MSV Annual report 2023 / 2024

Residents at Carr Brook in Stalybridge took part in a national campaign to hear their voices about what is needed to guarantee the essentials in life

By Ibby Ismail, Customer and Board Member

Welcome to MSV’s Customer Annual Report for 2023-24 which sets out our performance and achievements over the past year, framed around the Government’s new Consumer Standards. For those customers that don’t know me, I am Ibby Ismail, and I am an MSV customer living in Bolton with my family. I am also a Senior Independent Director of MSV, which means I am a Board Member and help make decisions which affect our customers and MSV and a member of the Customer & Communities Committee, along with 4 other customers (below).

I wanted to talk today about the work that teams right across MSV have been doing to not only fulfil our obligations to customers and meet the consumer standards, but to make sure we are listening to customers, keeping them safe and investing in homes.

We’ve done so much to truly engage with customers and listen and act on their feedback. We have an established Scrutiny Panel, who lead on root and branch reviews of services, for example the repairs service and complaints, and have many more customers, in fact over 400, who are involved in MSV in some way.

We also have the new Customer & Communities Committee. You can find out more about the customers involved in this committee below.

I am very pleased to see huge improvements and a good deal of investment in two key services this year; the repairs service and the service centre. At March 2024 the overall satisfaction with repairs was 70.4% and our call response times at under 2 minutes. Overall repairs satisfaction is now 72% for the first 6 months (April to September 2024). This is still below where we would like to be, but a big improvement and going in the right direction. Customers have also been heavily involved in fully reviewing our complaints policy.

Of course, there is more for us to do, and we will continue to listen and learn from customers, but I hope you enjoy reading the report, and that it gives you some insight into how MSV is meeting, and in many cases exceeding, the consumer standards.

Watch Ibby's video below...

MSV’s Customer & Communities Committee Members

Find out more

Alexandra Fraser

Timperley customer

Andrea Wellock

Clitheroe Customer

Karen Faye

Bolton Customer

Susan Taylor

Manchester Customer

Thank you

By Charlie Norman, Chief Executive

Hi everyone, and welcome to this year’s Customer Annual Report.

I wanted to take a few moments to thank all of our customers for their input into MSV’s activities over the last 12 months, it’s been truly humbling to see so many people give up their time and lend their expertise and voice to helping improve services and shape our future. Many more customers than ever before have, in one way or another, been involved in MSV, and your input is absolutely essential if we are to serve our customers and deliver our promise of Healthy Homes and Fair and Friendly Services.

You may know that MSV is inspected by a government body called the Regulator of Social Landlords, which looks at how well MSV is performing, how we engage with customers and involve them, and they look at key services such as repairs. All of this is measured against the Government’s Consumer Standards.

Charlie Norman with Lydia, a customer in Whalley Range

Charlie Norman with Lydia, a customer in Whalley Range

MSV was awarded a highly respectable C2 grade and commended by the Inspector for our work in key areas such as customer voice, scrutiny, financial stability, repairs, complaints and tackling anti-social behaviour.

This report is a completely open and transparent look at those standards and sets out how we are performing and where we need to improve.

I hope you enjoy reading the report and look forward to seeing some of you at events in your area over the coming year.

The report is based around our performance in these areas...

What we are doing to keep you safe in your home

Your home, your neighbourhood, your community

Transparency, Influence and Accountability

We are listening and acting on what you tell us

Helping customers get the most from their homes

Our Measures (April 2023 - March 2024)

The Safety and Quality Standard

What we are doing to keep you safe in your home

Providing warm, decent homes for our customers is the single most important thing we do as a landlord. A safe and energy efficient home provides everyone with the foundations upon which to live their lives and we take our responsibilities in this area very seriously.

We are here to meet the needs of both our current customers, and those who will one day live in our homes, making sure our homes are fit for the future.

