Will you be compliant with the new Consumer Standards in April 2024?
The Regulator of Social Housing’s recently published new consumer standards will be introduced in April 2024, following a period of consultation. The new standards seek to meet the expectations set out in the government’s “Charter for Social Housing Residents” white paper.
The standards contain some powerful and important words.
Safety. Quality. Transparency. Influence. Accountability. Community.
Most of the discussion we see on the topic is – rightly – focused on the criticality of getting tenants online. Helping them use digital portals to flag faults, raise concerns, and book home visits. But that’s only telling half of the story.
Your own staff are the other half. Social landlords have potentially hundreds of personnel in the field undertaking audits, checking stock condition, and repairs. What tools do they need to do their jobs better?
Imagine a scenario where:
- Notifications for new jobs are pushed to your people in the field on their mobile app
- Repair team members use smartphone biometrics to logon and accept new jobs
- Audits are be conducted using survey tools in the app, ensuring all data is gathered
- Diagnostics can include uploading of photos and videos for evidentiary purposes
- Review properties in person as per the mandatory requirement for home visits
- Repairs happen swiftly, with automation managing the process end-to-end
- Site visits only take place when the resident is home, eliminating wasted trips
- Tenants have full visibility of the status of their complaint, the fix schedule, and more
- Update back-office systems (CRM, Housing Management System, etc) automatically
- A full audit trail is in place and is exportable to demonstrate compliance
If you are aiming to be compliant with the new consumer standards by April 2024, you need to take action now. The good news is that the potential solution is so efficient, there’s a good chance it will have paid for itself by the time the new regulations are in effect.
Please contact us for more information and to book a product demonstration.