Housing Report Card 2022/2023
This report card includes information about the performance of Shetland Islands Council (SIC) Housing Service between April 2022 and March 2023 as reported to Scottish Housing Regulator in the Annual Return of the Charter.
Housing Repairs
| Repair Priority with SIC Target time | No of repairs completed | SIC average time |
| Emergency (1 day) | 335 | 2.46 hours |
| Urgent (3 days) | 1535 | 2.3 days |
| Routine (28 days) | 2029 | 36.08 days |
| 3-Month | 32 | 64.03 days |
| All Non-emergency (Urgent, Routine & 3 Month Total) | 3596 | 21.58 days |
Repairs and Maintenance Satisfaction
During 2022/2023 the overall tenant satisfaction with the repairs and maintenance service was 91% with the majority of tenants saying they were very satisfied following a repair being completed. Satisfaction with the repairs service has increased from 84% in 2022/23.
Adaptations
There were 107 adaptations carried out to Council Houses in 2022/2023. This includes both minor and major adaptations from grab rails to level access showers and ramps. For the major works, they are assessed on medical need and recommendations from our Occupational Therapy colleagues.
Scottish Housing Quality Standard (SHQS)
The SHQS level includes - Energy Efficiency, Electrical Testing and Fire Detection, all 3 are required to meet the standard. The levels at March 2023 are shown below -
- Energy Efficiency Standard for Social Housing (EESSH) - 84%
- Electrical Tests - 78%
- Fire Detection - 85%
Overall at March 2023, 65% of Council Housing Stock met the Scottish Housing Quality Standard for Social Housing, this is more than double the previous years figure.
Planned works are ongoing to improve our pass rates, with all electrical tests and fire detection works due to be completed by March 2024.
We need access for these works to take place and if you have been contacted to make an appointment please get in touch as soon as possible on 01595 744360.
Weekly Rents
The 2022/2023 average weekly rent for a lettable, self contained SIC property was £82.79. Please note this includes all sizes of properties.
The percentage average weekly rent increase applied to 2023/24 rents was 4.50%
Rent Loss
The percentage of rent due lost through properties being empty during the last year is 2.25%. This is similar to the previous year, 2.26%.
Arrears
The percentage of total rent arrears as at 31 March 2023 was 11% and remains the same as in the previous two years. This figure includes all arrears: current tenants, former tenants and amounts written-off in the year.
If you find yourself in arrears or have difficulty paying your rent, please contact the Council's Finance Recovery on 01595 744623 and the Citizens Advice Bureau on 015950 694696 who will be able to help you.
What happens if I fall behind with my rent.
Offers Made
We made 187 offers of housing, 22% of which were refused. The main reason for refusals was a change in circumstances for the applicant.
We would like to remind applicants to advise us of any changes which may affect their housing application and their ability to accept an offer.
Properties Allocated
In 2022/2023, we let 123 SIC properties. Through our Nomination agreement with Hjaltland Housing Association (HHA), 42 applicants were housed. The table below shows the number of lets and nominations by locality.
| Locality | Council Lets | Hjaltland Housing Nominations | Total Lets and Nominations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Central | 10 | 9 | 19 |
| Lerwick and Bressay | 44 | 22 | 66 |
| North | 21 | 2 | 23 |
| North Isles | 25 |
0
|
25 |
| South | 9 | 8 | 17 |
| West | 12 | 1 | 13 |
| Whalsay & Skerries | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Total | 123 | 42 | 165 |
Average Time to Relet
The number of lettable properties that became available during 2022/2023 was 122 or 7.70% of stock, very similar to the previous year.
There continues to be a decrease in the average time to relet properties from 101.85 days in 2021/2022 to 87.69 days in 2022/23. The properties with the longest re-let times are mainly in more remote and rural island areas.
Mutual Exchanges
In 2022/2023, there were successful mutual exchanges involving 7 SIC properties.
Housing Applications
The number of applications on the housing register at March 2023 was 705. Please note that this includes both live and suspended applications.
Tenant Handbook
As you may be aware the new tenant handbook is now available on our website. Tenant Handbook – Shetland Islands Council
As we are always looking to develop and improve the handbook, any feedback or comments are appreciated. If you have any queries regarding this, please do not hesitate to contact us on 01595 744360 or you can email housing@shetland.gov.uk
Tenant Satisfaction
The key results from the last SIC Tenant Satisfaction survey, March 2023 are below.
| Charter Question | % of SIC tenants very and fairly satisfied |
|---|---|
| Taking everything into account how satisfied are you with the overall service provided by the Housing Service? | 79% |
| How good or poor do you feel the Housing Service is at keeping you informed about their services and decisions? | 81% |
| How satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the opportunities given to you to participate in the Housing Service's decision making processes? | 53% |
| Overall, how satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the quality of your home? | 78% |
| Overall, how satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the Housing Service's contribution to the management of the neighbourhood you like in? | 82% |
| Taking into account the accommodation and the services the Housing Service provides, to what extent do you think that the rent for this property represents good or poor value for money? | 73% |
Involving tenants
We are always keen to hear from tenants and to try and find ways of making it easier for you to be involved in shaping the services you receive from us. Ideas and views are always welcome. We want to provide good quality, value for money housing services to all tenants.
We continue to develop our Register of Interested Tenants, where you can tell us what you are interested in and how you want to be involved. You don't even have to leave your house to be involved.
You can find out more information from our website.
Full Charter Submission
Our full Charter submission and report from the Scottish Housing Regulator on our performance is available from the Housing Office and online at the Housing Regulator website.
Feedback on Report Card
We are keen to hear what you think of the information included in this Report Card - please let us know your thoughts. You can share your views with us by completing this feedback box or email or telephone contact us.
If you require a paper copy of the Report Card please contact us