You can watch our short animation on Consumer Standards here

How have we Performed against the Safety and Quality Standard

*Figures are at 31 March 2024

What the Standard says	What have we done to meet the standard	What are our plans for the future
Hold an accurate, upto- date record of our stock condition. Ensure our homes are good quality, well maintained and safe.	MSV has a five-year rolling programme of stock condition surveys. We are currently in year three of the programme and aim to have 85% of properties with a survey carried out within the last five years by the end of March 2025.	We need to continue with our programme and increase the number of surveys. We are currently implementing an Asset Strategy team who will manage and use our stock condition information for the benefit our customers and homes.
MSV’s homes are fully compliant with health and safety legal requirements and the Decent Homes standard.	MSV is compliant with all statutory requirements and is abreast of forthcoming changes in legislation and best practice. This enables us to provide a first-class property compliance service for customers.	We are looking at providing even more safety information in addtional languages and formats, for example communal safety signage. We are investigating providing additional safety information through the website and on digital noticeboards at schemes.
Ensure it is easy for customers to report repairs and maintenance issues. Keep customers informed about repairs, maintenance and planned improvements and that the work carried out meets the needs of customers and provides value for money.	Changes have been made to the repairs service to improve the customer experience, including reviewing policies and a refocus of resources. We now contact all customers following a repair which helps us understand how we are performing and where customers think we need to improve.	We are implementing new systems to help customers manage their repair appointments, for example Find My Engineer and enabling customers to make and change their own appointments on-line.
Offer and clearly communicate an adaptations service for customers.	We have an adaptations policy in place for minor and major adaptations. We also have dedicated staff who manage requests for adaptations and the overall management of the work to install them. We have a dedicated adaptations budget in place to contribute to the installation of work required alongside Disabled Facilities Grants which are awarded by Occupational Therapists or social care teams.	The Neighbourhood team are taking over the management of minor adaptations and have recently developed a process which will be implemented in the near future. We will maintain relationships with local authorities and continue to budget for these improvements.

Concerned about damp and mould? Watch our video

Lindsey's Story

Long standing resident, Linsey Brierly, recently had an adapted bathroom fitted at her home in Rochdale. This has had a huge impact on Linsey’s quality of life, enabling her to carry out simple daily routines in a safe environment.

"I've always found them (MSV) really forthcoming and helpful with anything"
Linsey - MSV resident

Average time to fix repair - 37.53 days

Average time to fix repair - 37.53 days

NEW FLEET

Feedback from customers made it clear that we needed to improve the repairs service. As a result we have invested heavily in this important area to ensure the service is properly resourced, that we are maintaining customers’ homes to a high standard and keeping appointments.

One key investment has been the new fleet, which has meant vans are not breaking down on the way to customers’ homes, along with huge repair costs just to keep them roadworthy. The new fleet is also fully stocked with the parts that our Repairs Operatives need to do their job.

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The Neighbourhood and Community Standard

Your home, your neighbourhood, your community

Every person has the right to have a home and neighbourhood they can feel proud of; somewhere to live without fear of anti-social behaviour or discrimination.

Our work with customers, partners and specialist agencies ensures a joined up approach to the right support and services are in place so that both people and the environment can flourish.

Brydon's Story

Brydon’s confidence was at an all time low when he first came to the Blackburn with Darwen Foyer. He’s since gone on to learn new skills and independence.

