T4: Affordability and Security

Provides affordable and secure housing

SDG Goals - 10 & 11

For properties that are subject to the rent regulation regime, report against one or more Affordability Metric:

1) Rent compared to median private rental sector (PRS) rent across the relevant Local Authority: 54.67% (last year reported 53.88)

2) Rent compared to the relevant Local Housing Allowance (LHA): 69.79% (last year reported 64.17%)

Share, and number, of existing homes (owned and/or managed) completed before the last financial year allocated to:

General needs (social rent)
Intermediate rent
Affordable rent
Supported Housing
Housing for older people
Low-cost home ownership
Care homes
Private Rented Sector
Other

We have over 37,000 homes. Our vision is 'everyone has a home' and we're pleased that the majority (68%) or 25,397 homes of our homes are provided for social rent, which offers the best social value, by being the cheapest rent available for our customers.

A further 5,261 homes (14%) of our homes are let on an affordable rent basis (which is up to 80% of the local private market rent).

We also have 4,120 shared ownership homes which provide routes to more affordable home ownership. Shared ownership is a secure alternative to private renting providing an affordable way onto - or back onto - the housing ladder. Buyers purchase a share of a property and pay rent on the remaining share. This reduces the size of the initial deposit required and if they want to, purchasers can buy more shares in their property (known as staircasing), eventually leading to outright home ownership.

Through our charitable entities – the Aster Foundation and Enham Trust – and through our brands East Boro Housing Trust (EBHT) and Central and Cecil Housing Trust (C&C) we aim to make as much positive impact in our communities as possible. 4,921 people were positively impacted by Aster Foundation programmes. Enham Trust reached over 6,900 individuals, through services which promote equality, dignity and choice, and supporting disabled people to live, work and enjoy life as independently as possible. C&C care services achieved a 9.4/10 rating based on direct feedback and positive comments from family, friends and loved ones on the Care Home UK website.

Homes & Bed Spaces in Management

Category	Units
Under development at end of year:
General Needs	1,730
Shared ownership	1,433
For open market sale	11
Total	3,174
Under management at end of year:
Owned by the Association:
Housing accommodation - Social rent	19,804
Housing accommodation - Affordable rent	5,193
Supported housing - Social rent	5,355
Supported housing - Affordable rent	68
Shared ownership/New Build HomeBuy	4,120
Care homes	345
Market rented	110
Sub-Market rented	101
Temporary social housing	116
Long leaseholders	1,583
Total	36,795
Managed but not owned by the Association:
Housing accommodation - Social rent	238
Shared ownership/New Build HomeBuy	9
Private sector leasing	2
Temporary social housing	29
Long leaseholders	2
Total	280
Owned but managed by others at the end of year:
Supported housing - Social rent	68
Shared ownership/New Build HomeBuy	4
Care homes	23
Long leaseholders	49
Total	144
Homes	36,851
Bed spaces	368
TOTAL	37,219

Share, and number, of existing homes (owned and/or managed) that we completed in the last financial year allocated to:

General needs (social rent)
Intermediate rent
Affordable rent
Supported Housing
Housing for older people
Low-cost home ownership
Care homes
Private Rented Sector
Other

In the year to the end of March 2024, we built 997 homes in total:

Social Rent: 110

Affordable Rent: 407

Low-Cost Home Ownership (shared ownership): 405

Market Sale: 75

Occasionally when our customers’ homes no longer meet modern standards, part of a good asset management strategy is to ensure that we’re considering all options, including in some cases, disposal of those homes. In a small number of cases where we do decide to sell a customer’s home we always make sure we work with customers to provide really good quality alternative accommodation. We also make sure that all of the funds that are secured from the sale of that property are either reinvested back either in new homes or existing homes.

One of the vital ways we can reduce the effect of high energy costs on our customers is by providing them with an energy efficient home that is economical to heat. Almost all (99.7%) of the new homes completed during the last financial year achieved an energy efficiency rating of EPC B or better. We have a set a minimum standard of EPC C by 2030 for our existing homes, and to date 85.1% have achieved this. Through our new asset management strategy we are working to ensure the remaining homes meet the standard.

Some of our customers pay us a service charge for energy, either to heat their own home from a shared heating system or for heat and power supplied to communal areas. Through the energy brokerage arrangements we have in place and the procurement decisions we make, we always seek to ensure that we achieve best value for money for our customers. Furthermore, over 1,000 of our properties are fitted with rooftop solar PV, which means that they can benefit from the electricity produced by the panels.

