asset management strategy 2012-2017 - lambeth · 2.5 asset management database ... 5.3 risk...

Asset Management Strategy

2012-2017

Lambeth Living Asset Management Strategy March 2012 2/42

Contents

Executive Summary ............................................................................................ 4

1. Introduction............................................................................................ 7

1.1 Context and Scope .................................................................................. 7

1.2 Lambeth Living’s Aims ............................................................................. 7

1.3 Asset Management Strategy Aims and Objectives .................................. 8

1.4 Principles of the Strategy ......................................................................... 8

1.5 Strategic Context and Links to Corporate Plans and Strategies .............. 8

2. Our Housing Assets .............................................................................. 9

2.1 Property Portfolio ..................................................................................... 9

2.2 Supply and Demand ................................................................................ 9

2.3 Stock Condition ..................................................................................... 10

2.4 Stock Condition Survey Works .............................................................. 10

2.5 Asset Management Database ............................................................... 11

2.6 Regeneration Opportunities ................................................................... 11

2.7 Sheltered Housing ................................................................................. 12

2.8 Voids (Empty Properties) and Associated Disposals Policy .................. 13

3. The Key Drivers and Objectives of this Strategy .............................. 14

3.1 Key Drivers ............................................................................................ 14

3.2 Objectives .............................................................................................. 14

3.3 Challenges and Risks ............................................................................ 15

4. Delivering our objectives .................................................................... 16

4.1 Objective 1: To achieve a high level of resident satisfaction with the quality of their home and the repairs undertaken to it ............................ 16

4.2 Objective 2: To deliver the Lambeth Housing Standard to properties managed by Lambeth Living ................................................................. 18

4.3 Objective 3: To deliver energy efficiency and reduce fuel poverty ......... 19

4.4 Objective 4: To deliver efficient and effective capital investment, responsive repairs and empty property (void) services which provide value for money ..................................................................................... 21

4.5 Objective 5: To ensure compliance with Health & Safety requirements and disability provision .......................................................................... 22


5. Delivery (Management, Monitoring and Funding) ............................ 25

5.1 Operational ............................................................................................ 25

5.2 Performance management and performance standards ....................... 26

5.3 Risk Management .................................................................................. 26

5.4 Funding the strategy .............................................................................. 27

Appendix A: Lambeth Housing Standard ....................................................... 30

Appendix B: Operational Objectives ............................................................. 33

Appendix C: Risk Management ...................................................................... 39

Appendix D: Financial Information ................................................................. 40


Executive Summary

The Lambeth Living Asset Management Strategy for the period 2012-2017 sets out a strategic framework within which we will manage, maintain and invest in the Council’s housing assets. Lambeth Living aims to deliver capital investment, planned maintenance, repairs to empty property and responsive repairs programmes in a structured and sustainable way. This document identifies how the local standard coproduced with residents and known as the Lambeth Housing Standard will be delivered to the homes managed by Lambeth Living. The Asset Management Strategy identifies the required outputs and outcomes while seeking improvements in performance and the delivery of value for money. It covers all Lambeth Council’s rented and leasehold stock managed by Lambeth Living, including seven of the borough’s Tenant Management Organisations (TMOs). It includes all building components, all delivery methods (from major capital projects to responsive repairs), and both capital and revenue sources of funding.

Lambeth Living manages more than 30,000 rented and leasehold homes on behalf of Lambeth Council, of which it was estimated 44% were non-Decent at the time of the most recent partial stock condition survey in 2008. Lambeth has taken a range of approaches to tackling investment and regeneration needs in its housing stock, with some of the most needy stock being tackled by PFI projects which have been set up to achieve improved asset standards in those areas.

This Strategy is based on:

• Resident and Council priorities, in particular the delivery of the Lambeth Housing Standard

• The findings of the 2008 Stock Condition Survey and earlier survey information held on our ‘LifeSpan’ asset management database

• The 2007 and 2011 bids to the Department of Communities and Local Government for Decent Homes funding

• Relevant Performance Indicators, Best Value and findings and recommendations from previous inspections and audits

• Learning from Beacon Councils and 3-star Arms Length Management Organisations

• Latest best practice guidance for asset management.


Up to 2011/12 Lambeth has used the Government’s Decent Homes standard as its guideline for investment decisions. The 2011 Housing Commission established by Lambeth Council recognised that the Decent Homes Standard does not always meet tenant aspirations for their housing and local neighbourhoods. A key recommendation from the Commission was that Lambeth Council, Lambeth Living and other stakeholders should work with residents to coproduce a borough-wide Lambeth standard, identified in this document as ‘The Lambeth Housing Standard’. Section 4.2 sets out how this was achieved and Appendix A details the standard itself.

In line with recommendations from the Housing Commission the Council has approved the principle of a £499m, 5-year investment programme to deliver the Lambeth Housing Standard. This includes the Council borrowing the full amount possible under the reformed HRA, almost £150m, to invest alongside the £100.5m of Decent Homes backlog funding. It should be noted that £82.5m of the backlog funding is a provisional allocation, if confirmed it will become available in 2013/14 and 2014/15. There is also an annual contribution to capital from the HRA self-financing arrangements with effect from 2012/13 and anticipated capital from Lambeth’s ‘single capital pot’. This still leaves a shortfall of £56m for which the Council have identified a number of potential solutions. The details of the funding package are set-out in section 5 of this document.

Taking account of all the above, our strategic objectives are to:

• Achieve a high level of resident satisfaction with the quality of the homes they live in and the repairs undertaken on them

• Deliver the Lambeth Housing Standard to all identified properties by 2017

• Improve energy efficiency and reduce fuel poverty

• Deliver value for money across capital investment, responsive repairs and the re-letting of empty properties

• Ensure compliance with health & safety and disability requirements.

We aim to achieve our strategic objectives through effective operational management by:

• Consulting with residents on the improvement and implementation of this Asset Management Strategy

• Ensuring the Asset Management Database is fit for purpose

• Anticipating capital and revenue funding requirements

• Establishing effective planned maintenance programmes


• Optimising capital investment and planned maintenance to minimise revenue funded repairs

• Adopting effective partnering and supply chain management methodologies.

Our 30-year investment plan aims for our objectives to be achieved in three phases:

1. Completion of Health & Safety requirements identified through: Fire Risk Assessments; HHSRS (Housing Health & Safety Rating System) surveys; and on-going stock condition surveys including common areas.

2. Delivery of the Lambeth Housing Standard within five years, by March 2017, to stock managed by Lambeth Living and the seven Tenant Management Organisations where Lambeth Living has investment responsibility. Appendix A sets out details of the standard.

3. Maintenance of the stock and the estates to at least the same standard as achieved in 2 above for the remaining 25 years of the 30-year investment plan.

Key reference documents are listed and, if appropriate, are attached as appendices. The document has been cross-referenced where appropriate with existing Council and Lambeth Living plans and strategies.

Section 1 sets out the context for the Strategy and shows how it links to the strategic priorities of Lambeth Living and Lambeth Council.

Section 2 provides information about our housing assets including property portfolio, stock condition, decent homes assessment, current performance indicators, the Lambeth Housing Standard, demand and asset reviews. Section 3 sets out our strategic objectives for the next five years and the guiding principles of the strategy.

Section 4 sets out proposals and action for achieving each of our objectives, including progress to date.

Section 5 sets out how we will deliver, monitor, manage and fund the programme of works.


1. Introduction

1.1 Context and Scope

Lambeth Living was launched in April 2008. Since then it has aimed to improve services to the residents of the homes it manages and to improve the housing assets by delivery of capital and revenue investment.

The Asset Management Strategy covers:

• All Council rented and leasehold stock managed by Lambeth Living including seven of the borough’s Tenant Management Organisations (TMOs)

• All building components, including mechanical and electrical services

• All methods of delivery, including partnering frameworks, supply chain management, one-off major projects, planned maintenance, and responsive repairs

• Both capital and revenue sources of funding.

Our aim is to develop an integrated and seamless maintenance and improvement process, within which major capital investment projects, planned maintenance and responsive repairs complement each other and create synergy, rather than overlap with each other or mismatch.

The Asset Management Strategy will be reviewed as part of the review process for Lambeth Living’s Business Plan, which in turn will integrate with Lambeth Council’s Housing Strategy. This will ensure the Strategy remains fit for purpose and the most effective way to meet the Council’s strategic objectives in housing asset management, maintenance and improvement.

1.2 Lambeth Living’s Aims

Across London and the UK billions of pounds have been spent to bring Council housing up to a ‘decent’ standard over the past decade. Lambeth has lagged behind and around half of its homes do not meet the standard. This explains why many residents say they like their neighbourhood and they like their home but are unhappy with its condition. As a result investment and repairs are residents’ top concerns.

