Landlord shortlisted for prestigious national award

A local council is knocking on the door of scooping a prestigious national award after being shortlisted as the UK’s ‘Outstanding Landlord of the Year’.

A local council is knocking on the door of scooping a prestigious national award after being shortlisted as the UK’s ‘Outstanding Landlord of the Year’.

South Cambridgeshire District Council was shortlisted for the Chartered Institute of Housing award after industry judges were impressed by the authority’s innovative approach in delivering efficient services and outstanding homes.

Some key initiatives that the Council has lead the way on nationally include the setting up of a property company – Ermine Street Housing – that rents homes in the private sector to generate income to support Council services and set up the Housing Development Agency with Cambridge City Council to deliver 250 social homes each year.

The Council is also one of the top three performing councils in the country for re-letting homes and has exceeded customer satisfaction targets for repairs.

A trusted handyperson scheme to help tenants with small jobs around their home has also been set up along with warm homes strategy to tackle fuel poverty and condensation while making people more comfortable in their homes.

The Council currently owns, manages and maintains a stock of 5,500 homes.

Seven other councils and housing associations have also been shortlisted for the Outstanding Landlord of the Year award. The Council will know if they have been successful toward the end of April.

Shortlisted councils and housing associations:
Amicus Horizon
Greenfields Community Housing
Ongo
Queens Cross Housing Association
Soha Housing
South Cambridgeshire District Council
Stockport Homes
Wales & West Housing

Cllr Lynda Harford, South Cambridgeshire District Council’s cabinet member for housing, said: “We pride ourselves on being a high quality and ethical landlord who delivers exceptional value for money. Being a great landlord is about far more than just managing bricks and mortar. A lot of our focus continues to be on how we do more to support our tenants and make sure our service is driven by their priorities.

“The housing service has also been at the centre of innovation by the Council and our investments have been very successful in delivering income to help us meet the budget gap left behind by cuts to the funding we receive from government.

“Congratulations to the team, and all the other services in the council who support housing. Being shortlisted is a huge success and we look forward to seeing if we pick up the UK award.”

More details about the awards can be found by visiting
www.insidehousing.co.uk/events/awards/uk-housing-awards