For those customers struggling to pay their bills, our Financial Wellbeing team provides assistance through access to grants, energy vouchers, advice and signposting to other sources of help. During 2023/24, the team supported almost 2,600 customers and provided them with £62,000 of financial assistance, together with over £8,000 in energy vouchers. In addition, we carry out checks to make sure customers are receiving all the benefits for which they are eligible, including government lump sum fuel payments, and as a result we helped them to access over £650,000 in additional benefits. Through our engagement with Pocket Power, we offer a review of energy tariffs to ensure customers are receiving the best deal.

We have a fuel poverty tool which considers the contributory factors putting households at risk of fuel poverty and allows us to target proactive interventions to support those households assessed to be at greatest risk.

We have 345 care home bedspaces and 116 temporary social housing homes, which by their nature will be let on a licence.

Our Lettings Policy sets out the support we offer to help customers maintain their tenancies. We take a person-centred approach, working directly with customers and referring them to other organisations to ensure they receive the support needed to maintain their tenancy. We have a Tenancy Sustainment Team, who will actively work with customers to help them maintain tenancies.

For customers who fall into financial difficulty, our arrears process supports customers to maintain their tenancies. Our Financial Wellbeing Team will work with customers and will discuss current financial circumstances with customers and seek to find ways to help the customers maximise their income.

We also have a tenancy sustainment fund available, which can be used to support with tenancy sustainment, such as supporting customers with the costs of moving to more suitable accommodation, ensuring that tenancies are sustained in the long term.

T5: Building Safety and Quality

Resident safety and building quality are well managed

SDG Goal - 11

Describe the condition of the housing provider's portfolio, with reference to:

% of homes for which all required gas safety checks have been carried out.
% of homes for which all required fire risk assessments have been carried out.
% of homes for which all required electrical safety checks have been carried out.

Gas: 99.81%

Electric safety checks: 99.18%

Fire Risk Assessments completed: 100%

% Water risk assessments completed: 96.02%%

Blocks with an in date asbestos reinspection: 99.81%

What percentage of homes meet the national housing quality standard?

Of those which fail, what is the housing provider doing to address these failings?

99.63% are compliant with the national housing quality standard.

There were 26 decent homes failures at year end, some of which have since been completed. Those still to be addressed are down to access issues, and delays such as awaiting planning, contractor issues or awaiting specialist materials.

Our full stock condition survey has helped us better understand the makeup of our homes and the technology and materials needed to achieve our ESG targets.

During 23/24 we adopted a pro-active approach to identifying homes with damp and mould issues. This included contacting customers previously affected by dampness and mould, conducting risk-based proactive contact campaigns, and implementing home health check pilots. These initiatives helped customers prevent the recurrence of condensation and mould issues, as well as address any new problems that arose. This pro-active approach saw 1,265 open damp and mould remedial cases (some homes with multiple remedial jobs) by the end of 23/24.

We take a person-led, risk averse, approach to reports of damp and mould cases. No remedial jobs are closed until we are satisfied that the job has been completed and have rectified the cause of the damp and mould. We have a specialist damp and mould team, and a damp and mould workstream who monitor and manage our open jobs. We assess the impact that any hazard may have on anyone living in any affected home, taking account of any vulnerability factors that may be present (such as age and health), and we implement practical steps to minimise the risk present; for example, carrying out mould-washes while the root-cause of any damp and mould is being investigated or until remedial actions have been completed, often involving specialist contractors.

Some of our customers have continued to experience cases of condensation and mould in their homes over the winter. We look into every case of condensation and mould to determine the best course of action to repair it. We carry out any work that needs to be done and recommend the necessary steps to prevent issues returning.

In response to our customers’ needs and to enhance our capacity for prioritising these repairs, we have employed additional skilled surveyors to join our specialist team. We assess every home where this problem is identified. We maintain ongoing communication with each customer affected by condensation and mould to ensure the issue is fully resolved. If the problem persists despite our initial efforts, we take additional measures to address and repair it until it is completely cleared.

We have specific policies and procedures in place to address damp, mould, and condensation issues. If such problems are identified, we aim to survey the home within ten working days to assess the situation and determine the root cause. The survey results are expected within five working days. We plan to complete the work usually within 20 working days, keeping customers informed.

Over the winter, we contacted over 2,000 customers who had reported issues the previous year to check if they were still experiencing problems in their homes. Around 20% did, and we supported every customer by conducting surveys, offering advice, and taking preventative action. Through a variety of customer communications, including a series of ‘how-to’ videos we’ve also provided advice on how to stop mould occurring.