Lambeth Living was set up to deliver investment and improve housing management. With the funding arrangements approved by the Council in March 2012 this Asset Management Strategy gives the high level guidance for the delivery of the investment programme anticipated by the 2011 Housing Commission. This strategy is integral in helping to deliver Lambeth Living’s other improvement priorities:

• Improving the repairs service

• Improving telephone answering

• Responding to issues on estates through local teams

• Responding to residents’ service requests and complaints.


1.3 Asset Management Strategy Aims and Objectives

Our Asset Management Strategy sets out:

• How we work with residents to deliver investment in the homes we manage and achieve sustainable outcomes up to 2017

• A strategic framework from which informed decisions can be made about investment in, and maintaining, our housing assets

• How we deliver capital investment, planned maintenance, repairs to empty property and responsive repairs

• How we deliver value for money and improve the service we provide to residents.

1.4 Principles of the Strategy

The Strategy is based on the following principles:

• Programming delivery of works in the most cost effective manner after taking account of resident priorities

• Targeting deprived areas and linking in with existing regeneration and neighbourhood plans

• Delivering sustainable investment which contributes to reducing carbon emissions and fuel poverty, and benefits the local community.

Our detailed objectives indicating the outcomes we expect and how we aim to arrive at them are set out in section 3.

1.5 Strategic Context and Links to Corporate Plans and Strategies

Our Asset Management Strategy is closely linked to our Business Plan, as well as the following wider Council strategies: Housing Investment Strategy, Corporate Plan, Neighbourhood Renewal Strategy, Sustainable Community Strategy and Council Plan.

In particular, we will work with the Council to help deliver on its corporate objectives, which are themed as:

• A safer Lambeth with strong communities • More opportunities for children and young people • Respect for the environment • Developing personalised care services • Serving our customers well.

Our key priorities as the main provider of social housing in the borough are therefore to:

• Meet housing need through mixed communities which provide opportunities for our residents

• Ensure housing in the borough is well-managed, of high quality and sustainable

• Provide people with the support and advice they need

• Contribute to creating a greener borough.

This Asset Management Strategy aims to support these objectives.


2. Our Housing Assets

2.1 Property Portfolio As at 1st April 2011 Lambeth Living managed some 33,000 properties: 23,512 tenanted and 9,413 leasehold. These figures include homes in Tenant Management Organisations where Lambeth Living delivers many of the property investment and maintenance services.

Table 1: Tenanted stock by archetype as at 1st April 2011

Pre 1945 small terrace houses 76

Pre 1945 semi detached 221

All other pre 1945 houses 931

1945-64 small terrace houses 13

1945-64 large terrace/semi/detached 197

1965-74 houses 289

Post 1974 houses 1,891

Non traditional houses 54

Pre 1945 low rise flats (1 – 2 storey) 1,066

Post 1945 low rise flats (1 – 2 storey) 2,097

Medium rise flats (3 – 5 storeys) 13,219

High rise flats (6 storeys and over) 3,371

Bungalows 87

TOTAL 23,512

2.2 Supply and Demand

Approximately 23% of Lambeth households live in Council accommodation, with 17% in Housing Association, 27% in private rented and 31% owner occupiers. Owner occupation is greater in the south, with concentrations of social rented housing in the north of the borough, this reflects a wider social and economic polarisation. In common with other London authorities, Lambeth is faced with a severe imbalance in the demand for, and supply of, affordable housing. This is coupled with an increasingly unaffordable private sector in both the rented and owner-occupier markets. Within the existing Council stock, 10% of households require one or more extra bedrooms to relieve severe overcrowding. These issues present a challenge for Lambeth Living, in terms of community cohesion and stock management. There is a severe shortfall of larger, family sized properties.


2.3 Stock Condition

Substantial capital investment over the past five years (in excess of £200M) has delivered significant upgrades to external building elements (windows, roofs, external repairs). Even with this investment, the calculations submitted to the Department of Communities and Local Government in 2007/08 indicated a funding requirement of £251M to achieve 0% non-decency. The level of non-decency was estimated at 44% after the stock condition survey work in 2008. Since then investment has not reached a level to counter the ageing process of the stock and at 01.04.11 non-decency was estimated to be 54%.

2.4 Stock Condition Survey Works

Our approach to investment in maintenance and improvement is centred on the assessment of stock condition. This assessment is based on our stock condition database ‘LifeSpan’, supplemented by local project management knowledge and professional assessment. Our stock condition database was originally populated with data collected by a stock condition survey by Property Techtonics in 2001/02 covering 12% of the stock internally and externally, and 'cloning' data to the rest of the stock. In 2008 Lambeth Council commissioned Hunters to undertake a further stock condition survey of approximately 20% of the homes, primarily street properties, to complement the existing data held on LifeSpan. Our survey data does however need bringing up to date, in particular to increase the accuracy of internal data so our investment decisions are based on information from a much larger percentage of the stock and not just a sample. We also need to include assessments for all homes under the Housing Health & Safety Rating System (HHSRS) and for Energy Performance Certificates (required for all homes being let from October 2008). A pilot project of 1000 surveys was undertaken during 2011 and is being used to inform the development of a larger scale programme of surveying to provide improved accuracy and allow greater certainty in the long-term investment needs. Accepted Best Practice within the sector is to establish a rolling programme of 20% survey (internal and external) per year, so that over each five year period the whole stock can be assessed against the replacement of key building components based on their expected operational life. For the ambitious investment plans set out in this document, we will need to complete the initial programme of surveys in a much shorter time frame. The 2001/02 and 2008 surveys identified that the stock lacked sustained capital investment. As a result, there are a significant number of major components that are at, or are reaching, the end of their useful life and would require replacement imminently. The key findings can be summarised as follows:

• Many of the pitched roofs require renewal and a significant number of properties have flat roofs, many of which require comprehensive renewal.


While many roofs have had work undertaken in the past five years, there are more to complete

• Many properties have poor condition single glazed windows which need to be replaced with modern doubled glazed units. Since the surveys, a significant number of window replacements have taken place but many more remain to be completed

• Many of the front and back doors are original and would benefit from replacement with modern more secure units. Where necessary (particularly in blocks) these need to be fire and smoke protected units to meet the enhanced standards identified in the recommendations emanating from the Lakanal tragedy

• Environmental improvements such as paths, fences and boundary walls have not been a priority and substantial areas need attention

• Internally, many of the kitchens and bathrooms are original and need modernising

• Most properties have central heating, although in some cases this is only a partial provision. Many boilers have reached or are exceeding their expected operational life, many are inefficient and increasing fuel poverty

• Much of the wiring throughout the stock is original and many properties and communal areas need to be re-wired or have the wiring upgraded during the next 5 years.

2.5 Asset Management Database

A joint review panel consisting of representatives from Lambeth Council and Lambeth Living are reviewing the longer term needs of our organisations with regard to the asset management information database. It is expected that the selected solution (an enhanced LifeSpan system or a replacement) will be implemented during 2012/13 and be fully functional for the start of 2013/14. We will develop the scope of the database by incorporating detailed information on asbestos from specialist surveys and by the addition of new data for areas such as communal electrics, the provision of fire and smoke protected flat entrance doors and aids & adaptations within properties.

2.6 Regeneration Opportunities

Given the historic shortage of funds, for capital investment in the stock, the Council has supported a number of locally based regeneration solutions for estates which had high investment needs. Analysis has been carried out to identify those estates that are expensive to bring up to an acceptable standard, and/or expensive to maintain over the life of a 30-year business plan. Other factors such as local resident support, redevelopment potential and regeneration opportunities are then being brought together to establish the viability of re-providing the homes rather than refurbishing the existing.


There is the potential for estate regeneration / re-modelling to provide the Council with the opportunity to increase the number of units on an estate. The new homes would be made up of replacement affordable housing, intermediate market and outright sale. This gives the possibility of levering in additional funding to help close the gap in the investment requirements needed to maintain the remaining (refurbished rather than regenerated) stock. A key outcome of estate regeneration will be the creation of mixed tenure and mixed income communities, this can be important in challenging recession and demographic change. This is in line with the Council’s housing strategy which aims to provide mixed tenure estates and accepts the principle of increasing density where appropriate. A successful estate regeneration programme will go hand in hand with a co-ordinated effort over the longer term to improve educational attainment, local skills and access to training and employment.

