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homes and give the service tenants want. Our core values are openness, integrity and fairness. Keniston has charitable status.
Where are the properties? In Islington, Lambeth, Southwark, Croydon, Bexley, Bromley and Crawley. Most of the properties are flats, but there are houses in Bromley, Lambeth, Southwark and Crawley. Some of the flats are “sheltered”; these are for older people with extra support services provided, usually through a scheme manager. For further information see the properties page.
Where is the office? The office is in Farnborough, Kent, close to Orpington; it is about 4 miles from Junction 4, M25. It is situated on Keniston’s largest estate, known as Darrick Wood, which comprises about half of our properties. For directions please see Contact us.
How do we work? New tenants come to us either by referral from local authorities or a small number of other organisations which deal with people in housing need; we refer to these as referral agencies. We accept direct applications for sheltered flats for older people.
How many staff? There are currently nearly 40 staff. About half of these are office based, the others being based on our estates with jobs such as scheme managers, caretakers, cleaners and gardeners. Many staff are part time or job sharers. Office staff work in four teams – housing management, repairs service, finance and admin.
What are the current challenges for the organisation? Managing anti social behaviour, improving the number of repairs we complete within the target time we set for each job, achieving our targets for race equality and working with residents to provide a permanent community centre at Darrick Wood. We want to be in the best 25% of housing associations in London judged by Housing Corporation performance standards, and in the top 10% for tenants expressing satisfaction with their landlord.
And how about significant achievements in the recent past? The most recent major independent survey of our residents suggests 87% of our residents are satisfied with Keniston (the industry standard is less than 80%). In the summer of 2006, we completed a 17 year programme of major repairs to the homes at Darrick Wood, costing around £12 million in total. We maintained our accreditation for the Clients Construction Charter in 2006. Keniston is an Investor in People.
Who oversees housing associations? Keniston is registered with the Housing Corporation (the main regulatory body for housing associations) (see Regulation page), and also as an Industrial and Provident Society with charitable status with the Financial Services Agency (FSA). The Audit Commission is responsible for inspecting Housing Associations to check on their performance. Keniston is a member of the National Housing Federation.
2006 Annual report. This is in diary format this year. A copy has been sent to all tenants. If you would like to see the text of the report you can download it by clicking here. We still have a few 2007 diaries left. Please phone the office if you would like one.
Did you know . . . if you are a tenant you can now pay your rent by direct debit, over the internet or by phone - More information
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