531 free hygrometers sent to customers (to 31 March 2024) after a proactive campaign to support clearer understanding of how to manage humidity levels in the home to prevent damp, mould and condensation. A hygrometer is a simple, small device that lives in the home and tells customers how much humidity is in the air. It’ll show when air moisture levels are high so they can take practical, simple steps to reduce it. We also put these in all new builds to use.

T6: Resident Voice

Listens to residents’ voice

SDG Goal - 11

What are the results of the housing provider's most recent tenant satisfaction survey?

How has the housing provider acted on these results?

We carried out our tenant satisfaction measure (TSM) surveys across the year, and between 30 May 2023 and 28 March 2024 we carried out 2713 surveys which has met the representativeness threshold set out within the TSM methodology.

We have carried out our tenant satisfaction surveys through phone calls, engaging with an external independent company to carry these out on our behalf.

TP01 - Taking everything into account, how satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the service provided by your landlord - LCRA (Low Cost Rental Accomodation) customers scored 77.3%, against a sector average of 69.4%

TP02 – How satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the overall repairs service from [your landlord] over the last 12 months? - LCRA customers scored 81.3%, against a sector average of 70.4%

TP08 To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following “[my landlord] treats me fairly and with respect”? - LCRA customers scored 84.1%, against a sector average of 76.3%

How has the housing provider acted on these results?

We monitor feedback from the Tenant Satisfaction Measure survey to ensure any issues highlighted are referred to the appropriate team i.e health and safety concerns. Where lower performing service areas have been identified, improvement plans will be required. We are working on our approach to publish the results of our performance and how we are using customer feedback.

Our Customer Service Modernisation programme focuses on how we can modernise our services by redesigning what we do and how we do it to better meet our customers' needs and deliver on our promises. Customer voice plays a vital part throughout the programme and feedback from the Tenant Satisfaction Measure survey will be used to understand how customers feel about delivery of services and where improvements can be made. Developing a positive complaints culture is a key part of the Customer Services Modernisation programme to improve the customer experience when they make a complaint. Learning will be used to help prevent similar complaints in the future and improve the customer journey.

A new system has been adopted to manage complaints. There will be more visibility around the complaint ensuring the customer is kept informed and their complaint is resolved to their satisfactio

What arrangements are in place to enable residents to hold management to account for the provision of services?

We have a structured approach to consulting with our customers, using their chosen method and asking for feedback on subjects where they have expressed an interest. We understand how important it is to keep customers involved during the process and following our activities, we will communicate with customers to demonstrate how we have used their feedback.

Our Customer Overview Group and Customer Scrutiny panel is presented with a customer voice update at their quarterly meetings for assurance on how customer voice is being captured and listened to throughout Aster. Our Customer and Community Network have seven customer members and they are a committee of the Board. They oversee operational performance and strategy. Following the integration of C&C, Enham and EBHT we are working closely with colleagues on our approach to get customers involved in our customer voice offer.

We choose to proactively publish lots of information to enable our customers to scrutinise our services and how we are performing. Our Transparency statement lists the sort of information that we proactively share for our customers (https://www.aster.co.uk/policies/transparency-statement), and we welcome requests for information from our customers. We have also worked with our customers to co-design our customer annual report, to ensure that it captures the information our customers have said they want to see.

In the last 12 months, in how many complaints has the national Ombudsman determined that maladministration took place?

How have these complaints (or others) resulted in change of practice within the housing provider?

As a Group, in 2023/24 we have received 39 determinations from the Ombudsman (including appeals) (36 for Aster Communities/Synergy Housing and three for CCHT).

Of those:

18 x no maladministration
10 x Suitable redress
31x Maladministrations
3 x Severe Maladministrations
11x Service Failures
6 x Outside of Jurisdiction
49 x Orders
24 x recommendations

For legacy, Aster, we had a 62.5% maladministration rate, for CCHT, we had a 60% maladministration rate. (Enham and EBHT had no determinations). For context, the national maladministration rate was 72% according to published information from the Housing Ombudsman at the end of Q3 in 2023/24 (up from 59% in 2022/23).

Of the three severe maladministration cases, all had an element of damp and mould alongside other issues such as defective guttering and windows. We have used learning from our complaints, amongst others, to drive service improvements and inform our Modernisation Programme. For more details, please see the Customer Annual Report and the Annual Complaints Report.

While providing much needed new homes across our geography, we’re also balancing delivering against our Customer Services Modernisation Programme to ensure that the most vulnerable in our communities have somewhere safe and secure to call home and our services we deliver meet their needs.