How have we performed against the Neighbourhood and Community Standard

*Figures are at 31 March 2024

What the standard says	What have we done to meet the standard	What are our plans for the future
Ensure communal and shared spaces are well maintained and safe.	Our repairs policy covers day to repair issues for communal spaces. We also have in place contracts to deliver a number of services to keep communal areas well maintained, including communal area cleaning, grounds maintenance and window cleaning which are paid for by customers through their service charge. We also have annual budgets for carrying out planned work to upgrade fire alarms, decoration etc. We have also launched our neigbourhood strategy and offer which means we will be inspecting all schemes through our programme of scheme audits to ensure that any issues are identified and acted upon.	We need to continue to deliver services to a high standard in a timely manner. We are in the process of reviewing the in-house team that delivers communal services on our Stockport estates to determine if outsourcing this work would provide a better service.
MSV will work with other organisations to keep neighbourhoods safe, for example local councils, the police and other landlords	We continue to develop partnerships to deliver services and contribute to neighbourhoods. Examples are:- Manchester • Environmental project with various residents associations • Established a homelessness prevention hub • Clean alleyways project with In Our Nature • Established a Shaping Spaces project withKeep Manchester Tidy/AlleywayArts • Various clean-up days • Work with Greater Manchester Police to secure injunctions following a small number of serious incidents • Back to school event to promote energy and wellbeing advice • Community Walk Abouts • Partnership work with other landlords and local authorities to address key issues affecting residents of Greater Manchester, including care leavers and young people Stockport • Established an Environmental Champions group • Launched a new autism project providing 3 people with a learning disability with a home and support Rochdale • Established an Environmental Champions Group • 4 new supported homes specifically for rough sleepers All areas where we have schemes for the over 55’s and for young people •Our work with commissioners and local authority partners is addressing the needs of care leavers and young people and our complex supported living customers.	We are looking to expand our network of partners in other key areas for example; Stockport, Bolton, Rochdale, Trafford. We will ensure MSV is represented at all partnership forums in key areas. We are expanding our quarterly walkabouts in key areas to ensure any local issues are picked up and customers have the opportunity to talk to colleagues. We are also working to provide more learning disability, homeless and physical disability homes in Stockport, Manchester and Trafford. Our schemes for young people are Ofsted Registered. We will continue to implement the Ofsted framework to ensure excellent services. We aim to introduce wifi into 3 over 55’s schemes as part of pilot to digitally include customers.
We will support customers who have been affected by anti-social behaviour (ASB) and domestic abuse and work with partners to help stop antisocial behaviour from happening	We respond to all reports of anti-social behaviour and domestic abuse within 24 hours. We complete a risk assessment and open a case and investigate accordingly. We are using data to understand ASB hotspots and trends so we can target resource more effectively and have entered into a new mediation contract with Smile, a nationally recognised organisaiton to support our approach on neighbour dispute type cases. With reports of domestic abuse, we will always signpost to partner agencies and work alongside them during our investigations. We have established a domestic abuse group for customers to share experiences in a safe environment.	We will continue to monitor the service, listening and talking to customers, to make improvements. We are working towards becoming accredited under the Domestic Abuse alliance.

What the standard says

What have we done to meet the standard

What are our plans for the future

Ensure communal and shared spaces are well maintained and safe.

Our repairs policy covers day to repair issues for communal spaces. We also have in place contracts to deliver a number of services to keep communal areas well maintained, including communal area cleaning, grounds maintenance and window cleaning which are paid for by customers through their service charge. We also have annual budgets for carrying out planned work to upgrade fire alarms, decoration etc. We have also launched our neigbourhood strategy and offer which means we will be inspecting all schemes through our programme of scheme audits to ensure that any issues are identified and acted upon.

We need to continue to deliver services to a high standard in a timely manner. We are in the process of reviewing the in-house team that delivers communal services on our Stockport estates to determine if outsourcing this work would provide a better service.

MSV will work with other organisations to keep neighbourhoods safe, for example local councils, the police and other landlords

We continue to develop partnerships to deliver services and contribute to neighbourhoods. Examples are:-

Manchester

• Environmental project with various residents associations

• Established a homelessness prevention hub

• Clean alleyways project with In Our Nature

• Established a Shaping Spaces project withKeep Manchester Tidy/AlleywayArts

• Various clean-up days

• Work with Greater Manchester Police to secure injunctions following a small number of serious incidents

• Back to school event to promote energy and wellbeing advice

• Community Walk Abouts

• Partnership work with other landlords and local authorities to address key issues affecting residents of Greater Manchester, including care leavers and young people

Stockport

• Established an Environmental Champions group

• Launched a new autism project providing 3 people with a learning disability with a home and support

Rochdale

• Established an Environmental Champions Group

• 4 new supported homes specifically for rough sleepers

All areas where we have schemes for the over 55’s and for young people

•Our work with commissioners and local authority partners is addressing the needs of care leavers and young people and our complex supported living customers.

We are looking to expand our network of partners in other key areas for example; Stockport, Bolton, Rochdale, Trafford.

We will ensure MSV is represented at all partnership forums in key areas.

We are expanding our quarterly walkabouts in key areas to ensure any local issues are picked up and customers have the opportunity to talk to colleagues.

We are also working to provide more learning disability, homeless and physical disability homes in Stockport, Manchester and Trafford.

Our schemes for young people are Ofsted Registered. We will continue to implement the Ofsted framework to ensure excellent services.

We aim to introduce wifi into 3 over 55’s schemes as part of pilot to digitally include customers.

