do not have to pay a contribution. This may include front boundary walls, entry gates, gutters and downpipes. We may also include prominent features to the side of corner properties. Even those who do not take part fully in the Group Repair Scheme can take advantage of this free work with no conditions attached.
Facelift Schemes
These are cut-down group repair schemes to streets or blocks where a full scheme is not appropriate. Our aim is to improve the appearance and feel of a street or block and the work may vary from scheme to scheme. As the work is relatively minor, Facelift Schemes are often free and without any grant conditions.
Environmental improvements
In some areas, we may be able to include traffic measures or landscaping to public areas, for example, in the overall area renewal programme.
Group Repair facts and figures
|
Area |
No of schemes |
No of houses |
Total cost of schemes |
Private finance leverage |
Houses made fit |
Low income households |
| Pear Tree |
96 |
1755 |
£7.9m |
£1.9m |
833 |
833 |
| St Marks |
37 |
317 |
£1.44m |
£0.34m |
168 |
141 |
| Rosehill |
18 |
381 |
£1.87m |
£0.46m |
281 |
173 |
| Hartington Street |
2 |
43 |
£0.22m |
£0.05m |
19 |
16 |
| Osmaston* |
22 |
427 |
£2.92m |
£0.57m |
255 |
93 |
|
TOTAL |
175 |
2929 |
£14.4m |
£3.3m |
1556 |
1256 |
* Group Repair Schemes are ongoing in Osmaston - figures correct at 1 April 2006
Houses made fit was to 31 March 2005. 'Fitness' has been replaced by the Housing Health and Safety Rating System so is no longer counted.
Note that some figures are estimated
Customer satisfaction
The percentage of customers who completed our satisfaction questionnaire who were satisfied or very satisfied with their Group Repair Scheme to 31 March 2006:
Customer satisfaction
|
2001/02 |
2002-03 |
2003-04 |
2004-05 |
2005-06 |
|
87.5% |
90.2% |
87.2% |
92.5% |
90.2% |
The full results of our questionnaire from 1 April 2005 to 31 March 2006 are:
Full questionnaire results for 2005/06 (2004/05 in brackets)
| Question - How satisfied were you: |
% Satisfied or very satisfied |
% neither satisfied nor dissatisfied |
% dissatisfied or very dissatisfied |
| with the Group Repair Scheme overall |
90.2 (92.5) |
6.6 (5.3) |
3.3 (2.2) |
| with the way the scheme was explained to you |
91.8 (90.3) |
8.2 (3.7) |
0.0 (6.0) |
| that you were kept informed of progress |
68.9 (72.4) |
24.6 (17.2) |
6.6 (10.7) |
| that it was easy to contact staff |
88.1 (85.2) |
11.9 (11.9) |
0.0 (2.9) |
| that it was easy to complete paperwork |
96.5 (89.5) |
3.5 (7.5) |
0.0 (3.0) |
| with the help you received with paperwork |
70.0 (74.8) |
30.0 (22.7) |
0.0 (2.5) |
| with the helpfulness of staff |
89.3 (82.6) |
10.7 (15.1) |
0.0 (2.3) |
| with the attitude of the builders |
76.7 (70.2) |
10.0 (22.9) |
13.3 (6.9) |
| with the tidiness of the builders |
62.3 (58.3) |
18.0 (24.3) |
19.6 (17.4) |
| with the quality of the builder's work |
85.2 (78.8) |
8.2 (9.1) |
6.5 (12.1) |
| that staff made sure that the work was done |
78.7 (82.4) |
9.8 (9.2) |
11.5 (8.4) |
What our customers say . . .
Every owner-occupier, landlord and tenant who takes part in a Group Repair Scheme receives a customer satisfaction questionnaire after the scheme has finished. We ask for examples of problems that were difficult or slow to resolve, problems that are still outstanding and for suggestions for improvements. Compliments are welcome but unsolicited.
In 2003/04 the feedback pointed to customers not fully appreciating the consequences of major work to their house despite talking it through with their surveyor. As a result we have published a ‘Guide to Group Repair’ to give to all customers before work starts. Now that customers are better informed of what to expect there are far fewer problems arising as a result of misplaced expectations.
Below is a selection of comments received since April 2004. All comments received will feed into the consultation process we will be undertaking when we review the Housing Renewal Policy. In the meantime we will work to eliminate recurring problems.
The positive . . .
“The whole process from start to finish was made easy by helpful staff. The contractors were excellent always helpful and checking the jobs were done to our specification. A job well done by all. Thank you.”
“I don't think anything could have improved the work done to my house I was very satisfied all round.”
“Your service has been excellent.”
“May I, on behalf of my husband and myself and, I would hope, the other residents of Hawthorn Street, thank the City Council for the vast improvement this scheme has made to the area and I would like to thank the surveyor, and the contractor, for their unfailing good humour and tolerance in the face of appalling weather conditions.”
