Repairs culture, accountability and participation: New sector insight project

The Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) has launched a new UK project to maximise resident insight and engagement in how repairs and maintenance services are delivered and to support landlords and contractors in building a genuine culture of accountability.

RECAP (Repairs Culture, Accountability and Participation) builds on the Rethinking Repairs and Maintenance (RERAM) project, which developed 12 guiding principles for improving repairs services across social housing. The Better Social Housing Review called on landlords to partner with residents, contractors and front-facing staff to define what excellent repairs look like - and RERAM's Principle 12 put resident scrutiny and challenge at the heart of that ambition. RECAP is designed to turn that principle into a practical reality, giving residents, landlords and contractors the tools they need to make it work.

The project is being delivered in collaboration with the National Housing Maintenance Forum (NHMF) and runs through to Summer 2027. An advisory panel chaired by Dr Eve Blezard, policy lead at CIH, with Mike, Executive Director of Cardo Group and Board Member of NHMF, as vice chair" as vice chair, will bring together sector expertise from across landlords, contractors and resident groups and inform the project throughout. RECAP will also actively engage with housing providers, residents and scrutiny panels to develop the toolkit and ensure its outputs are grounded in real experience.

RECAP follows a period of significant focus on repair culture in the sector, and the project will develop a free Resident Scrutiny Toolkit, co-designed with residents, alongside a Culture and Accountability Framework for landlords and contractors. These will be supported by board-level briefing materials and a sector learning report, all drawing on direct engagement with landlords, residents and scrutiny panels.

Commenting on the project launch, Eve Blezard, CIH's policy and practice lead on asset management, said: "Repairs and maintenance is one of the most visible and important services a landlord provides - and when it goes wrong, residents feel it most. RECAP starts from the premise that residents are not just the recipients of a repair service, they are the people best placed to scrutinise it. Our job is to make sure they have the tools, confidence and frameworks to do that effectively - and that landlords and contractors genuinely want them to."

Rachael Williamson, director of policy, communications and external affairs at CIH, added: "Getting repairs right is fundamental to the relationship between a landlord and their residents - and that relationship depends on trust. RECAP will give residents the tools to hold their landlord to account and give landlords the frameworks to welcome the scrutiny. That shift in culture is what the sector needs, and we are delighted to be leading this work."

Mike Turner, executive director of Cardo and board member of NHMF, who will serve as vice chair of the advisory panel, added: “The Better Social Housing Review shone a light on the quality of repairs and maintenance services and what residents experience. RECAP builds directly on the RERAM principles to turn that ambition into a practical reality - and it matters that the people delivering those services are central to finding the solutions. At NHMF, we are passionate about driving up standards for all residents, and we are delighted to be part of a project that is committed to fair and equitable services regardless of who you are or where you live”.

The advisory panel will include representatives from TPAS, the NHMF and sector bodies and will be announced shortly. Commenting on TPAS's involvement, Jenny Osbourne, chief executive of TPAS, said: "Tpas are delighted to be working on this project because we know how important a great repairs service is to tenants. RECAP has the potential to deliver practical, tangible change that the sector will surely want to embrace."

Work is being planned with residents and landlords over the rest of the year to co-design the toolkit and we plan to pilot it with landlords early in 2027 before publishing and promoting the final materials.  

If you'd like to be involved or kept up to date, email: policy@cih.org