The Leaseholders Forum noted the poor results of a recent satisfaction survey and the draft Action Plan drawn up in response to the recommendations of the Cabinet Adviser for Improving Services to Leaseholders, Councillor James Slater. The meeting also received reports from its Repairs and Major Works Working Groups.

Leaseholder Satisfaction Survey

The meeting received a report on the results of a recent survey of Leaseholders carried out by Housemark.

The key finding from the survey was that there are high levels of dissatisfaction amongst Camden Leaseholders with many of the Council's services. In particular, the survey highlighted significant dissatisfaction with the value for money of major works. This question received a satisfaction score of just 10.2%, with 69.4% of leaseholders reporting that they were dissatisfied.

More generally, the survey found that 70% of leaseholders were dissatisfied with the service they received from Camden, with similar levels of dissatisfaction reported in relation to repairs.

Councillor Steve Adams, a longstanding critic of the borough's record on housing, praised the work of the Leaseholders Forum, saying:

a debt of gratitude was owed to the Leaseholders Forum for highlighting the problems with Camden Housing in general.

Councillor Slater acknowledged that the results were poor, commenting that this was why there was now such a focus on improving them.

Draft Action Plan

The meeting also discussed the Action Plan that had been drawn up in response to Councillor Slater's report on how to improve services for leaseholders.

The plan proposes a number of changes, including:

• A restructure of the Leaseholder Services team, with a new structure due to be in place by December 2024
• Improved information sharing between the repairs, capital works and leaseholder services teams
• The introduction of a new IT system to improve case management
• An upgrade to the Camden Account to make it easier for leaseholders to self-serve
• An annual audit of best practice from other London boroughs.

The Chair, Carolyn Morgan, expressed her frustration that, two years on, Camden still lacked a fit-for-purpose case management system. This, she said, was fundamental to improving many of the issues identified in the satisfaction survey. Councillor Slater said that the new system was one of the Council's eight priorities going forward.

Councillor Slater also said that he would be meeting with his counterparts in other London Boroughs to learn from their experiences.

Repairs

The meeting received a report from its Repairs Working Group.

The Group reported that it was:

• Still awaiting an update on the lessons learned from a report it had submitted on serious failings in the process for managing heating and plumbing repairs at the Alexandra and Ainsworth Estate
• Seeking an opportunity to help test the new repairs reporting system being developed by Madetech
• Awaiting a response to its concerns about the process for reporting repairs where a void property is involved
• Seeking further details about repairs complaints, in particular the number of cases where the resolution period was longer than 10 days
• Awaiting an update on when the new ROC repairs interface system would go live.

The Head of Repairs, Tony Castle, told the meeting that:

• The Council was looking to take on five new contractors for mechanical and electrical work and, as part of the tendering process, these contractors were being required to agree to have one of their officers work alongside Council officers for a couple of days a week.
• He would be writing to the Forum to request feedback on how to improve the repairs service.

Major Works

The meeting received a report from its Major Works Working Group.

The Group reported that it was:

• Seeking feedback from Leaseholders about what information they wanted to receive on Major Works bills
• Planning to meet with Sinéad Burke, the Head of Property Asset Management, to discuss the Housing Revenue Account and the pressures on the Capital Works Budget.

Other Business

Councillor Adams raised the issue of Leaseholders on the Euston Estate who were unhappy with the way their properties had been valued ahead of the estate's proposed demolition and rebuilding.

A member of the Forum suggested that Leaseholders should be encouraged to update their contact details on the Camden Account. David Hart, the Chair of the Repairs Working Group, agreed to include this information in the Forum's newsletter.

The Communications Member reminded the meeting that the Council was running a Housing Action Day on 28 September at the Crowndale Centre. Leaseholders Forum would have a stall there and she appealed for volunteers to help to staff it.