Housing Futures

The decision followed a consultation of tenants and leaseholders over the summer, in which 71% of respondents said they support the proposal, 6% disagreed and 23% said they ‘don’t know’.

Background

Lewisham Homes

Lewisham Homes currently provide housing management services for about 20,000 properties. This includes things like repairs, maintenance, improvements and rent and service charge collections. Lewisham Homes is a separate company to Lewisham Council and has a contract to supply these services on behalf of the council.

Lewisham Council

The Council owns the properties and is the landlord, but does not currently manage any homes. The Council used to directly manage these homes before Lewisham Homes was set up in 2007.

Why did we consult?

Feedback from tenants and leaseholders helped us make a decision about whether to bring housing management services under direct control of the Council.

Bringing management service in-house is something Lewisham, like councils across the country, considered for a number of reasons: 

• Following the Grenfell fire tragedy, new regulations will come into force later this year, which will give landlords extra responsibilities which must be carried out by the Council.  
  When Lewisham Homes was set up housing companies– or ALMOs - were able to claim extra grants that councils could not, but this funding is no longer available.
• There is a break clause in the contract with Lewisham Homes coming up, so this is a good time to consider the future of housing management services and how we can improve services for tenants and leaseholders.
• Lewisham Council is not alone is considering this change. Across the country there were 75 ALMOs. Now there are just 23, and in London there are just four, including Lewisham Homes.

Why change?

The Council thinks bringing housing management under its direct control is the best option because:

• We think this will allow us to improve services for residents, provide a more joined up service (linking housing and other Council services that residents rely on) and strengthen resident voices. 
• Bringing services back to the Council would give us direct control over their delivery and provide residents with increased democratic oversight.
• We also think that bringing services back under direct control can provide better value for money, for example, by avoiding duplicating services that both the Council and Lewisham Homes provide and making it easier to access support from other Council services.  

Tenants and leaseholders’ rights would not change and rent levels and service charge will continue to be reviewed annually.

What would change?

Lewisham Council wants to be a good landlord, and to set an example for landlords of social housing in the borough. 

We will keep properties in good repair, maintain the safety of buildings, handle tenants’ complaints effectively, engage with tenants helpfully and with respect, and take a responsible role in managing your neighbourhood.  

We will publish a Lewisham Repairs Charter for all housing providers in Lewisham which will set out our commitments to improve standards, respond quickly to issues raised by residents and ensure that repairs are timely and effective. 

Specifically, we make the following commitments to tenants and leaseholders currently managed by Lewisham Homes: 

• We will establish a Residents’ Board and a new Tenant and Residents Association Forum to represent tenants and leaseholders and work directly with the Council as it develops the housing management service, ensuring residents are involved in all key decisions relating to how their homes are managed.
• We will invest the savings we make as a result of bringing housing management back in house to improve the service you receive.
• We will ensure that all residents continue to have a named contact who knows their area. Residents of housing blocks will also have a nominated person to deal with all safety concerns and ensure residents feel safe in their home. 
• We will publish a four year investment programme of planned works to improve homes including external redecoration and planned maintenance. 
• We will improve tenants’ overall satisfaction with their housing management service by making it easier for you to communicate with us, completing repairs more quickly and making staff more visible on your estate over the next four years.
• We will respond to 98% of all complaints within 10 days. Where the complaint needs further investigation and a full response within 10 days is not possible, we will let you know within five days. 

The process to date 

We have considered various options, which were explained in a report that was discussed by Mayor and Cabinet in July. At that meeting, it was agreed that the preferred option was to consult residents on the option to bring housing management services under direct control of the Council. At Mayor and Cabinet in December proposals were agreed to bring the housing management services currently provided by Lewisham Homes under the direct control of Lewisham Council by the end of 2023.

Frequently Asked Questions