Working to make things better
Our proposed 'arms length management organisation' (ALMO) will be set up and jointly owned by the four councils to manage and improve your council housing services.
The ALMO will work for the four councils, by providing a wide range of housing services to all tenants and leaseholders across East Kent. By working together like this we believe we can save money by being more efficient and invest those savings to improve your services.
At the moment, the quality of your housing service varies from one council to the next. Through these plans, our aim is to provide housing services across East Kent which rank amongst the best in the country.
So what do you want to see done better?
We’ve worked with local tenants and leaseholders to come up with some examples of what the proposals could mean to you:
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An easy to understand way to report and receive feedback on anti-social behaviour complaints and issues |
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A simple and easy service to help you deal with your complaints |
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Pleasant neighbourhood and well kept communal areas |
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More convenient access to your council housing services e.g. at evenings and weekends |
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More opportunities and greater choice in how services are run e.g. monitoring the contracts for repairs and other estate services |
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An A-Z contact list of all council housing services |
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New tenants to be told of the standards they are expected to meet |
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Improved support to new tenants moving in |
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Overall rent arrears reduced year on year |
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Advice and support offered to tenants with financial difficulties |
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A wider range of payment options available to pay rent and service charges |
Delivering better housing services to you
We’ve worked out the ALMO could save at least £1.5 million in the first few years, and we anticipate greater savings after that, for example by agreeing larger contracts for repairs and for computer systems. By law, any savings made must go back into improving your home or the service that you receive. We also want tenants to have a say on how these savings can be spent locally.
Don't forget:
What an Arms Length Management Organisation (ALMO) is:
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an organisation set up and owned by a council to run its council housing |
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run by an independent management board, which includes tenants and councillors, but it remains accountable through a contract and other agreements with the council |
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according to the government’s watchdog the Audit Commission, the best approach to managing housing services |
Our proposal for an ALMO is slightly different to what has been set up by other councils in the past, as ours will be jointly owned by the four councils.
What an ALMO isn’t:
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a private company, as it’s still owned by the council(s) that set them up. We are not proposing to privatise council housing, your homes are safe |
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it doesn’t make profits or have shareholders. Any savings that are made will be used to improve the services delivered to tenants and leaseholders |
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it’s not a housing association, and it does not mean that your home will be sold to a housing association |
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it doesn’t change your rights as a tenant. You will remain a tenant of the council and the council will still be your landlord |