This Programme is focused on:

- improving the consistency and quality of experience for our customers and their homes through improving our relationships and expanding our skills in the customer hub

- shaping services that work for customers and improving the efficiency, reducing complexity and lowering cost base to help deliver clear impact and change; and

- making sure our teams are equipped with the right skills and tools to deliver our services.

For response to damp and mould please see C19.

T7: Resident Support

SDG Goal - 11

Supports residents, and the local community

C23 - What are the key support services that the housing provider offers to its residents? How successful are these services in improving outcomes?

The mission of our Aster Foundation is to enable the better lives of 1,000,000 people by 2030 through combatting the cases and effects of poverty. The full detail can be found within the Aster Foundation Impact Report.

In 2023/24, 4,921 people were positively impacted by Aster Foundation programmes.

Of those, 2,223 were positively impacted by the Foundation's mental health and social connectivity work, which includes training, coaching and one-to-one support, mental health support, and improving outside spaces and initiatives to improve wellbeing.

2,457 people were supported to be more financially included through referrals and support through the financial wellbeing team, energy voucher schemes and hardship fund.

241 people were supported to move into meaningful employment, including one-to-one support through the Foundation's Into Work Officer, careers through inc. social businesses and their Digital College.

During the year, Enham Trust reached over 6,900 individuals, through services which promote equality, dignity and choice, and supporting disabled people to live, work and enjoy life as independently as possible.

- 69 individuals were supported to access the 'Choices Programme' offering a wide range of activities and sports helping to improve physical and mental wellbeing.

- 1,750 hours live broadcast by disabled people for Radio Enham, the radio station helping individuals develop confidence and skills.

- 520 hours of sports and physical activities including Archery, keep-fit, dance fit, Boccia, boxing and yoga supporting disabled people to improve their physical and mental wellbeing.

- 34,625 hours of supported employment opportunities taken up in Enham's social enterprise enabling disabled people to secure and retain paid employment.

- 6,481 individuals accessing Direct Payment Support Services increasing choice and control with their care and support needs.

- 2,153 engaged Corporate supporters:- Number of volunteer hours - (hours of time valued at nearly £33,000 supporting Enham to achieve outcomes across their service - delivery and local community and offering us the opportunity to raise awareness of disability).

T8: Placemaking

SDG Goal - 11

Supports residents and the wider local community through placemaking

C24 - Describe the housing provider's community investment activities, and how the housing provider is contributing to positive neighbourhood outcomes for the communities in which its homes are located.

Provide examples or case studies of where the housing provider has been engaged in placemaking or placeshaping activities.

Having been named as one of the best places to live in Britain, Frome’s rental and home ownership markets are expensive and unaffordable for those in need of affordable housing.

Cherry Grove is the redevelopment of an existing housing site which replaced poor performing pre-cast reinforced concrete homes.

The 21 new affordable homes are a mix of one and two-bedroom flats, and two and three-bedroom houses. Five of the homes were available for affordable rent and 16 for purchase through shared ownership.

In keeping with Frome’s rich history, Aster refurbished two distinctive Cockey Lamps, listed for architectural importance, to incorporate into the new lighting scheme. All homes have an EPC rating of B, meaning they are efficient and affordable to run.

Community Land Trusts

Our work with Community Land Trusts (CLTs) continues to go from strength to strength. Our pipeline has been building and we have secured several new schemes, a number for which we will start on site in the next 12 months. These schemes in Devon and Gloucestershire will deliver 157 homes, taking our total number of CLT homes delivered to over 300. 

Neighbourhood enhancements

The independent living services that we provide help customers remain independent and improve overall wellbeing. Over 3,500 customers have been supported by our independent living team, who provide a range of additional housing management services, in the Group’s own independent living schemes.

Nearly 40 of our independent living scheme refurbishments have been completed, with all schemes scheduled for completion by 2030. This year refurbishments were finished in another ten schemes. These refurbishments were designer-led, incorporating local themes, palettes, and mood boards to create comfortable environments for our customers. Upgrades included new flooring and furniture, brightening the spaces, and making them more spacious and accessible. Collaborating with our customer voice team, we surveyed 128 residents in these schemes, achieving a 98% customer satisfaction rating.

These refurbishment works have revitalised the communal spaces in our customers’ homes, encouraging social interaction, easing accessibility and greater inclusivity.

We received comments from customers such as:

“I’m very happy and will use the area much more.”

“I like the round table for playing cards. We asked for it and pleased we got it.”