2.7 Sheltered Housing

Recent investigations and reports into sheltered housing in Lambeth have concluded that, overall, Lambeth’s sheltered housing stock falls short of current best practice and shortcomings in the basic infrastructure impact on the service that is delivered. It is difficult to justify the level of investment that would be required for those properties that were considered sustainable for more than a few years, particularly when there is:

• An apparent low level of demand for sheltered housing – neighbourhood housing offices report a lack of applicants for sheltered voids and RSL providers complain that the Council is providing insufficient nominations. Not surprisingly in a society where individuals prefer to stay in their own home, for as long as possible, there is difficulty in making placements to some of the less appealing schemes

• High level demand from other client groups – notably for younger vulnerable adults, single parents and the homeless. The level of investment required by sheltered would effectively prioritise older tenants above clients in other categories of need

• A miss-match between current demand and the service provision available – when sheltered housing originally developed, a resident scheme warden was positioned as a ‘good neighbour’ and was, at the time, the most practical way to deliver housing support and low level care. This does not suit the current demand for these properties from residents who are at the frailer end of the spectrum.

A number of the schemes fail to provide the level access to dwellings that is now seen as a core component of sheltered housing design. A number of these schemes are relatively modern, purpose-built schemes that have staircase access to first floor dwellings and are not seen as suitable for sheltered housing.


2.8 Voids (Empty Properties) and Associated Disposals Policy

When a Council property becomes empty a specification of necessary works, to return it to a lettable standard, is drawn up. When the cost is up to £5,000 it is funded through revenue budgets (some works within this expenditure may subsequently be accepted for funding from capital allowances) and is known as a ‘Short Cycle Void’ (SCV). The turnaround target for repair works is 11 days. Where the cost is over £5,000 the void is termed a ‘Long Cycle Void’ (LCV). The timescale of the works programme reflects the complexity of the repairs/renewals required. The scale of works undertaken in LCVs often involves some of the following: new heating system, rewire, replacement kitchen, replacement bathroom, structural repairs, re-roofing. In almost all cases the total cost of refurbishment can be capitalised. The Council’s current policy is to dispose of empty properties which are uneconomic to repair, for example properties requiring extensive structural works or where damp or dry rot has permeated the building. A cost protocol has been agreed to identify the properties to be considered for disposal. Current policy is that if the repair costs are too high the property is sold at auction and the funds reinvested into bringing other LCVs back into use. As a result of the severe shortage of larger properties the protocol allows for substantial levels of expenditure where four or more bedrooms are available.


3. The Key Drivers and Objectives of this Strategy

3.1 Key Drivers Key drivers for the Strategy are:

• Resident Aspirations – maximising the satisfaction of tenants’ and leaseholders’ through understanding their aspirations, by consulting effectively and by continuously improving customer services

• Delivery of the Lambeth Housing Standard – maximising achievement of the Council’s objective of refurbishing homes, including for all identified Council homes to meet the resident agreed standard by March 2017

• Value for Money – establishing procurement, management and supply chain methodologies that ensure the financial resources available stretch as far as possible, ensuring tenants and leaseholders receive quality repairs and improvements at the best possible price

• Integration with Lambeth Council’s Housing Investment Strategy and HRA Business Plan – ensuring maintenance and improvement investment contribute to the achievement of the relevant wider Council objectives and targets, particularly by supporting regeneration and by pursuing best value.

3.2 Objectives

The objectives of this strategy can be separated into two types: 3.2.1 The strategic objectives which represent our desired outcomes, are to:

• Achieve a high level of resident satisfaction with the quality of the homes they live in and the repairs undertaken to them

• To deliver the Lambeth Housing Standard to all identified properties within five years (i.e. by the end of the financial year 2016/17)

• Ensure satisfactory thermal comfort standards, promote energy efficiency and contribute to the elimination of fuel poverty

• Deliver efficient and effective programmes of capital investment, responsive repairs and empty property services which provide value for money

• Be legally compliant in relation to health & safety and provide appropriate aids & adaptations for those with disabilities.

The strategic objectives are set out in detail in section 4. 3.2.2 To achieve the desired outcomes Lambeth Living will need to implement a range of operational objectives:

• Consult with residents on an on-going basis to improve the Asset Management Strategy and increase the level of resident involvement in key aspects of major works projects

• Ensure the asset management database used by Lambeth Council and Lambeth Living is fit for purpose and holds sufficient, accurate and regularly updated information to allow systematic reassessment of investment requirements


• Anticipate accurately the future capital and revenue provision that is needed for maintenance and improvements to the housing stock

• Establish effective planned maintenance programmes, including for communal areas which have sometimes been neglected in the past, and make short and long-term plans accordingly

• Invest prudently through capital projects and planned maintenance programmes, so as to maximise preventative maintenance and thereby reduce the level of future revenue required to maintain the stock in a satisfactory condition

• Achieve best value and continuous improvement in our investment programme by a thorough adoption of the partnering methodology and effective supply chain management, delivering high quality results at an economic cost.

The operational objectives are set out in detail in Appendix B.

3.3 Challenges and Risks There are significant challenges and risks to the strategy being successfully achieved. Key amongst these are:

• The availability of funding to allow the long-term investment requirements

• The need to build effective partnerships with contractors and the supply chain to deliver value for money for residents and the Council

• The complications of developing estate regeneration proposals alongside achieving the Lambeth Housing Standard.

Appendix C identifies a range of risks which need to have on-going reviews as the Asset Management Strategy is implemented and the substantial programme of capital works progresses.


4. Delivering our objectives

The objectives of this strategy can be divided into two groups, the strategic

objectives, 1 to 5 below, identify the outcomes the strategy aims to achieve. A

further group of objectives identify what has to be done to achieve the outcomes.

There are some fundamental changes to the way asset management is

undertaken at Lambeth Living set out in these later ‘operational’ objectives which

are included at Appendix B.

4.1 Objective 1: To achieve a high level of resident satisfaction with the

quality of their home and the repairs undertaken to it

The 2011 customer satisfaction survey shows that satisfaction with housing services in Lambeth is low and has declined over the last two years. We have the lowest level of customer satisfaction of all London boroughs. A number of factors contribute to this result but of particular significance are the historic under funding of major works (capital renewals and improvements), and the poor responsive repairs service customers have received for some time. Elsewhere experience has shown that when residents are proud of the quality of their home and of their local environment, satisfaction rises. Experience also shows that an improved state of repair leads to an increased demand for responsive repairs because residents are keen to maintain the prevailing standard of their homes. If requested responsive repairs are delivered in a timely manner, dealt with on the first visit and of good quality, satisfaction will rise further. The key priority for Lambeth Living is to improve customer services and thereby raise customer satisfaction to at least the London average. While this is a substantial challenge recent developments present us with opportunities that could make the task easier. These include:

• The £100.5m of Decent Homes backlog funding allocated to Lambeth over the four years 2011/12 to 2014/15

• The Council decision in March 2012 to invest £350m in addition to the Decent Homes backlog funding in achieving the delivery of the Lambeth Housing Standard

• The Council’s commitment to increase repairs funding from the additional income received as a result of Lambeth Living’s significantly improved voids performance

• The recently implemented Lambeth Property Contracts and the new partnering regime associated with them.

Lambeth Living is keen to take full advantage of these opportunities. The 2011 restructure of area housing services is designed to ensure customer services improve. There were three principal changes:

• Repairs staff are co-located in the area offices making the service more accessible to customers

• The OptiTime system and the deployment of contractor staff in the call centre means repair failures are identified and corrected early and are not permitted to turn into a formal complaint


• We have increased the surveyors in each team so that home visits to diagnose more complex repairs can happen quickly.

We aim to:

• Put customers at the heart of our business and embed this in all that we do

• Improve customer access and overall satisfaction with the service provided

• Provide services consistent with best practice in diversity and equalities. We aim to improve resident satisfaction with the asset management and responsive repairs services through a number of initiatives including:

• Actively seeking customer feedback and complaints, enabling us to learn from them; we cannot improve if we do not know what went wrong in the first place

• Training staff how to handle customer complaints effectively using the correct mix of empathising, apologising and resolution

• Making sure that the real problem is solved, not just the symptoms

• Coordinating the reward of performance using a combination of monetary awards and non-monetary recognition

• Focussing on proactive (prevention) as well as reactive (cure) problem solving

• Engaging managers as the key change agents in their area of activity. Communication channels to improve customer access and involvement include:

• A communications protocol covering our approach at strategic level, at operational levels and with individual rersidents

• Regular local communications such as individual letters and newsletters for residents who are having works carried out

• Email address and web page access to information and services from Lambeth Living’s website

• Dedicated phone lines (as the Lambeth Housing Standard programme commences) so residents can access information about the location and type of work and other investment programmes

• Road shows and presentations for all stakeholders

• Meetings with resident groups

• Resident access to site staff and site meetings

• Community groups and general engagement events

• Individual surveys following completion of works giving every resident who has had work carried out to their home or estate the opportunity to comment on their experiences

• Promptly responding to specific issues raised by stakeholders. We use the outcome of our investigations and the feedback given to help improve the performance of contractors, consultants and the project management team. We are keen to ensure any lessons learned are used to improve the overall service Lambeth Living provides.