We will support customers who have been affected by anti-social behaviour (ASB) and domestic abuse and work with partners to help stop antisocial behaviour from happening

We respond to all reports of anti-social behaviour and domestic abuse within 24 hours. We complete a risk assessment and open a case and investigate accordingly.

We are using data to understand ASB hotspots and trends so we can target resource more effectively and have entered into a new mediation contract with Smile, a nationally recognised organisaiton to support our approach on neighbour dispute type cases. With reports of domestic abuse, we will always signpost to partner agencies and work alongside them during our investigations.

We have established a domestic abuse group for customers to share experiences in a safe environment.

We will continue to monitor the service, listening and talking to customers, to make improvements.

We are working towards becoming accredited under the Domestic Abuse alliance.

Residents Associations

We’re currently working with 20 residents’ associations, with over 400 involved customers attending meetings and providing their input and views.

We are developing partnerships across all our key areas to make sure we can deliver the best possible response to meet customers expectations and tailor services.

Environmental projects and clean-up events help customers and the wider community feel proud of their neighbourhood

Photo of man throwing old chair into skip

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The Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard

We are listening and acting on what you tell us

MSV manages homes spanning the North West, working with a culturally rich and diverse customer-base. As such we tailor our services to meet a wide range of needs including different languages, cultures and life-stage requirements.

We now work with even more customers than ever before to listen, understand and respond through our customer voice.

Andrea is a customer and member of the Customer & Communities Committee. You can watch her short video above.

How have we performed against the Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard

What the standard says	What have we done to meet the standard	What are our plans for the future
Ensure all tenants have fair access to our services and publicise this. Tenants should be supported to access these services if required All communication should be clear, accessible, and appropriate to the diverse needs of our tenants	MSV’s newsletter, the Voice, is now sent in printed format, as well as digital, with clear guidelines on how to access this. We have improved translation services via an app on colleagues’ mobile phones. We have enhanced access to MSV’s digital services by publicising the ‘speak / translate’ function on the website and have a suite of information on our intranet to help colleagues when communicating with customers with additional needs. We have invested in our service centre to significantly reduce call waiting times.	We are looking at introducing a new way of communicating with customers which will channel all communications through to one single point of contact and introduce additional services such as web chat. We are also looking at ways to communicate with non-verbal customers more effectively, for example via a text service.
Engagement with tenants Registered providers must take tenants views into account in their decision making about how landlord services are communicated and how tenants views have been considered	We have co-designed a new Customer Voice Strategy and recruited customers to the Customers and Communities Committee. Launched a toolkit to help with changes to services, policies and strategies. Reviewed our Scrutiny Panel and embedded this into MSV’s governance structure with direct links to Board. Established new groups and roles for customers to influence areas of interest. Carried out 4 Nibbles and Natter events during 2023/4	We will continue to embed customer voice and the strategy across the business. We have started this by attending all groups and schemes involved in the co-design and internally with colleagues. We are engaging in the TPAS Behavioural Insights Project to enhance the customer experience.
Publish information on our performance against the tenant satisfaction measures (TSM’s)	MSV has been publishing regular quarterly information on the Tenant Satisfaction Measures on both the website and in the newsletter.	We are gathering even more surveys from customers after they have had a repair completed. This will help us understand whether our repairs service is improving.
Provide clear information to tenants about our services, policies, safety standards, rents and service charges and tenant and landlord responsibilities	We have reviewed information provided on our website, ensuring current policies are included and access to services is easy and straightforward. Our customers have helped shape key information, for example the Scrutiny Panel have reviewed the newsletter. We have produced an easy read leaflet explaining rent and service charge increases, which is sent to all customers prior to any rent increases and is accessible via the website. We have enhanced signage in communal areas to ensure customers are safe in their homes. We have introduced a texting service to better target communications, letting customers know about services in their local areas and carrying out surveys so we can make improvements.	We will be providing more local area-based news in future newsletters. We are also investigating a new system to channel all customer contact through to our service centre (called an omni-channel), helping make the customer experience seamless, with one point of contact for everything.
Ensure our approach to complaints is simple and accessible, clearly publicising the process	We have worked with customers to ensure the complaints process is easy to follow and access and can be found on our website, in our newsletters, in our hubs and by contacting any MSV colleague. We also offer complaints information in a variety of different formats and languages. We self-assessed against the Housing Ombudsman’s complaints code (which has now been published to ensure full compliance), and as a result reduced the complaints process from 3 stages to 2 and carried out extensive complaints handling training. We have also appointed a Board member with responsibility for complaints, Michelle Hill who also chairs our Customer Committee. This will ensure complaints performance is scrutinised by the Board.	We are implementing a new complaints panel made up of customers to give a different perspective to complaints. We will continue to monitor the service and embed a positive complaints culture. Complaints provide an opportunity to learn and improve our services. We are working closely with the Housing Ombudsman to make sure learning is implemented into our services.

