The majority of Reading Council tenants in North Whitley are happy with the service they receive from the organisation tasked with maintaining and repairing their homes.
More than 80% of tenants stated in a survey by Affinity (Reading) Limited that they are satisfied or very satisfied with the service they’ve received.
Results of the latest Reading tenant survey also show that 75% of respondents were either satisfied or very satisfied with the repairs and maintenance service.
80% were happy with their homes in general, feeling refurbishment work has improved the quality of their home, with 74% pleased with the speed of repairs needed to be done.
And for tenants who called Affinity’s out of hours service, 83% were happy their calls were handled quickly and efficiently.
Deborah Edwards, Lead Councillor for Housing, said: "Reading Borough Council, Affinity and Wates have a lot to celebrate with the excellent survey results and the feedback from our tenants who are getting a quality service. This, and the new logo on the vans, is definitely a symbol of how our good partnership is working for our tenants."
Paul Yates on behalf of Affinity (Reading) Limited, said: "The partnership between Affinity and Reading Council is already the envy of many others. Today represents another symbolic gesture in our drive to bond and cement this relationship even closer. This latest initiative will help us to build on our already excellent customer service provision, with over 81% satisfaction rating given by residents in a survey carried out in October, as we aspire for continuous improvements."
Simon Underwood, Business Unit Director, Wates Living Space said: "We have been working in Reading for five years now repairing homes and investing in the local community, we are delighted to be moving forwards with Reading Borough Council to provide a scheduled maintenance programme."
Maggie Barnes, Chairman of North Whitley Tenants’ Association, said: "The survey shows that Affinity/Wates are really beginning to listen to their tenants and we as a group are very pleased that these new vans bear the logos of the partnership. Nothing is perfect but well done to Affinity/Wates for achieving a higher standard this time around."
Affinity Reading Limited is a consortium of Wates Living Space, Windsor Housing, Southern Housing Group and Nationwide Building Society.
Affinity were awarded the contract by Reading Borough Council to refurbish and maintain more than 1,300 homes in the north Whitley area, tasked with making sure they meet the Government’s Decent Homes Standard by 2010.
After working in the north Whitley area for five years repairing hundreds of homes, Wates are now moving towards a scheduled maintenance programme.
Wates vans that are driven by the team of contractors around the area, now have both the Wates and Reading Borough Council logo.
Councillor Edwards went to see the new vans upon a recent visit to Affinity’s onsite office in Woodside Business Park.
Reading Borough Council
