Repairs: CIH charter for housing

Introduction

For so long the ‘Cinderella’ service, repairs and maintenance is experiencing a new dawn. CIH has been helping to drive this new emphasis on the service, which is consistently rated by tenants as the most important landlord service they receive, through the development of our new Repairs Charter, launched at our Annual Conference and Exhibition in Manchester in June 2012.

Developed in partnership with Mears Group, the charter will help you to ensure that the right strategies, tools and practical approaches are in place to maximise your ability to provide an efficient and effective repairs service. In this way, your tenants and customers can benefit from homes, estates and neighbourhoods that are well maintained and which benefit from services that are high quality yet cost effective.

Why do we need a repairs charter?

• What tenants want: a good repairs service is one of the most important services provided by a landlord. Not only is it the service that affects the greatest proportion of a landlords' tenants, it is also the service that is most highly valued and relied on by tenants

• Value for money services: repairs is the biggest area of spend for any landlord; this challenges landlords to drive value for money through both the procurement and delivery of repairs services and to maximise opportunities to enhance local sustainability

• Maintaining assets: maintaining existing housing stock in a good condition is critical to maintaining long term asset value and viability and to improving environmental sustainability

• Light touch regulation: lighter touch on regulation, and an end to inspection brings greater responsibility on the sector to drive our own improvement

• Localism and scrutiny: providing a repairs services that responds to local priorities and is accountable and scrutinised by tenants has never been more important

The charter

• Download the charter

• Sign up to the charter
• List of current signatories to the charter
  
• Frequently asked questions
  

• Repairs charter groups
• Repairs and maintenance charter network
• Repairs and maintenance charter network, follow this link if you are already signed up to the network
  

Supporting you to deliver the charter

CIH provides a range of services which can help you to deliver against the charter. For more information please click below:

• How to... use technology to improve responsive repairs

• How to... carry out repairs on time, first time
• How to... build skills and capacity in repairs services

• How to... deliver value for money repairs services

• Repairs consultancy services

• CIH repairs resources