What the standard says

What have we done to meet the standard

What are our plans for the future

Ensure all tenants have fair access to our services and publicise this. Tenants should be supported to access these services if required

All communication should be clear, accessible, and appropriate to the diverse needs of our tenants

MSV’s newsletter, the Voice, is now sent in printed format, as well as digital, with clear guidelines on how to access this.

We have improved translation services via an app on colleagues’ mobile phones.

We have enhanced access to MSV’s digital services by publicising the ‘speak / translate’ function on the website and have a suite of information on our intranet to help colleagues when communicating with customers with additional needs.

We have invested in our service centre to significantly reduce call waiting times.

We are looking at introducing a new way of communicating with customers which will channel all communications through to one single point of contact and introduce additional services such as web chat.

We are also looking at ways to communicate with non-verbal customers more effectively, for example via a text service.

Engagement with tenants

Registered providers must take tenants views into account in their decision making about how landlord services are communicated and how tenants views have been considered

We have co-designed a new Customer Voice Strategy and recruited customers to the Customers and Communities Committee.

Launched a toolkit to help with changes to services, policies and strategies.

Reviewed our Scrutiny Panel and embedded this into MSV’s governance structure with direct links to Board.

Established new groups and roles for customers to influence areas of interest.

Carried out 4 Nibbles and Natter events during 2023/4

We will continue to embed customer voice and the strategy across the business. We have started this by attending all groups and schemes involved in the co-design and internally with colleagues.

We are engaging in the TPAS Behavioural Insights Project to enhance the customer experience.

Publish information on our performance against the tenant satisfaction measures (TSM’s)

MSV has been publishing regular quarterly information on the Tenant Satisfaction Measures on both the website and in the newsletter.

We are gathering even more surveys from customers after they have had a repair completed. This will help us understand whether our repairs service is improving.

Provide clear information to tenants about our services, policies, safety standards, rents and service charges and tenant and landlord responsibilities

We have reviewed information provided on our website, ensuring current policies are included and access to services is easy and straightforward.

Our customers have helped shape key information, for example the Scrutiny Panel have reviewed the newsletter.

We have produced an easy read leaflet explaining rent and service charge increases, which is sent to all customers prior to any rent increases and is accessible via the website.

We have enhanced signage in communal areas to ensure customers are safe in their homes. We have introduced a texting service to better target communications, letting customers know about services in their local areas and carrying out surveys so we can make improvements.

We will be providing more local area-based news in future newsletters.

We are also investigating a new system to channel all customer contact through to our service centre (called an omni-channel), helping make the customer experience seamless, with one point of contact for everything.

Ensure our approach to complaints is simple and accessible, clearly publicising the process

We have worked with customers to ensure the complaints process is easy to follow and access and can be found on our website, in our newsletters, in our hubs and by contacting any MSV colleague. We also offer complaints information in a variety of different formats and languages.

We self-assessed against the Housing Ombudsman’s complaints code (which has now been published to ensure full compliance), and as a result reduced the complaints process from 3 stages to 2 and carried out extensive complaints handling training.

We have also appointed a Board member with responsibility for complaints, Michelle Hill who also chairs our Customer Committee. This will ensure complaints performance is scrutinised by the Board.

We are implementing a new complaints panel made up of customers to give a different perspective to complaints. We will continue to monitor the service and embed a positive complaints culture.

Complaints provide an opportunity to learn and improve our services. We are working closely with the Housing Ombudsman to make sure learning is implemented into our services.

Nibbles 'n' Natter

Over the year we held 4 Nibbles ‘n’ Natter events in Bury, Clitheroe, Bolton and Manchester. 231 customers attended and 398 questions were raised.