Residents will be provided with a copy of the Lambeth Housing Standard. This covers the expected range of works, the service standards we expect from our contractors, sets out the choices available to residents, and identifies the commitments we give in respect of consultation and communications.


4.2 Objective 2: To deliver the Lambeth Housing Standard to properties

managed by Lambeth Living

The Housing Commission of 2011 recommended the coproduction, with residents, of a local standard – now known as the Lambeth Housing Standard (LHS). Lambeth Council supported this approach and in order to begin the conversation with residents, it was agreed to devote a significant proportion of the annual resident’s conference to working with residents to start the Lambeth Housing Standard coproduction process. During this conference in November 2011, the Council held four workshops on the Lambeth Housing Standard. The workshops allowed tenants and leaseholders the opportunity to express their own individual priorities for the Lambeth Housing Standard as well as work in groups to design a standard with greater understanding of the financial implications of each aspect included in the future Lambeth Housing Standard. For the group exercise a representational ‘cake’ was used with 71% showing the essential items that will be included in the standard for either statutory or health & safety reasons and then a series of 16 proportionally representational ‘slices’ showing the available options that could be included. While the priority order of some elements was different depending on whether it was individual choice or from a group discussion, the majority of the same elements appeared each time. The outcome of the resident’s conference workshops showed that residents prioritise work differently when given individual choice and group choices. The results were combined to give a ‘top six’ priority list and residents were asked to vote at the end of the conference to see if their personal views had changed as a result of the group discussions. It is worth noting that a number of the elements included in the new Lambeth Housing Standard are statutory obligations the Council has as a landlord. These have been incorporated into the Lambeth Housing Standard so residents know exactly what standard they can expect their home to be and maintained at. While the results from the conference were a good indication, the Council needed to undertake a much wider exercise to involve as many tenants and leaseholders as possible in coproducing the Lambeth Housing Standard. Over December 2011 and January 2012, a number of workshops and surveys were undertaken to engage with as wide an audience as possible. The table overleaf shows the number of ways the Council and its ALMO partners worked with residents to coproduce the Lambeth Housing Standard and the level of engagement with each method. In total an unprecedented 5,600 individuals responded through either a survey or workshop.


Summary of engagement methods

Engagement method How many No. of respondents

Conference 200 attendees 200

Lambeth Living workshops 12 workshops 100 Approx

URH workshops 2 workshops 20

Postal survey 36000 surveys sent 5190

Online survey Available to all residents 165

In late January 2012, tenant representatives, Council and ALMO officers met to assess the data and consider how the Lambeth Housing Standard should reflect preferences in the context of the cost and resource information. The coproduction exercise has indicated that the LHS should be aspirational and linked to a wider discussion about what other sources of funding can be found to ensure it can be delivered. Combining the statutory works and the results of the coproduction, the proposed Lambeth Housing Standard is attached as Appendix A. It is important to note that around half of all the homes managed by Lambeth Living already meet the Lambeth Housing Standard and some go beyond it, so it will mean that not every home needs work done.

4.3 Objective 3: To deliver energy efficiency and reduce fuel poverty

This section sets out how the activities being planned are undertaken in such a way as to ensure we deliver sustainable outcomes and a better quality of life for our residents. Commitment to promoting environmental sustainability – Lambeth Living is committed to promoting best practice in conformity with core Council policies on sustainable construction, timber procurement and the sustainability charter. The Asset Management Strategy will drive energy efficiency improvements in the housing stock managed by Lambeth Living, to reduce fuel poverty and CO2 emissions. The construction procurement programmes will address sustainable construction best practice, and the diverse contracts such as grounds maintenance and estate cleaning will help to provide a cleaner and greener environment for residents while at the same time reducing the environmental footprint of their activities. The Council has adopted a target to reduce carbon emissions in the borough by 20% by 2016 against a 2009 baseline. Plans for achieving this are set out in the Sustainable Community Strategy.


Given that about 50% of carbon emissions in Lambeth are estimated to come from domestic energy use, and, with more than 20% of the borough’s stock managed by Lambeth Living, we have a key role to play in helping the Council to achieve their target. Through investing in energy efficiency measures and encouraging residents to cut their energy use, we are helping to deliver the Council’s fuel poverty policy as well as contributing to carbon reduction in the borough. We are committed to developing best practice throughout our asset management and maintenance services. Important areas for innovation are in the areas of energy efficiency and environmental sustainability and in the development of robust common standard specifications for use across all our operations. Works currently being undertaken by Lambeth Living which will contribute to achieving the Council’s objective include: Heating and Hot Water systems – This is the biggest source of energy use in the home. Boiler replacement and heating system renewals/upgrades form a significant part of the Lambeth Housing Standard programme. We are replacing outdated systems with ‘A’ rated modern boilers and controls, which are easily maintainable, cut emissions and reduce energy costs for tenants, thus combating fuel poverty. External elements – Through the installation of double glazed windows and roof replacement including loft insulation, our residents are able to cut heat loss and can save up to £100 of their annual bills. Where scaffold is required for other works we will fill un-insulated cavity walls. Renewable Technologies – We are keen to explore further installations of renewable energy systems via housing refurbishment programmes. Major roof renewals in future programmes offer opportunities to install solar PV systems which will bring in revenue streams via the feed-in-tariff, and reduce the landlords electricity use and CO2 footprint. Smaller scale PV systems on street properties could assist directly in reducing fuel poverty. Funding opportunities may include the Green Deal and consortia that take the feed-in-tariff to pay capital costs. Lambeth Living Procurement Strategy – With all our asset management procurement, contractors are expected to contribute to Lambeth’s vision on sustainability. They are expected to minimise waste, use durable, renewable, recyclable materials that are of low toxicity and easy to maintain. In addition, they need to demonstrate how they propose to make use of local suppliers and labour to minimise transporting of goods and services. The procurement of sustainable timber is a matter of compliance across our contracts as per Council Policy. The design and supply of windows, roofs, kitchens and bathrooms are assessed on the basis of life cycle costs, therefore taking into consideration future maintenance, replacement and disposal.


The average SAP rating in Lambeth’s stock was 65.0 at June 2011, with considerable scope for improvement as a result of energy efficiency works implemented as part of the Lambeth Housing Standard. Energy efficient light bulbs make a significant impact on reducing domestic energy consumption. They are distributed free of charge to tenants through the ‘Welcome Pack’ for tenants moving in. We are committed to improving the impact of our operations in other areas of environmental sustainability and are working with our contractor partners to achieve high levels of waste recycling. We will review the environmental impact of all our major building contracts, and are specifically promoting the use of recycled materials as recommended by WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme).

4.4 Objective 4: To deliver efficient and effective capital investment,

responsive repairs and empty property (void) services which provide value

for money

The Area Asset Managers and Technical Services Manager are responsible for the delivery of the repairs and maintenance contracts for tenants and leaseholders in Lambeth Council properties. This includes day-to-day responsive repairs, voids, disrepair works, mechanical & electrical installations and specialist works. An updated repairs handbook has been produced which is also available on our website. The property teams undertake traditional pre- and post-inspections, but also have an increasingly strategic focus upon risk management and regulatory compliance rather than just responsive maintenance. This covers:

• Health & Safety • Asbestos • Fire safety • Disrepair • Energy Performance Certificates. The Strategic Contract Manager is responsible for delivery of the major works programmes including achieving the Lambeth Housing Standard, ensuring consistent work standards, continuity of the supply chain and appropriate planned maintenance to secure longevity of replaced or renewed building elements. All key areas of the Lambeth Housing Standard (except external elements) are delivered through the Lambeth Property Contracts, which commenced in April 2011. External elements of work such as roofing and windows will be subject to a separate OJEU procurement exercise during 2012/13. The Lambeth Property Contracts offer value for money through a collaborative approach and an OJEU tender assessment based on both tendered rates and quality of service delivery. They use open book accounting with cash benefits to the contractors if they can deliver costs below the target (tendered) rates. Through implementation of the Lambeth Property Contracts there have been


particularly significant changes to the delivery of responsive repairs, an area in the past where we have not met resident expectations. As a result:

• Repairs surveyors and contractor staff are co-located with call handlers at the call centre. Technical issues relating to individual repairs can be resolved immediately and failure to deliver a successful outcome to a repair request can be identified and corrected early, without the need to turn into a formal complaint

• We have introduced two IT systems (Repairs Finder and OptiTime) to assist with right first time diagnosis and to keep more appointments. We have given the operatives greater flexibility to complete the work they see when arriving on site, and improved efficiency through reducing the need for requesting variations

• All repair requests are handled by a single call centre from 09:00 to 17:00 during the week. Appointments are made for the majority of repair requests and the call centre (together with a separate out-of-hours provision) take emergency repair requests 24-hours, seven days a week

• We aim to offer confirmation of appointments with our residents by SMS text messaging, and send them a reminder the evening before the appointment date. Our Surveyors will use text messaging to receive and complete their work out on site.

