Foreword

Cllr Barbara Denning

This year has been difficult for many of our tenants. The rising cost of living has made life more difficult for everyone, particularly for those who are vulnerable. The challenges of the last few years highlight how important it is that we continue to provide the best housing service that we can, by listening to our tenants and by providing safe and well-maintained homes.

The Tenants’ Voice group have met six times this year; they have reviewed many of our policies and procedures, suggested ways for us to develop our services in positive ways,

and helped us launch a new Tenant Portal that will improve your experience with us and allow you to access our service 24 hours a day. I would like to say a huge thank you to the residents that have volunteered their time over the past year.

We have also launched a series of housing surgeries that bring the housing service directly into the community to meet face-to-face with tenants, providing in-person advice and information. The team also provide information about where tenants can go for help with cost of living and energy saving advice, as well as skills and personal development opportunities. We hope that this is a helpful new measure for our residents.

Last year we continued to make fantastic progress with our housing retrofit project. We have retrofitted 700 properties so far, which involved installing solar PV panels, new windows and doors, and improving insulation to ensure that your homes are fit for the future.

I am pleased to share that the project has been recognised with several awards, including South West Energy Awards for ‘Regional Landlord of the Year’ and ‘Regional Large Scale Project of the Year’, and the National Unlock Net Zero Award for the ‘Green Homes Upgrade of the Year’.

We’ve also started construction on two new exciting developments at Hamlin Gardens and Vaughan Road. You can read about these projects in this report.

I am very proud of the achievements of the housing service this year, and I hope you enjoy reading the report.

 

Welcome

Ian Collinson, Director City Development and Housing

I am really pleased to welcome you to this year’s tenant annual report, and to introduce myself as the new Director of City Development and Housing.

I joined Exeter City Council as a Director in April 2022, and have recently expanded my remit to include the Housing Service. Looking after our tenants and their homes is a priority for me, as is ensuring that good quality homes are delivered in the right places.

Over the next year I look forward to meeting many of our tenants and leaseholders, and visiting the vibrant communities that make up the city of Exeter.

This report is an opportunity for us to report back to you about how we performed last year, and it includes both the achievements and the challenges we faced. It is important that our service seeks to improve every year, so if you have any ideas or suggestions on how we can do better, please let us know by using the contact information on the back of this report.