20/12/12….Tenants praise Thame social landlord

THAME social landlord Soha Housing has revealed the results of a tenant satisfaction survey which showed that 90% of tenants are satisfied with Soha?s services 90% said that staff are friendly and approachable.

Chief Executive Richard Peacock commented: ?If people who work in housing don?t ?get? customer service, they?re frankly in the wrong job. We accompany people in good times and bad times, and it?s brilliant that the survey has shown that residents feel we?re on their side. We house the homeless, increase life chances through training and work experience and help older residents move to more suitable accommodation for their retirement years.

“These are just some of the ways Soha staff and the partners we work with support people during their big life events.?

Soha resident, Leonard Lambourne of Thame agrees: he?s just had a visit from mobile caretaker Trevor Broad.

?What a lovely guy ? a smashing chap who did a brilliant job.?

Toby Laver, Tenancy Support Officer for the last two years, said: ?99% of my work has me visiting residents at risk of losing their tenancy to support them getting back on track. Empathy is fundamental to getting my job done. The resident and I work together to face and rectify whatever situation they?re in.?

Soha?s survey was carried out during October-November by an external research agency with a return from over 1000 tenants. The landlord surveys residents every two years or so. Other survey results include:

Satisfaction with repairs and maintenance ? 85%
Satisfaction with neighbourhood ? 86%

Soha has more than 5,500 homes under management and 10,000+ residents.

PHOTO: Holly Caulkett, Business and Admin Trainee at Soha Housing.