These events give customers an opportunity to meet with senior colleagues at MSV and raise important issues in their area.

You Said, We Did
You said we should allocate each customer with one point of contact at the start of a complaint. We have created a complaints letter which is sent to the customer allocating a case handler and giving their name and contact details. You said we should provide guidance to customers about the difference between a complaint and dissatisfaction and that easy read documents should be available relating to complaints. We created an easy read leaflet containing details relating to complaints and dissatisfaction, this is available on the website. You said we should provide additional support for customers with hidden disabilities when raising complaint. We have added an additional line into our acknowledgment letters advising customers if they require additional support through the complaints process to let us know.

You Said, We Did

You said we should allocate each customer with one point of contact at the start of a complaint.

We have created a complaints letter which is sent to the customer allocating a case handler and giving their name and contact details.

You said we should provide guidance to customers about the difference between a complaint and dissatisfaction and that easy read documents should be available relating to complaints.

We created an easy read leaflet containing details relating to complaints and dissatisfaction, this is available on the website.

You said we should provide additional support for customers with hidden disabilities when raising complaint.

We have added an additional line into our acknowledgment letters advising customers if they require additional support through the complaints process to let us know.

Laying It On The Table

We recently held a series of resident-lead events across our areas called Laying It On The Table. This was part of a national campaign on the cost-of-living crisis asking for views on what we all need to guarantee the essentials in life. Blackburn with Darwen Foyer residents and residents from Stockport and Stalybridge were amongst a number of customers to voice their views which will join many others from across the country and be presented to Parliament later in the year.

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The Tenancy Standard

Helping customers get the most from their home

There continues to be a housing emergency right across the UK with council waiting lists getting longer and housing providers struggling to provide the homes desperately needed. MSV will continue to work with our partners to make sure we are investing in our current homes to ensure they are a high standard and meet the needs of local people, and to build new homes to play our part in addressing the national shortage.

MSV has been active in campaigning and lobbying Government through the National Housing Federations Plan for Housing campaign and have made contact with MP’s in all our key areas.

You can watch this short video clip showing just some of our partnership work in Manchester and how it impacts communities.

How we performed agains the Tenancy Standard

What the Standard says	What have we done to meet the standard	What are our plans for the future
Allocation and Lettings Assist local authorities to meet local housing need with homes designed to meet specific needs	MSV currently has nominations and choice based lettings (CBL) in most of our Local Authority Areas. Prospective customers can apply to the local authority through MSV’s website, and help from our lettings team is available if needed. Our work with commissioners in local authorities identifies where specialist accommodation is needed. MSV is part of the Greater Manchester Complex Needs framework arrangement which delivers specialist homes.	The allocations policy is currently being reviewed. Through our Scrutiny Panel, customers will lead the review. MSV will be developing more supported housing in Salford, Manchester, Trafford and Stockport, providing a home for rough sleepers, people with complex learning disabilities and people over 55.
Allocation and Lettings Take action to prevent and tackle tenancy fraud	We currently check all new applicant’s ID and take photo of new tenants at sign up.	We will continue to be vigilant and ensure relevant checks have been done.
Allocation and Lettings Fair, reasonable, simple and accessible appeals process for allocations decisions	The appeals process is part of the Allocation Policy (which can be found on the website) and is administered through the complaints process	We will continue to monitor the reasons customers are unhappy with decisions and what we can do to help
Allocation and Lettings Record all lettings and sales	All lettings and sales are recorded on the Government CORE (Continuous Recording of social housing lettings and sales data)
Mutual Exchange Support customers to swap homes if they wish and explain if there will be any changes	We have a range of options for customers wishing to swap homes, including Home Swapper, on the MSV Website and Neighbourhood Officers will engage with customers to explain the process and what is available. There is also free membership for customers onto the House Exchange scheme.	Teams are aiming to improve communication and information for customers wishing to exchange. We also aim to use data to target communications and information at those who are ‘highest risk’ of being under or over occupied. We are investigating the idea of a mutual exchange workshop for customers to come and network.
Tenancy sustainment and evictions • Provide services that support tenants to maintain their tenancy and prevent evictions • Provide tenants with timely advice and assistance about housing options before the tenancy ends	We work extensively with partners to support customers maintain their tenancy, including Mental Health Services, GP’s, Social Services and charities. MSV’s front-line teams work closely with customers to provide additional support, for example if a customer is suddenly in rent arrears they will be contacted by their neighbourhood officer to agree a plan of action. Our Money Management Team assist customers in maximising income, as well as completing financial health checks and Discretionary Housing Payment applications and MSV’s hardship fund is used in exceptional circumstances. Furniture, fuel and food vouchers are issued for customers who need them.	We are looking to build better links with external services and information sharing with partners. We will also be reviewing our hardship and furniture offer, as well as what happens to surplus goods from empty property clear-outs. Research demonstrates that new tenants who have furniture and are not in furniture poverty are more likely to sustain their tenancies. We will analyse data on rental income to better identify risks in relation to rent arrears and possible evictions.

