On this page you can find out what improvements we've made as a result of feedback from our residents.
To those residents who have taken the time to tell us how we can do better, we want to say thank you. Your views, experiences and feedback are extremely important to us.
Give us your feedback /get involved
Service updates and improvements
October 2024
At a meeting to discuss Hastoe's Business Strategy, residents asked us to publish a clear explanation to be provided on a number of matters:
- Planned home improvements: Residents asked how we decide when to renew kitchens, bathrooms, windows, heating systems and external decorations. We published details on the Hastoe website in December 2024.
- Appointment and monitoring of contractor performance: Residents asked for details about how contractors' performance is monitored and the process for procuring repairs contractors so they could be reassured the choice was not based just on price but also on skills. We published details on the Hastoe website in December 2024. Residents are now being invited to participate in the procurement process.
- Grounds maintenance work and schedules: Residents asked for details of when contractors are due to visit their estate, and what work they are scheduled to complete, so they can help with monitoring performance. We are currently investigating the best way to share this information so it’s easily accessible for all residents.
August 2024
- Improvements to Direct Debit service: From 15 August, residents paying by Direct Debit will receive advance notice by email or text before a payment is made from their account. Residents can now receive notification of changes/amendments to their Direct Debits by email rather than by post, and the notice period for changes has been reduced from 7 working days to 5 working days.
July 2024
- Improvements in providing support for residents reporting anti-social behaviour (ASB): Our Customer Services Team took on the role of assessing the level of urgency and severity of ASB reports. They will be able to provide immediate advice on the best course of action and whether third parties may be able to provide additional support.
June 2024
- Improved management of Property Services: We appointed a Property Services Administration Manager to manage the team of Property Services Administrators, responding directly to enquiries from Hastoe residents and stakeholders.
May 2024
- Policies on MyHastoe: One of our Resident Champions suggested that, in addition to having policies on our website, we link to them from MyHastoe. We have now done this.
- Improved management of our estate and caretaking services: We recruited an Estate Services Manager to improve our estate and caretaking services. We have plans to expand our estate services team and our focus will be on quality, value for money, health & safety and resident satisfaction.
April 2024
- Consultation on our Business Strategy: Residents who joined us online in November, joined us again to hear how we had incorporated their priorities for the year ahead. We published our Business Strategy in May 2024.
- Consultation on our Complaints Policy & Process: Residents also provided feedback on updates we were planning to make. We published updates to our Complaints Policy and Procedures in May 2024.
March 2024
- Community support: We ran a webinar for residents who were interested in becoming Resident Champions and supporting Hastoe to make improvements in their neighbourhoods. They were able to hear the experiences of current Resident Champions and have their questions answered by members of Hastoe's housing team.
- Record keeping: To improve accuracy of record keeping, we implemented a new system whereby all electronic correspondence between Hastoe and our customers is recorded automatically on our systems.
- Planned works consultation: We invited residents to tell us about their experience of planned improvement works. Hastoe recognises there is a backlog of work and we have commissioned Rand Associates to complete a condition survey of Hastoe's homes to identify and prioritise what works need to be done. Residents noted Hastoe's commitment to carbon reduction but said health and safety needed to be given priority. We were asked if we would incorporate electric vehicle charging points into the works but there are no plans to do this at the moment, except in the case of new housing, as it would involve significant costs and changes to infrastructure.
February 2024
- Improvement to MyHastoe: We redesigned the home page of the online service portal, MyHastoe, to make it more customer friendly.
- Damp and mould consultation: Following the previous consultation in June 2023, we invited more tenants with mould issues to report on their experience of how this was being managed. We were pleased to hear that investigations and work was being done quickly now that Wardox has been contracted. With input from residents, we produced a full-colour information leaflet and this was published in June 2024.
January 2024
- Consultation on Service Standards: In January we consulted residents about how long they thought it should take to deliver some of our services. We sent out over 5,000 emails and received almost 400 responses. We published the findings of the consultation, and the changes we have made as a result, in March 2024.
- Improvement to customer consultation: We introduced an annual programme of Drop-In Days and Home Visits to provide further opportunities for residents to provide feedback. These enable residents to meet face-to-face with Hastoe staff from different departments to discuss issues, concerns and suggestions. Repairs contractors also attend to complete easy-to-fix repairs.