4.5 Objective 5: To ensure compliance with Health & Safety requirements

and disability provision

Gas Safety – We have a duty of care to our residents to:

• Ensure that we meet our legal obligations under the Gas Safety (Installation and use) Regulations 1998

• Ensure all reasonable steps are taken to issue a Landlord’s Gas Safety Certificate to all tenanted dwellings on or before the expiry date of the previous certificate. We have a target of 100% compliance.

Our contactors test smoke alarm installations during the gas safety check and offer servicing to leaseholders. Lambeth Living achieved the highest ever compliance level for the Lambeth stock in February 2012 at 100%. We achieved this by cold calling, offering flexible appointments, and good communication for example gas safety leaflet, gas safety check overdue tape, and ‘Your next Gas Safety Check‘ boiler stickers. Only after exhausting these processes do we enforce access by serving Notices under the Environmental Protection Act. Housing Health & Safety Rating System (Housing Act 2004) – The Housing

Health & Safety Rating System (HHSRS) came into force on 6th April 2006. The

underlying principle is that any residential premises should provide a safe and

healthy environment for any potential occupier or visitor. To satisfy this principle,

a dwelling should be designed, constructed and maintained with non-hazardous

materials and should be free from both unnecessary and avoidable hazards.


This approach acknowledges that all dwellings will contain some hazards. It allows a judgement to be made as to whether that risk, in the particular circumstances, is acceptable or not. As part of the stock condition surveys, Health & Safety assessments are carried out and the information is recorded on LifeSpan. Where a serious hazard (identified as a category 1) is recorded during a survey these are dealt with by placing a responsive repairs order. Fire Safety – There are almost 3000 locations within the stock manged by

Lambeth Living which require a Fire Risk Assessment (mainly communal areas).

By the end of March 2012 we aim to have assessed all locations. Higher-risk

buildings are reassessed each year.

The Fire Risk Assessments have resulted in:

• A programme of works to carry out urgent repairs and fire protection improvements

• An action plan to reduce risk by ongoing effective management of the individual buildings

• A planned improvement programme which as part of this asset management strategy includes the upgrade of flat entrance door to meet the fire and smoke protection requirements of BS476.

We check the current assessments as part of the design of refurbishment projects to remove or reduce risks as far as possible. We then re-inspect the buildings upon completion of projects to provide a revised and updated assessment. Electrical Testing – We are delivering a programme of periodic testing and remedial works on electrical installations (domestic and communal) using our voids, major works and communal electrical maintenance programmes. Asbestos – Current legislation (Health & Safety at Work Etc Act 1974; Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006; HSG 264) requires us to manage asbestos in the stock and take all reasonable steps to minimise the risk of exposure to asbestos for our tenants, leaseholders, employees and contractors. A 5-year asbestos survey programme will be completed as part of the delivery of the Lambeth Housing Standard. As a result we will achieve compliance with the latest guidance ‘HSG 264’. All communal areas and all tenanted properties managed by Lambeth Living will have a full record of asbestos containing materials that are present. The records will be held on the Lambeth Living asbestos register. Any removal or management requirements will be incorporated in the capital works programme unless they need immediate attention, in which case the work will be undertaken by an asbestos company who have suitably trained employees to remove or encapsulate asbestos containing materials. Survey and removal are carried out by different contractors in accordance with good practice.


The asbestos register is maintained as a stand alone system but we are planning to upload the information to the asset management database and in due course to link to the SX3 Housing Management System, which is accessible to staff in Lambeth Living and the Council. This will enable us to ‘flag’ job tickets for homes where asbestos containing materials are present and so alert operatives and Lambeth Living staff to the presence of asbestos before they enter a tenant’s home. This will avoid the current arrangement were we provide a copy of the register to external contractors, supplemented by regular updates of new information. Residents receive a copy of the reports produced following a survey, including photographs of any asbestos in situ, a plan of the property, a copy of the actual test results and where required the remedial action to be carried out. A separate Asbestos Policy provides details of Lambeth’s asbestos procedures and the protection of both residents and staff who may live or work in properties that include asbestos containing materials. It includes the organisations commitment to ensuring it meets statutory responsibilities. The Asbestos team offers an advisory service to leaseholders. Disability and Equalities Act 2010 – The 2010 Act aims to end the

discrimination that many people with disabilities face, and while it mainly applies

to accessibility of public buildings, as part of our achieving the Lambeth Housing

Standard, an occupational therapist will assess the needs of individuals who

require adaptations. This is in addition to the wider service provided by the

Council to all residents and allows less able and elderly people to live

independently in their own homes for as long as possible.

Construction Design and Management Regulations 1994 and 2007 – To

maintain a safe environment for employees, residents and contractors, and to

meet the requirements of the regulations the Construction Design and

Management (CDM) Co-ordinator(s), part of the Lambeth Living Health & Safety

team, will fulfil the role of Project Safety Co-ordination. The Co-ordinator(s) will

work with designers on risk reduction and audit site safety for the capital works

programme. The duties of the contractor partners include safety management

and welfare.


5. Delivery (Management, Monitoring and Funding)

5.1 Operational

The restructure of staffing arrangements at Lambeth Living early in 2011 provided the opportunity for the rationalisation of property, asset management and maintenance functions. Within the Property Services Directorate, the Strategic Contract Management team is responsible for planning and delivering the capital programme. This team assesses the need for investment, matches resources and plans the programme, developing policy to ensure best practice in such areas as energy efficiency and sustainable materials. The three Area Asset Managers deliver responsive repairs, disrepair works, planned maintenance and work to empty properties. Most of this property related work is dealt with through the Lambeth Property Contracts. As capital investment workload increases in 2012/13 there will be substantial project management requirements that cannot be resourced through current in-house arrangements. The intention is to advertise and directly employ skilled construction professionals with partnering contract experience to report to the Strategic Contract Manager. The existing Programme Managers and the Area Capital Works Managers will need to undergo additional training to be able to successfully manage and work alongside these new recruits. If at the end of delivering the enhanced programme (five years’ time) there was no alternative work there would be a number of redundancies / departures. However if part of the programme is agreed as redevelopment and/or regeneration then taking account of consultation and preparation for such works, these experienced construction professionals would have alternative in-house employment opportunities. Peak demands during the five year programme could be covered by the prudent use of consultant support from the professional services framework known as the ‘PanLondon Consultancy Services Framework’. An independent partnering advisor or manager appointed separately to the project management staff would oversee the strategic elements of the programme, concentrating on: building collaborative relationships; ensuring effective operation of the strategic core group; assisting with value for money and supply chain management; and giving an independent overview of performance and delivery. In achieving the Lambeth Housing Standard, external works, which were not included in the Lambeth Property Contracts will be undertaken through newly procured partnering framework contracts. The Technical Services team deliver all mechanical & electrical services including capital investment works. These form part of the existing Lambeth Property Contracts. The works cover:

• Gas servicing and repairs/renewals

• Communal boilers


• Communal water tanks – including L8 risk assessment & sheltered blocks

• Lifts

• Communal ventilation

• Lightning conductors

• Communal TV aerials

• Door entry systems

• CCTV systems

• Booster pump sets

• Fire alarms and emergency lightning

• Dry risers

• Electrical testing of homes

• Electrical testing of communal services

• Sewage pumps

There maybe the need to include specialist Mechanical & Electrical project managers as part of the increased staffing arrangements.

5.2 Performance management and performance standards

We will carry out periodic reviews and updates of our Asset Management Strategy to make sure that it remains properly aligned to our business plan and related strategies. The updating process will enable us to assess how well we have delivered against the priorities and targets set and identify areas for improvement. It will also enable us to use feedback received from residents and latest best practice developments to ensure our strategy and methods of delivery remain current.

Regular reports are provided to the Lambeth Living Board and the Council on progress with delivering the Asset Management Strategy objectives. Achieving the Lambeth Housing Standard and delivering effective responsive repairs have been identified as key outcomes for Lambeth Living and are subject to Board Member scrutiny through reports to the Lambeth Living Investment Committee and Board.

Performance standards throughout the capital investment, maintenance and repair processes are monitored by our Performance Team. The centrality of KPIs to the partnering process means that we have been able to increase significantly the number of meaningful performance measures we use to monitor, assess and improve our performance. A range of the performance measures now in use for the Lambeth Property Contracts will form the basis for the Lambeth Housing Standard programme. There will be a need to develop other performance measures specific to the capital works.