“Carry on the good work.”
“The council are always criticised when things go wrong so I thought I would phone up to say thank you and well done to yourselves, and the contractors, for our Group Repair Scheme.”
“Very good service.”
"Any problems raised were dealt with promptly."
"The window people were exceptional, cleaned up after themselves, courteous at all times and did a very good and thorough job."
"Council staff and builders were excellent and worked as a team."
"Keep up the good work."
The problems…
“A couple of minor problems easily and promptly solved.”
“ Builders locked entry gates and didn't leave me a key. Had to fin d neighbour who gave me key for access. Builders took light off in entry and didn't let me know light had blown. Had to ask them what had happened. They changed bulb for me. ”
“Long delay in getting rendering finished at the back of the house. The old rendering was taken off and I had to wait several months for the work to be completed. I was worried about severe weather causing problems, however the completed job is excellent and greatly admired.”
“TV aerial took two months to put back up.”
“Alarm contact on front door was removed and not re - attached for a period of 6-9 months.”
“A small problem with the guttering.”
“The job was held up so long and was very inconvenient most of the time. The time we were told it would be from start to finish was not so.”
The complaints . . .
Of 273 customer satisfaction questionnaires sent out in 2004/05 16 reported outstanding problems. Of these, seven related to door or window mechanisms and four to refixing items after the main work was finished. All problems notified this way are immediately reported to the Area Renewal Team at the Pear Tree Home Improvement Centre and acted upon very quickly.
“There is a problem with the lock on the main door and the curtain rail was not put back over the front door – this needs a diamond drill.”
“There is a problem with a window vent.”
"I have a back bedroom window lintel that had not been painted by the previous owner. Subsequently when the painting was done this bedroom window was not painted in magnolia. I did ask whether I could have it painted.”
"Slates were dislodged on the back addition where the roofers climbed over them and have still not been put right. TV aerial cables were not clipped back to the chimneystack. I repeatedly asked for to these be put right but this was not done."
“Gutter joints have been leaking since recent heavy rain.”
“I had recently decorated my front bedroom and put down a new carpet. The roof was left exposed and water got in. I now have a large brown patch on my ceiling which I was told what I needed to buy to rectify the problem but it was not for me to put right. Lots of mess was left and I was not informed that I needed to empty the loft and some stuff was ruined. I also have broken tiles and uneven ridge tiles on lower elevation extension and rear. I was promised that once the wall was complete the front garden would be levelled and concreted. My aerial cables were not fastened back to the new wall and were just left dangling.”
“The concrete frontage of my property has not been done properly. It is crumbling away. I have complained a number of times and I keep being told it will be done. Other than that other work is o.k.”
The suggestions . . .
These are all the suggestions received since 1st April 2005. There may be an operational or policy explanation of why a suggestion cannot be acted upon. Where this is the case an explanation has been offered.
“Although I had old double-glazed windows which do not function well I was not offered any replacements. I questioned this but was told they should do for now. They do not function well overall and now stand out on the street. Maybe offer new double glazing replacing old double glazing.”
Single glazing is replaced with double-glazing to increase thermal efficiency and reduce future maintenance work such as painting. It is not our policy to replace items that should function well with routine and regular maintenance such as double-glazed windows and doors.
“Better builders, more communication with council people and builders.”
“While they working on the property keep constant check on and also keep contact with owner.”
Why not do one street at a time, instead of all over the place. That way it will look tidier.”
There are up to four main contractors working on Group Repair Schemes at any one time. Each of these has window, roofing and scaffolding sub-contractors. On a long street having this concentration of contractors working would inevitably cause chaos, parking problems and possibly confuse suppliers – about where to make a delivery of bricks, for example.
“Better direct communication both generally and personally.”
“Do not always go for the cheapest contract.”
Selecting a contractor is not simply a matter of price as quality and timescales are also important. The over riding consideration is value for money.
“I think snags should be put right sooner, before they move on to other stages of the repair scheme.”
“Maybe some sort of itinerary and time line. Better planning so that windows and doors aren't replaced in the winter. Better arranging of sand, cement and bricks - the pavements still look disgusting and we were walking it through the house for months. We also had sand "balls" thrown at the car and house from local kids.”
“Householders should have more say in what is available and the choice before work starts eg front walls. No choice was given on the design or type of bricks.”
“Contact tenants where applicable.”
Downloads
Links to Group Repair Scheme photo galleries:
For more advice and information:
Please contact us using the details below, or you can use the contact form at the botton of this page:
Pear Tree Home Improvement Centre
182 Pear Tree Road,
Derby
DE23 8NQ
Telephone: 01332 718800
Fax: 01332 293129
Minicom: 01332 256666
Email: housing.grants@derby.gov.uk