December 2023
- Improvement to repairs service: Given continued reports from tenants that some repairs were not being completed on time we introduced a more proactive follow-up system. Near the completion date we now send another text to customers to check if the repair has been done and if it's been done satisfactorily. If it hasn't, we chase the contractor so tenants don't have to.
November 2023
- Consultation on Business Strategy: In preparation for the Board's discussions on Hastoe's Business Strategy for 2024-27, some of Hastoe's Board Members and Executive Team met with residents online to hear their views on what our priorities should be and so we could be sure to incorporate them.
September 2023
- Resident/Board meeting in Saffron Walden, Essex: Residents were invited to meet Board and Executive Team members in person to help shape and improve the services we provide as well as raise any concerns about their home. Residents raised issues about repairs, grounds maintenance and service charges.
- Improvement in complaints handling: We appointed a dedicated complaints officer to manage complaints received about repairs by our Property team.
August 2023
- Improvement to repairs service: We appointed an independent Contract Administrator to improve response times from contractors and to address performance issues more quickly.
- Change of repairs contractor: Tenants told us they were not receiving a good repairs service in the Suffolk and Norwich areas so we procured the services of TM Browne.
July 2023
- Resident/Board meeting in Bridport, Dorset: Residents were invited to meet Board and Executive Team members in person to help shape and improve the services we provide as well as raise any concerns about their home. In addition to matters raised individually, we heard residents want us to provide more regular updates especially in relation to progress on repairs.
- Improvement to repairs service: We recruited 3 Repairs Officers to ensure repairs are inspected and done satisfactorily.
June 2023
- Consultation on damp and mould: We invited tenants with mould issue to complete a survey and talk to us about whether we could make improvements in this area. As a result of the consultation we reminded managers of the importance of these cases, and their need for close management and resolution. We revised our factsheet for residents in September 2023 and we published our revised damp and mould policy and procedure in January 2024.
May 2023
- Change of repairs contractor: Tenants told us they were not receiving a good repairs service so we procured the services of Prestige in Essex and Wardox in West Sussex and the Bognor region.
April 2023
- Change of repairs contractor: Tenants told us they were not receiving a good repairs service so we procured the services of AW Construction in East Sussex and Kent, and Close Brothers in the London area and below the M25.
February 2023
- Improved rent and service charge communication: Following feedback from residents we introduced a personalised, easy-to-understand booklet that itemises and explains rent and service charges.
January 2023
- Improvements to repairs service: We established a dedicated team of Customer Repairs Advisors to help resolve repairs. We also implemented a system so that when a customer reports a repair, they receive the name and phone number of the contractor so they can contact them directly to make an appointment. The information and date is recorded on MyHastoe together with the date the repair is expected to be completed. Near the completion date, we then send a text to ask whether the repair has been done, and done satisfactorily. If it hasn’t, the repairs team chase the contractor so customers don’t have to.
- Improvement to phone service: To further reduce call waiting times, we introduced a new phone system that tells a caller where they are in the queue and which gives them the option to hold the line or use our call-back service.
- Improved service to home owners: We recruited a Home Ownership Assistant to support the Home Ownership Manager and the service provided to leaseholders and shared owners.
December 2022
- Improvement to Estate management: We recruited an Estate Services Administrator to improve the management of grounds maintenance.
November 2022
- Improvement to our Housing service: We recruited a Housing Assistant to support Housing Officers with essential administrative duties and site inspections.
- Improvements in our repairs service: We established a dedicated team of Property Services Administrators to follow up customer repairs that were overdue.
July 2022
- Additional resource to provide financial advice to residents: We recruited an additional Benefits and Welfare Advisor to provide advice and support for tenants experiencing financial difficulties. The team grew from 2 to 3 members of staff.
Spring 2022
- Improvements to our call centre: In response to dissatisfaction with the time it was taking for phone calls to be answered, we relocated our call centre from London to Dorchester and recruited and retrained more Customer Service Advisors.
- Improvements in our repairs service: We created a dedicated Property Directorate to ensure that changes needed to improve our repairs service could be identified and implemented.