5.3 Risk Management

In drawing up the Asset Management Strategy, we have analysed the risks to achieving our objectives and considered corrective measures to minimise risk as


far as is practicable. This feeds into the overall Lambeth Living Risk Management Strategy. Our approach to risk management for capital investment is a two-tier process. It consists of a Strategic Risk Register, which is reviewed and managed by the Strategic Core Group, and a Programme Delivery Risk Register, which identifies and monitors risk at a contract area level. The risk registers cover a number of areas including communications, finance, time, resources, and performance. The key risk to the strategy being achieved relates to the availability of funding, but there are also strategic and operational challenges to overcome before the Lambeth Housing Standard can be delivered to the stock managed by Lambeth Living and the seven TMOs where the ALMO has responsibility for capital investment. Regulation, such as statutory obligations or Building Regulations are subject to change and could have a significant impact on the strategy and costs of for example fire safety or carbon emissions. Appendix C identifies a range of risks which need to have on-going reviews as the Asset Management Strategy is implemented and the substantial capital programme progresses.

5.4 Funding the strategy

This section sets out how the objectives of the Asset Management Strategy will be funded based on the Council’s decision in March 2012. It includes an explanation of the anticipated expenditure over the next five years to achieve the Lambeth Housing Standard to properties managed by Lambeth Living. It then explains the future resource requirements over the remaining 25 years of a 30-year investment plan to maintain the properties at least to the Lambeth Housing Standard. The effective collection of rents will determine the ability of the Council to service the loans that are needed to allow the investments to be made.

Our 30-year investment plan aims for our objectives to be achieved via three areas of activity:

1. Completion of Health & Safety requirements identified through: Fire Risk Assessments; HHSRS (Housing Health & Safety Rating System) surveys; and

on-going stock condition surveys including common areas. Wherever possible these requirements will be included as part of item 2 below – the exception will be where there is imminent and/or serious risk to residents, in which case these works will be undertaken as a discreet activity.

2. Delivery of the Lambeth Housing Standard by March 2017 (as set out in Appendix A) to stock managed by Lambeth Living and the seven TMOs where Lambeth Living has investment responsibility.

3. Maintenance of the stock and the estates to at least the same standard as achieved in 2 above for the remaining 25 years of the 30-year investment plan.


The basis of the investment plan is the information from historic stock condition surveys and substantial cloning of data to similar property types. Only as more detailed survey work is undertaken across a larger proportion of the stock will the actual expenditure requirements be confirmed. The Council has estimated the cost for delivering the Lambeth Housing Standard as currently proposed at £499m over five years. Approximately £450m of this will be delivered by Lambeth Living, the remainder by URH. Current capital resources expected to be available total £443m and are supported by additional borrowing capacity as a result of HRA refinancing. Based upon current estimates there is a funding shortfall of £56m. The table below sets out funding sources and profile: Funding Resources

12/13 13/14 14/15 15/16 16/17 5 yr Total

£m £m £m £m £m £m

Decent Homes Funding 11 30 52 0 0 93

Prudential Borrowing 5 24 22 84 13 148

Major Repairs Reserve 23 25 25 25 25 123

Direct Revenue Funding 1 1 1 1 2 6

Section 20 10 15 19 21 8 73

Total 50 95 119 131 48 443

Additional prudential borrowing, as set out in the table above, will be undertaken within the Council’s debt cap and profiled over 5 years. Interest is assumed at 5.57% and capital repayments have been modelled based upon 2% repayment per year. Expected revenue costs have been built into the HRA budget. There is risk around Decent Homes funding as it falls into a new CSR period. Current projections are based upon notification received from DCLG. Lambeth is required to deliver a number of properties to the Decent Homes Standard each year in order to receive the following year’s allocation. Current estimates indicate a funding shortfall of £56m. Action to close this gap must be progressed in respect of bringing cost down, re-profiling expenditure or identifying additional funding streams. Under capital governance arrangements, schemes cannot be committed to within the capital investment programme until resources are identified. Over the 5 year programme it is expected that the gap will be bridged and all schemes within the programme will be funded. Over recent years, Cabinet has given permission for the proceeds of void sales to be recycled into the housing capital programme. The HRE department will


seek further permission from Cabinet as part of the July Finance Review 2012 to extend this arrangement. It is anticipated that capital receipts will be used to close the funding gap in the first instance. The current investment programme is profiled over 5 years. Re-profiling the programme into future years would enable additional funding through the Major Repairs Reserve of £25m, Section 20 income, direct revenue funding and further borrowing in the region of £20m based upon current repayment profile. Estate regeneration is being considered where substantial investment is required and there are opportunities to make better use of design and layout. The remodelling of estates to make more efficient use of space could release additional resources through the release of land. However it should be noted that any estate regeneration programme is likely to extend beyond the five year Lambeth Housing Standard delivery period. The Council’s sheltered housing stock is being reviewed as part of the development of the Council’s Older Peoples’ Housing Strategy. Any decisions arising from consideration of the strategy that affect the investment requirements for sheltered housing will have an impact on the funding available to deliver the Lambeth Housing Standard, as current estimated costings include the Council’s entire stock. The resources identified in the strategy assume that costs chargeable to leaseholders under the terms of their leases will be fully recovered. There is a risk that this may not be possible. This risk should be managed as set out in the Risk Management Strategy. There will be delays between incurring costs and receiving leaseholder contributions, and the effect of these delays on cash-flow will need to be taken into account in planning expenditure on works. The funding profile assumes that all recharges to leaseholders in respect of capital works to achieve the Lambeth Housing Standard, and maintain the stock at that level, will be re-invested into the capital programme. Appendix D sets out the 30-Year Investment Plan; an estimated breakdown of investment on a monthly basis for 2012/13 to 2016/17; and a more detailed programme of works for 2012/13. The works programmes for 2013/14 to 2016/17 will be developed during 2012/13 and are expected to be published in autumn 2012.


Appendix A: Lambeth Housing Standard

TAKING PRIDE IN YOUR HOME

The Lambeth Housing Standard for Council Tenants and Leaseholders The Lambeth Housing Standard is the standard to which Lambeth Council aims to maintain all of its housing stock. The Standard incorporates the Government’s Decent Homes Standard and then also includes a number of elements over and above those which are required to meet the Decent Homes Standard. The Lambeth Housing Standard:

• is based on extensive coproduction with tenants and leaseholders

• will ensure that all our homes are warm, safe and dry and that we meet our obligations under the law

• will ensure that residents have homes in good repair and that they are well maintained

• will be delivered over a period of 5 years with the majority of works happening before 2017

• will bring our homes up to a standard that is more comprehensive than the basic decent homes standard.

The Lambeth Housing Standard applies to all tenanted properties. For leasehold properties, the Lambeth Standard only applies to those repairs due to be carried out under the terms of the lease. The elements included in the Lambeth Housing Standard are listed below and the Council aims to deliver the items included on the list over the next five years, with the exception of the final two items. Estate lighting, improved access and estate security will be brought up to standard from 2017 unless required for health and safety reasons or where it is financially more appropriate to do it sooner.


The Lambeth Housing Standard (note, this is not a priority order list) 1. Health and Safety. The Council will ensure that all properties are regularly inspected to ensure gas and water and heating appliances are safe and that communal areas and fire escapes comply with fire safety standards.

2. Water and sewerage. All homes will be provided with safe and clean water for drinking and washing, and drainage and sewerage systems will be well maintained and kept in good order.

3. Electrics. The Council will ensure all homes have an electricity supply and that landlord electricity supplies are safe and fit for purpose.

4. Aids and Adaptations. Where residents require aids and adaptations to help them live comfortable lives within their own homes these will be installed and maintained.

5. Heating. The Council will ensure all residents have appropriate and well maintained heating. This includes repairing or replacing individual heating systems as well as communal boilers where appropriate.

All plant and equipment necessary to supply the above amenities will be maintained in good order and replaced when it reaches the end of its useful life. 6. Roofs. All roofs to flatted blocks will be surveyed and where necessary repaired or replaced. In addition roof insulation will be fitted as standard where the design allows.

7. Door entry systems/CCTV. Where door entry systems and CCTV systems are in place they will be maintained and replaced as necessary.

8. Internal rewiring. All internal wiring to individual properties will be maintained and where necessary properties will be re-wired. All new rewires will be carried out using surface mounted trunking.

9. Lifts. All lifts will be maintained so that they are safe and reliable. Where lift cars and plant have reached the end of their useful life they will be replaced.

10. Windows. All windows that have reached the end of their useful life will be replaced. All windows will be regularly maintained throughout their useful life.

11. Planned maintenance. All properties will have regular planned maintenance where all gutters will be maintained or replaced as necessary, all previously painted exterior surfaces including communal areas and stairwells will be painted, and any necessary repairs to render or brickwork carried out.


12. Bathrooms. Flooring and tiling will be replaced as necessary in bathrooms that are in poor condition and new showers over baths will be installed where the existing design and water pressure permits. It is not the intention to undertake bathroom renewal/replacement as part of the Lambeth Housing Standard.