What the Standard says

What have we done to meet the standard

What are our plans for the future

Allocation and Lettings

Assist local authorities to meet local housing need with homes designed to meet specific needs

MSV currently has nominations and choice based lettings (CBL) in most of our Local Authority Areas.

Prospective customers can apply to the local authority through MSV’s website, and help from our lettings team is available if needed.

Our work with commissioners in local authorities identifies where specialist accommodation is needed. MSV is part of the Greater Manchester Complex Needs framework arrangement which delivers specialist homes.

The allocations policy is currently being reviewed. Through our Scrutiny Panel, customers will lead the review.

MSV will be developing more supported housing in Salford, Manchester, Trafford and Stockport, providing a home for rough sleepers, people with complex learning disabilities and people over 55.

Allocation and Lettings

Take action to prevent and tackle tenancy fraud

We currently check all new applicant’s ID and take photo of new tenants at sign up.

We will continue to be vigilant and ensure relevant checks have been done.

Allocation and Lettings

Fair, reasonable, simple and accessible appeals process for allocations decisions

The appeals process is part of the Allocation Policy (which can be found on the website) and is administered through the complaints process

We will continue to monitor the reasons customers are unhappy with decisions and what we can do to help

Allocation and Lettings

Record all lettings and sales

All lettings and sales are recorded on the Government CORE (Continuous Recording of social housing lettings and sales data)

Mutual Exchange

Support customers to swap homes if they wish and explain if there will be any changes

We have a range of options for customers wishing to swap homes, including Home Swapper, on the MSV Website and Neighbourhood Officers will engage with customers to explain the process and what is available.

There is also free membership for customers onto the House Exchange scheme.

Teams are aiming to improve communication and information for customers wishing to exchange.

We also aim to use data to target communications and information at those who are ‘highest risk’ of being under or over occupied.

We are investigating the idea of a mutual exchange workshop for customers to come and network.

Tenancy sustainment and evictions

• Provide services that support tenants to maintain their tenancy and prevent evictions

• Provide tenants with timely advice and assistance about housing options before the tenancy ends

We work extensively with partners to support customers maintain their tenancy, including Mental Health Services, GP’s, Social Services and charities.

MSV’s front-line teams work closely with customers to provide additional support, for example if a customer is suddenly in rent arrears they will be contacted by their neighbourhood officer to agree a plan of action.

Our Money Management Team assist customers in maximising income, as well as completing financial health checks and Discretionary Housing Payment applications and MSV’s hardship fund is used in exceptional circumstances. Furniture, fuel and food vouchers are issued for customers who need them.

We are looking to build better links with external services and information sharing with partners.

We will also be reviewing our hardship and furniture offer, as well as what happens to surplus goods from empty property clear-outs. Research demonstrates that new tenants who have furniture and are not in furniture poverty are more likely to sustain their tenancies.

We will analyse data on rental income to better identify risks in relation to rent arrears and possible evictions.

Susan Taylor, an MSV customer and member of the Customers and Communities Committee works with officers to carry out reviews, for example our Allocations policy to make sure they are fair and accessible

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Our Tenant Satisfaction Measures

Tenant Satisfaction Measures were introduced by the Regulator for Social Housing and allow customers to see how well their landlord is performing. MSV collects data from a variety of sources, including surveys from customers, and publishes the results quarterly on the website and in the customer newsletter. You can take a look at our most recent TSM’s on the website.