Council Housing Management Consultation
Closing date: Midnight 15 December 2024
What is the consultation about?
The Council is reviewing how best to provide housing management services in the future, as the current contract with ForHousing is nearing its end. We are seeking input from you as tenants and leaseholders.
In July 2017, the Council contracted ForHousing to manage Council housing in Ellesmere Port, Neston, and Winsford. However, this contract is set to end on 30 June 2027. Due to ForHousing’s current strategic direction, both organisations anticipate that the contract will not be extended beyond the end date of June 2027.
We want to hear your views
Should the Council partner with a different housing association, or should we bring the management of our homes back in-house? If the latter option is chosen, repairs and maintenance would still be handled by an external contractor, but under a contract arrangement directly with the council.
Your feedback is essential in helping us shape the future of your housing management service.
How to complete the survey
It is important that you have your say on who manages your home in the future by completing the short survey that follows and sending this back to us by no later than midnight 15 December 2024. We would like one person in your household to complete the survey on behalf of everyone who lives there. This is not a vote but simply an exercise to gather information from a wide range of people before the Council makes a decision about how it will manage its Council housing in the future.
The consultation is being undertaken by J&M Consulting on behalf of the Council. If you would like help completing the survey or further information on the consultation, please call 07385 850332. Please provide your contact details and nature of your enquiry and someone will respond to you.
The survey takes approximately 5 minutes to complete.
The closing date for responses is midnight 15 December 2024
- If there are any questions that you do not wish to answer, please feel free to leave them blank.
- To ensure that your response is submitted, please press the ‘Finish survey’ button at the end of the questionnaire.
Completing the questionnaire is voluntary and all the information you provide will be treated in the strictest confidence. No information will be released that could identify an individual or household.
Complete the survey online
What are the future options to manage the Council`s housing?
Remember that repairs and maintenance would be outsourced for option 2, as the Council would not have capacity to fully take on these services in 2027, allowing for a smoother transition in housing management. Contract(s) for these services would be in place directly between the Council and the repairs and maintenance service providers.
The 2 options being considered for the Council's housing are:
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Option 1: Owned by the Council but managed by a newly contracted housing association |
Option 2: Owned and managed by the Council with the repairs and maintenance service being provided by an external contractor |
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The following services would be managed by a newly contracted housing association · Housing management · Repairs and maintenance · Lettings and some environmental improvements · Improvements to homes |
All the services (except for the repairs and maintenance service) currently carried out by ForHousing would be transferred back to, and would be delivered in-house by, the Council. This was the arrangement prior to July 2012. These services include: housing management, lettings and some environmental improvements and improvements to homes |
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The Council tenders for a new organisation to manage the housing management services and provide the best value for money from 1st July 2027. Any new housing association, which is registered with the Regulator of Social Housing, will be able to bid for the contract. |
The repairs and maintenance service would be delivered by an external specialist contractor(s).
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Existing staff at ForHousing delivering your housing management services would transfer to the new organisation. |
Existing staff at ForHousing delivering your housing management services would transfer to the Council. |
The following will be the same for either option
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Type |
Details |
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Landlord |
The Council remains your landlord and still owns the homes regardless of which option is taken forward. |
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Rent costs |
Neither option will change how rents are set, which is done by Government using a set formula. |
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Leases and service charges |
Your lease remains in place regardless of who manages the service. Your service charges will continue to be charged in the same way, as you can only be charged for the actual cost of providing the service. There will likely be a service charge review regardless of which option is chosen. |
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Repairs and maintenance staff |
The repairs and maintenance will be overseen and monitored by the Council regardless of which option is selected but the actual work will be subcontracted to a range of providers to carry out (as is it currently). |
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Tenancy agreements |
Your secure tenancy agreement remains in place whether an external contractor, or the Council provides the service. |
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Right to buy |
The Right to Buy remains in place whether the service is provided by a contractor or the Council. However, central Government are due to consult on changes to the Right to Buy scheme, so any change could have an impact, but this change would be across England and would have to be made regardless of which option is chosen. |
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Transfers |
If you have applied for a transfer, this will not be affected whichever option is taken forward and all usual management arrangements will continue. |
The Council has worked with an independent consultant to review several options on how housing management services could be delivered from July 2027 onwards. To help assess each of the options, the Council developed six objectives that would ensure that tenants and leaseholders were provided with services that meet their needs whilst also being efficient and cost effective. The six objectives are:
- Achievability - must ensure service continuity, minimising disruption for our tenants/leaseholders.
- Tenant Satisfaction - must ensure that tenant satisfaction is maintained and improved.
- Quality - must ensure that tenants/leaseholders are provided with good quality housing management services.
- Value for money - must be affordable to the Council and demonstrate best value.
- Social value - must provide opportunities to deliver social value which supports the local economy.
- Transformative - must allow for wider Council objectives to be achieved over a period of time e.g. Poverty, Employment and Skills and Climate Change.
You can see how the above two options performed against the above objectives at:
Share your views
There are several ways to take part and share your views:
- Complete the online survey:
- Email views to: jandmconsultancyuk@gmail.com
- By telephone: please call 07385 850332 between the hours of 9.30am to 2.30pm Monday to Friday (standard phone charges apply or we will be happy to call you back)
- By letter to: J&M Consulting, 100 Welsh Road, Garden City, Deeside, CH5 2HX
- Request a copy of our consultation in alternative formats, including paper and easy read, using the contact details above.
If you would like to share your views in person, you can attend one of our drop-in sessions where you can come and talk to us about the Housing Stock options.
There will be informal events where you can visit anytime during the timeslot specified.
- 14 October, 10am - 5pm at Neston Library, Parkgate Road, Neston CH64 6QE
- 15 October, 10am - 5pm at Ellesmere Port Library, Civic Way, Ellesmere Port CH65 0BG
- 23 October, 10am - 5pm at Winsford Library, High Street, Winsford CW7 2AS
And the Council’s Let’s Talk Sessions. You can also ask questions and share your views at the following Let’s Talk sessions:
- Ellesmere Port: Thursday 3 and 10 October 10am – 12pm at Trinity Church, Whitby Road, Ellesmere Port, CH65 0AT
- Winsford: Friday 4 and 11 October 10am - 12pm at Very Green Grocery, High Street, Winsford, CW7 2AS
- Neston: Tuesday 8 October 1pm 2.30pm at Neston Library, Parkgate Road, Neston, CH64 6QE
What happens next?
Your feedback is important, and all responses will be analysed and detailed in a feedback report which will be available on the Council`s website in January 2025. The feedback report containing all the responses will be shared with the Council`s Cabinet in March 2025 to help them to make an informed decision and approve the right option for future management of the Council`s housing.
Privacy Notice
If you would like to know more about how we use and store the information you give us, you can visit our privacy notice page.
Survey data will be stored by J&M Consulting via Cheshire Community Action (CCA). If you would like to know more about how CCA stores your data please visit: Cheshire Community Action - Privacy policy.
Accessibility
Council information is also available in audio, braille, large print or other formats. If you would like a copy in a different format, in another language or require a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter, please use one of the methods below.
- Email: equalities@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk
- Telephone: 0300 123 8 123
- Textphone: 18001 01606 867670