13. Kitchens. All kitchens that are in poor condition will have new flooring and tiling as well as replacement doors, worktops and units where required. All kitchens will be replaced after they reach 20 years old. Replacement kitchens will maximise counter space and allow for modern living standards to be achieved.

14. Exterior walls. Where exterior walls have a low level of insulation then new dry lining insulation will be installed where feasible and should further funding for additional insulation become available. The Council will actively seek to secure funding should it become available.

15. Secure doors. All doors will be assessed for security and where necessary new high security doors installed.

In addition to major building elements estate environmental improvements will also be carried out including; 16. Estate lighting will be renewed to new energy efficient standards

17. Estates will be surveyed for ease of access and security and any necessary improvements carried out.

It is recommended that all Lambeth owned homes would be brought up to this standard within the next five years and would be maintained at this level for the next 30 years, or until such a point where the investment standard was reviewed depending on available resources. However, as 46% of the stock is currently decent and not all homes require all elements, it is important to remind tenants and leaseholders that it may not be their home that benefits within the next five years as we will not be doing works to properties classed as decent or replacing elements where they are still fit for purpose.

While this new LHS excludes delivering new play areas and landscaping, which can contribute towards the ‘quality of place’, the Council is aware that ‘quality of place’ features highly to tenants. During the last tenant satisfaction survey, only 68% of tenants were satisfied with their neighbourhood as a place to live. This puts Lambeth below average in terms of satisfaction with neighbourhood amongst tenants in comparison to all other London Boroughs.

Where possible, the Council will endeavour to take on board local neighbourhood needs to support the improvement of the quality of our neighbourhoods. This will need to be funded over and above the Lambeth Housing Standard.


Appendix B: Operational Objectives

Objective B1: To consult and engage residents in the on-going

improvement and implementation of the Asset Management Strategy and in the key aspects of major works projects

Our strategy recognises the importance of communication and encouraging residents' participation throughout the planning and execution of our maintenance and improvement process. Coproduction of the Lambeth Housing Standard involved unprecedented resident participation and will help ensure that financial resources are focused on the needs identified by the end user, this will assist in maintaining confidence in our programmes and enhancing the sustainability of our housing stock.

While improvements and basic maintenance requirements for the homes we manage are largely objective there is scope for re-prioritisation. We recognise that the people who know most about the properties are our residents, and their views contribute to establishing accurate assessment and prioritisation.

The Tenant and Leaseholder Councils form part of the consultation process for the Asset Management Strategy, the development of the Lambeth Housing Standard, and the annual review and update of the indicative capital programme.

Lambeth Living’s newsletter for residents ensures all tenants and leaseholders are aware of the issues.

Residents have been involved in contractor selection, participating in the evaluation panels for partners for the Lambeth Property Contracts. At the request of Tenants Council a more direct representation has been introduced with residents now forming part of the Repairs Improvement Panel in addition to sitting on the Strategic Core Group.

Residents are consulted on the design and programme details of each major works project as soon as the design team is appointed. Residents' views are particularly important in environmental and security schemes where their knowledge and experience as the users of the buildings means they have a unique understanding of the potential effects of different design solutions. We aim to provide maximum choice wherever the content of a scheme allows it: for instance, tenants can choose colour combinations in exterior and interior decoration and in kitchen unit components, from as wide a range as practical. Local meetings are always held prior to commencement of works, discussing how the scheme will be carried out, and how complaints will be dealt with. There is a single person responsible for residents to contact, and residents are notified of this in writing.

Resident satisfaction with major works, both the process and the final product, are key performance indicators (KPIs) by which our contractor’s performance is judged. To ensure consistency, we directly survey residents’ satisfaction on responsive repairs, planned works and major projects. Any negativities arising


from the surveys are used to learn from and improve the experience of residents on future projects.

Lambeth has a very diverse community. This diversity and Lambeth Living’s approach to equal opportunities is reflected not only in service delivery, but also in resident participation. Lambeth Living promotes diversity in the consultation structures, both at area and borough level and in terms of local tenant and leaseholder associations. Scheme-level consultation is designed to take into account the special needs of disabled people and those for whom English is a second language, so that the possibilities for participation are maximised.

The Lambeth Property Contracts include opportunity for increased contractor involvement at: Area Forums; monthly contract meetings (where local areas choose this approach); project specific consultation/meetings; and TRAs.

We use estate inspections, which are attended by residents, staff, and Ward Members, to involve residents at a local level. The inspections encourage resident involvement in monitoring estate works, communal repairs and voids.

Objective B2: To ensure the asset management database is fit for purpose and holds sufficient, accurate and updated information

Managing the maintenance of, and investment in, the housing stock for which we are responsible within a value for money, targeted investment framework requires the use of specialist computer software.

We currently use an asset management database (software system) ‘LifeSpan’. This software stands alone from the SX3 Housing Management System. SX3 is provided by Northgate for managing tenant and leaseholder records, housing UPRNs (Unique Property Reference Numbers) and stock-type data. The Northgate system has a proven track record of managing housing data with a number of local authorities including other Arms Length Management Organisations.

The benefit of using an effective asset management database is that it allows us to store our stock condition data, calculate levels of decency (or the level of the Lambeth Housing Standard being achieved), project future costs and scenario plan. This means we can more accurately determine the investment needs in our homes and target our resources accordingly. The database is populated with information collected on a standardised stock condition survey form. It can provide cost reports at various levels including borough-wide, ward, housing area, estate, block, and individual property. This helps inform programming and stock investment decisions in line with our 30-year business planning process. There are a range of benefits that an effective asset management database can deliver:

• Access to records of historic works against a property and clear proposals for future work

• Generation of a programme of surveys and collation of the survey data

• Provision of a Housing Health & Safety rating for each property


• The potential for allowing Customer Services access to warranty, defects liability and asbestos information prior to booking repairs

• Development of an interface with the SX3 planned maintenance module

• Maintaining information on energy ratings and access to the formal Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs).

Lambeth Living and the Council are reviewing the long-term requirements of the asset management database. It is expected that the selected solution (an enhanced LifeSpan system or a replacement) will be implemented during 2012/13 and be fully functional for the start of 2013/14.

Objective B3: To determine future capital & revenue requirements

We have developed a 30-year business plan identifying the funding required to achieve the Lambeth Housing Standard across the stock managed by Lambeth Living and then maintaining at least that standard over the full 30-year investment period. The way we anticipate funding these requirements is set out in section 5. The fundamental approach to achieving an improved housing asset is to deliver the investment in three overlapping phases:

• Stabilise our assets – overcome the responsive repairs backlog, undertake health & safety priority works, maintain empty properties at less than 1% of the stock. All to be delivered through the Lambeth Property Contracts

• Bring assets up to the Lambeth Housing Standard – using the Lambeth Property Contracts for internal elements and undertaking an OJEU (Official Journal of the European Union) tender for external elements

• Long-term programme of planned maintenance alongside capital investment on major elements as identified by the on-going stock condition survey work and an effective responsive repairs service.

To achieve this overall outcome we need to consider the available funding and whether the proposed investment needs to be supplemented with for example regeneration, demolition, disposals, new build.

It is essential that our investment programmes deliver wider community outcomes than just physical improvements to the stock. Given the scale of funds involved, we can have a significant impact in helping to regenerate our neighbourhoods and create a safer, cleaner environment for our residents.

Many of Lambeth’s larger estates have already benefited, to varying degrees, from earlier regeneration funding programmes. Prior to the formation of the ALMO, the Council housing service was successful in delivering major schemes funded from Estate Action, Single Regeneration Budget, New Deal for Communities and the Council’s capital programme. These included Angell Town Estate, Stockwell Park Estate, Clapham Park Estate, Ethelred Estate and Ethelred Towers.

The new funding arrangements emanating from the HRA self-financing review will be a significant element of the funding for external and internal renewal works on our estates and to our street properties and blocks.


There may be additional energy efficiency grants through programmes such as SHESP and CESP (or their successors) and we are likely to need to look at wider funding models for potential estate regeneration and development opportunities.

Objective B4: To establish effective planned maintenance programmes

We aim to put in place a planned maintenance programme. The programme covers previously painted external surfaces and communal areas and a wide range of repairs to the external fabric of the buildings we manage. The programme is designed to maintain the Council’s housing stock and improve the living environment for residents.

The planned maintenance programme will be delivered in parallel with the Lambeth Housing Standard from 2012/13 and be delivered through the Lambeth Property Contracts. As with all our asset management works, residents will be closely involved in the consultation and specification process.

The programme will be established by identifying when each property was last decorated (or maintained as necessary) and placing them in a five-year cycle. Adjustments will then be made to reflect when properties are included in the Lambeth Housing Standard programme and to balance out the programme to cover approximately 20% of the stock in each year.

