Epping Forest

Argos Homebase Business Solutions helps Epping Forest District Council realise cost efficiencies and capture tenant’s imaginations

A Homebase Decorator Voucher scheme has helped reduce waiting time for empty properties by encouraging tenants to take ownership of decorating their new homes
Introduction:
Epping Forest District Council owns and controls over 6,800 council properties in the area that are allocated, when they become available, to citizens registered on the local housing waiting list.
The Council carries out work to between eight and ten per cent of all Council properties that can be described as ‘void’ - vacated by a tenant and ready for reletting, each year. Before being deemed suitable for reletting, all property must be assessed according to standards for safety and decorative order.
The time taken from a property becoming void to becoming available for the next tenant has traditionally been around 12 to 13 weeks. In that time, the Council does not receive any rent payments while the property stands empty, and citizens remain in alternative accommodation until the property they have been allocated is released.
Power (and paintbrushes) to the people:
One of the most time-consuming elements of preparing a property to be re-let is re-decorating: it takes a tradesman around two to three weeks per property to decorate top to bottom.
In order to address the costly problem of properties remaining void for up to three months, Epping Forest District Council approached Argos Homebase Business Solutions to explore a scheme through which tenants could be given the tools and materials to take responsibility for decorating their own property.
Argos Homebase Business Solutions suggested Homebase Decorator Vouchers - a voucher scheme dedicated to the needs of Councils and Housing Authorities in just this position. The Homebase Decorator Voucher scheme is now used by the Council across its housing operation.
Choice and responsibility for all tenants:
When a property is vacated, it is inspected by the Council for safety and decorative order and a note is made of necessary work to be carried out. The Council inspector estimates the amount of money per room required to return it to good decorative order, and all safety and structural work is carried out by professionals. In accordance with usual Council procedures, following an inspection, tenants are taken on an accompanied viewing of the property to get to know their potential new home. However, now, they are given far greater choice over when they can feasibly inhabit the property.
If they are happy to take on the task of decorating their own property in order to benefit from a reduced waiting time, the tenants are awarded the value of the inspector’s estimation in Homebase Decorator Vouchers.
For the elderly or infirm, there remains the option to have their home decorated by a third party over a longer period of time, but the Homebase Decorator Voucher is a favourite with those who want to personalise their surroundings and decorate to their taste, in addition to moving in faster.
Vouchers can be redeemed at any Homebase store – there are three in close proximity to the Epping Forest area. They have set limitations to be used to purchase decorating materials and tools, including tiles, paint, wallpaper, brushes and roller trays.
Waiting list to home in just six weeks:
The Homebase Decorator Voucher scheme has been running in Epping Forest for three years and has proved very successful for the Council and beneficial to its tenants. Allocating Homebase Decorator Vouchers to tenants who wish to take responsibility for decorating their own home has reduced both labour costs and wasted time previously incurred by the Council.
Derek Pinner, Housing Repairs Manager, Epping Forest District Council, explains, “Through using the Homebase Decorator Voucher scheme, we have seen turnaround time on void properties halved from three months to about six weeks, meaning that we can put a roof over people’s head sooner than ever before. This is a time when Council budgets are under pressure from all sides and we are looking to gain greater efficiencies in line with Gershon’s recommendations.
Within our Council, we have made budget savings of 25 per cent on turning around void properties quicker, since the scheme began. In turn, these savings allow us to redirect resources to provide more value-added services to our customers and tenants while letting them get on with living their lives in a new, nicely decorated home as soon as possible.”