Each year, as a not for profit landlord, Unipol asks all our tenants what they think about their accommodation in Nottingham. This important piece of work and tells us what we are (hopefully) doing well and what we need to do better.
In the survey we either measure satisfaction as a percentage or on a scale of 1 to 8 with 1 as worst and 8 as best.
Summary
Overall satisfaction ratings from our tenants in Nottingham remains good with 82% rating the service as good or better, up from 81.5% last year.
In 2017 ratings increased in all these areas:
- satisfaction with management 75.8%
- effective communication 79.8%
- being good quality 82.5%
- recommending Unipol to a friend 79.6%
- overall satisfaction 80%
- feeling that the house feels like home 80%
Who Responded?
The response rate of the 2017 survey was 42% (easily high enough to be statistically valid).
76% were home students, the others being international and 83% were also undergraduates with the remainder postgraduates. 56% of respondents studied at the University of Nottingham, 39% at Nottingham Trent University.
The Renting Process and Moving In
89% of tenants said staff gave a friendly welcome at move in and 90% found staff helpful.
All ratings increased in this area for complexes. There were some decreases in ratings for the moving in process for shared houses compared to last year’s very high ratings, however all categories bar one still scored over 6. We take all decreases seriously though, and will look at how to ensure ratings in this area improve next year.
First Point of Contact, the Unipol Office and the Site Offices
98% of respondents had contact with their Housing Management Officer (HMO) during their first few weeks of residence (up from 95% in 2016) and tenants thought they were friendly, rating this at 6.7 out of 8.
Socials
The welcoming social events assumed great importance in 2017 with an increase in students saying that the event helped them meet other students and the appreciation of the social events increased with 81% satisfaction.
Satisfaction with Unipol Housing, Facilities, Amenities and Security
81% of tenants rated the general character of their home as good or very good and 83% also liked their living room too. Complexes saw satisfaction levels increase across all measures, which is pleasing.
Security is important and tenants felt safe in their homes with 81% rating is as good or better. Pleasingly, 88% of tenants rated the security of their windows as good or better, with externals doors rating 83%.
Maintenance and Repair Satisfaction
If something goes wrong in your home its important it is repaired and we are pleased to report that ratings for repairs all increased in 2017. Overall quality of repairs was rated at 77% and maintenance staff were courteous and polite with a rating of 85%.
Transport
15% of respondents in 2017 had a car with them in Nottingham (up from 12% last year) and 27% had a bicycle.
So What Have we Learnt?
- we need to work with some owners of managed properties to ensure their ratings increase.
- we still need to improve on undertaking repairs - although the best way of doing this is to reduce the number of repairs necessary by upgrading
Finally
A big thank you to all of our tenants who gave us their views - we really appreciate that. This has enabled is to focus our resources more precisely on what tenants want and to discover where things need to improve. Next year’s survey takes place in January 2018 - if you are a Unipol tenant, tell us your views and help shape your not for profit housing.