An increase in planned programmes should result in improved value for money by extending the life of building components and so avoiding premature capital investment. In addition there will be less disruption thereby improving resident satisfaction. Our aim is to:

• Develop a 5 year planned maintenance programme, which includes external repairs and decorations, and internal communal areas

• Review what responsive work is more effectively undertaken as part of a planned programme

• Do non-urgent low risk, higher cost repairs as grouped projects

• Maximise contact and exchange of information between responsive repairs staff, housing management staff, and capital works staff

• Use repairs data and in-house knowledge to identify repair trends/high unit costs

• Enable customer services to view planned programmes of work when responding to repair requests.

The development of our asset management software system and updated stock condition surveys will enable us to make more efficient use of capital and revenue resources by effective identification of properties to include in the planned maintenance programme including targeting addresses not included in the Lambeth Housing Standard programme. This also helps to reduce the level of capital repairs included in the capital programme.


Objective B5: To optimise capital and planned maintenance expenditure and so minimise revenue funded repairs

We aim to work with our contractors delivering the Lambeth Property Contracts to use the partnering process across both capital and revenue works to maximise planned work and reduce responsive repairs. Getting the right balance between responsive, planned maintenance and capital maintenance investment is critical. In general terms our aim is to maximise expenditure on planned repairs and minimise expenditure on responsive repairs. To achieve this we distribute the available budget on the following basis:

• High priority, safety or operationally critical works – This element of the programme comprises safety related works which if deferred would represent a significant risk to residents, the Council or other stakeholders. Typically this includes projects such as fire safety up-grading, fixed electrical testing and resultant rewiring work, legionella control and lift upgrades

• Responsive maintenance – While we have a responsibility to protect the Council’s housing asset by undertaking day-to-day repairs, we also need to comply with the terms of the various stakeholder provisions as detailed in the Landlord Tenant Act 1985. Our aim however is to minimise expenditure on responsive maintenance by developing robust planned and long-term maintenance programmes

• Planned maintenance – The programme covers previously painted external surfaces and communal areas and a wide range of repairs to the external fabric of the buildings we manage. The programme is designed to delay the deterioration of building elements and avoid the need for premature capital expenditure on major works. A proportion of this budget is set aside for statutory inspections and certification

• Capital investment – The previous countrywide lack of funding for Council housing major works has resulted in a backlog of a wide range of replacement or renewal works such as:

External – roofs, windows, block entrance doors, individual property doors Internal – kitchens, bathrooms, heating, electrical

• Disrepair – In the past few years Lambeth has been overwhelmed with disrepair (litigation) cases and the legal cost of resolving them has escalated to more than £1m per year. A change in approach means placing surveyors and customer services staff at the frontline where they can identify potential cases before they escalate and take steps to resolve them before lawyers are engaged. Speed of resolution has become a strategic priority, the contractors for the Lambeth Property Contracts are incentivised to resource and prioritise disrepair work, staff have specific targets and are encouraged to find solutions themselves rather than relying on consultants.

Our proposals for the delivery of the Lambeth Housing Standard from 2012/13 onwards aim to address the former under-resourcing. By replacing or upgrading the elements of a home that have been identified as approaching or having reached the end of their useful life responsive repairs will be reduced in many circumstances. By using more resilient materials (such as PVCu windows and high specification coatings) there are also opportunities to elongate the cycle of planned maintenance.


Objective B6: To adopt effective and efficient partnering and supply chain management methodologies

The Lambeth Property Contracts are structured around a collaborative approach to delivering a range of property related services. They are based on the New Engineering Contract (NEC) and were won at competitive levels of cost with incentives for further cost reductions. They use open book accounting with cash benefits to the contractors if they can deliver costs below the target (tendered) rates.

Cost efficiencies and Value for Money are expected to be further enhanced through the Supply Chain Management Group (SCMG) which has agreed Basket Rates and Schedule of Rates for the major replacement elements. This provides cost savings and added value, including extended warranties and aftercare services to both service users and other stakeholders.

One of our key aims is to ensure that our investment programmes deliver wider social and economic benefits to our residents beyond the physical improvement of their homes. Our contractor partners in the Lambeth Property Contracts are therefore actively involved in supporting employment and training opportunities, including apprenticeships; targeting agreed levels of local labour; and delivering on a range of green agenda issues.


Appendix C: Risk Management

Risk Mitigation

1 Inadequate funding Reduction in investment programme, increasing rents, disposal of worst performing stock

2 Poor communications Established communications protocol at all levels – strategic, operational and local

1 Failure to maintain standards due to under-performing contracts/contractors

Resourcing with professional support. Effective management of contracts

2 Lack of timely management information due to weakness of systems and/or system integration

Manage links between asset management database, SX3 (housing management) and financial systems

3 Unable to invest optimally because of lack of information on long-term viability of stock

Identification of performance of different groups of properties

4 Lack of validated information about stock

Stock condition survey. Improved communication of outputs

5 Failure to develop an effective collaborative relationship with contractors

Nature of NEC3 Option C contracts. Partnering advisor

6 Weakening demand for sheltered housing

Develop strategy for repositioning sheltered housing

7 Inability to recruit, retain and develop key professional staff

Retention strategy combined with training and support to ‘grow our own’

8 Inflation in stock investment costs exceeds 0.5%

Improve procurement

9 Inability to collect S20 leaseholder recharges

Collection in line with leases. Effective procurement and S20 process

10 Uncertainty over stock investment costs Benchmarking and procurement advice; feedback of information from results of tenders

11 Poor value for money from procurement Procurement review. Benchmarking. Accessing appropriate skills

12 Complications of delivering regeneration alongside major refurbishment

Effective resident communications. Well informed localised proposals

13 Legislative / regulatory change (e.g. Building Regulations, Carbon emmissions)

Monitor changes and respond as necessary

14 Reducing tenant involvement in asset management

Continue to support tenant involvement

15 Uncontrolled expenditure on day-to-day repairs

Maintain controls

16 Failure to achieve carbon reduction targets

Carbon reduction strategy plan

17 Health and safety failures Sound policies and priorities for investment in asbestos removal and fire prevention

18 Fraudulent activity Maintain controls, internal audit


Capital Programme

Work Stream

Years 1-5

Years 6-

10

Years 11-

15

Years 16-

20

Years 21-

25

Years 26-

30

Total

Mechanical & Electrical

Fire / Safety

£13

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£13


Water Tanks & Boosters

£10

£10

£5

£5

£10

£5

£45


Communal Electrics

£11

£5

£2

£2

£5

£2

£27


Communal Boilers

£7

£5

£2

£2

£5

£2

£23


CCTV / Door Entry Systems

£17

£13

£7

£7

£13

£7

£64


Boiler Replacement

£2

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£2


Lifts

£14

£11

£5

£5

£11

£7

£53

Lambeth Housing Standard

Internal Rewiring

£41

£6

£34

£8

£7

£17

£113


Individual Heating

£58

£40

£50

£18

£21

£9

£196


Roof

£16

£10

£13

£9

£7

£8

£63


Windows

£61

£14

£25

£11

£7

£12

£130


Doors

£21

£3

£2

£2

£0

£0

£28


Kitchens

£70

£15

£28

£12

£78

£30

£233


Bathrooms Upgrades

£6

£11

£2

£4

£2

£16

£41


Insulation

£1

£1

£0

£0

£0

£0

£2

Sewage & Drainage works

Sewage & Drainage works

£7

£2

£1

£1

£4

£1

£16

Capitalised Repairs

Capitalised Repairs

£33

£5

£5

£5

£5

£5

£58

Major Voids Work (LCVs)

Major Voids Work (LCVs)

£17

£6

£6

£6

£6

£6

£47

Surveys (inc.asbestos)

Surveys (inc. asbestos)

£4

£2

£2

£2

£2

£2

£14

Aids & Adaptations

Aids & Adaptations

£5

£1

£1

£1

£1

£1

£10

Planned Maintenance

Planned Maintenance

£26

£26

£26

£26

£26

£26

£156

Environmental / Estate Improvements

Environmental / Estate Improvements

£10

£1

£2

£1

£1

£1

£16

£450

£187

£218

£127

£211

£157

£1,350

LAMBETH HOUSING STANDARD - DESCRIPTION OF W

ORKS

30-YEAR LAMBETH HOUSING STANDARD COSTS (£ m

illions)

30-Year Investm

ent Plan

Appendix D: Financial Information


11

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Ye

ar

An

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(in

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7m

c/f

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20

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20

13

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20

14

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20

15

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20

16

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m

£5

36

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20

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00

Monthly Expenditure £m

Av

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r w

ork

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da

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Lambeth Living Monthly Expenditure Profile for Lambeth Housing Standard 2012/13 to 2016/17

£2

08

,00

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39

2,0

00

£4

88

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0


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