Desktop Review of Void Standards

Fifteen social housing providers were approached for their void lettable standard, three responded to share their policy (Leeds City Council, Joseph Rowntree Housing Foundation and Thirteen Group) which has enabled a comparison to our current standard to help guide decisions regarding potential improvements to our void lettable standard.

Leeds City Council manage over 54,000 homes. This council covers mainly urban areas so it will likely face differing challenges to NYC, however it may be useful to compare the provision of social housing from a council which is geographically close to North Yorkshire. They last updated their lettable standard in November 2024, though are currently in the process of updating their standard (improving the windows standard). It must be highlighted Leeds City Council shared the tenant version of their lettable standard so is lacking in specific details.

Joseph Rowntree Housing Foundation (JRHF) are a housing association with approximately 2,620 homes in their stock which spans across the North East. They are in the initial stages of writing their own standard, with the most recent review being conducted in November 2024.  They shared their first draft.

Comparatively, Thirteen Group (also a housing association) manages over 35,000 homes across the North East, North Yorkshire and the Humber. They were one of the first social housing providers to include floor coverings throughout their properties, their lettable standards policy was last updated February 2024.

	Decoration	Floor Coverings	Asbestos Removal	Housing Improvements	Housing Adaptation
North Yorkshire Council (current policy)	Decoration Arrangement delivered with Dulux Decorating Centres. Paint Packs ordered by tenants	Vinyl flooring to all wet areas. No floor coverings fitted during void works. If carpets fitted and to good standard, will be left in situ.	Remove ACMs that are identified as ‘remove’, conducts R&D asbestos survey prior to any work.	Should alterations be authorised and in good condition, will be left in situ.	All adaptations retained and serviced, suitably advertised on Choice Based Lettings.
Leeds City Council Lettable Standard	Removes graffiti and polystyrene coverings. Decoration is the tenant’s responsibility (incl. removing wallpaper and preparation work).	Ensures flooring is free from hazards but no reference to floor coverings in current policy.	Asbestos survey conducted where necessary, copy supplied to tenant on request.	Not referenced in current policy.	Will try to match tenant with home already adapted or one that can be adapted.
JRHF Lettable Standard First Draft	Offers decoration vouchers (dependent on condition of existing decoration).	Will be given option to keep any existing, good quality floor coverings which will become tenants’ responsibility.	No specifics but all properties will come with asbestos report.	Discussion with tenant at viewing whether would like to keep, will then become tenants’ responsibility.	Will remove stairlifts if new tenant does not require them.
Thirteen Group Lettable Standard	Offers full or partial decoration only when needed. Prefer to offer decoration vouchers.	Floor coverings provided throughout entirety of property.	Conducts targeted asbestos survey for properties built before 2000 and high-risk asbestos items will be removed.	Good quality alterations, meeting H&S standards can be left, customer sign disclaimer accepting responsibility.	Assessed to ensure suitability, may be removed if unsuitable for new tenant or in an unacceptable condition.

Decoration

Both housing associations offer decoration vouchers to help their tenants with the financial cost of decorating their homes.  The extent of this is dependent on the condition of any existing decoration.  Thirteen highlight how offering decoration vouchers instead of decorating their social houses reduces turnaround times and the associated cost of voids.  They may offer full or partial decoration when needed, their Housing Team decides on whether full decoration is appropriate.

In contrast, Leeds City Council do not provide any decoration aside from removing graffiti. They clearly state decoration is the responsibility of the tenant.

Floor coverings

Thirteen Group is the only social housing provider within the sample to provide floor coverings, JRHF will offer the tenant any existing, good quality floorings in the property.  They have spent circa £2 million on providing floor coverings throughout their properties, all voids are provided with flooring coverings, this will either be new carpets or, if the existing flooring is in good condition, it will be cleaned and left in situ for new tenants.  Approximately 60% of their houses get new carpets and flooring.  They have found the amount spent on flooring is matched by the amount saved from the reduced voids and fewer repairs due to tenants taking better care of their house.

This was in response to changes in industry practice which has opened conversations about including floor coverings in all habitable rooms.  The Welsh Housing Quality Standard 2023 stipulates, ‘At change of tenancy all habitable rooms (bedrooms and living rooms), staircases and landings located within the home should have suitable floor coverings’, therefore it is not unreasonable to predict an extension within the English Decent Homes Standard to include floor coverings.

Asbestos removal

The social housing providers do not discuss asbestos removal within their lettable standard, except stating that an asbestos survey will be conducted which the tenant can request a copy of.

Adaptations

The social housing providers try to match potential tenants to a previously adapted home, where this is not possible Thirteen Group would consider removing any adaptations should they be deemed unsuitable for the new tenant.  However, alterations in good condition which adheres to Health & Safety Regulations may be left, with the tenant signing a disclaimer accepting responsibility over these.

Any work to improve the house conducted by previous tenants will be discussed with the tenant upon viewing the property, with the tenant accepting responsibility for these improvements should they take up tenancy.

Complaints

Row Labels	Not Pursued / Investigated	Not Upheld	Partly Upheld	Rejected	Upheld	(blank)	Grand Total
Housing - Tenant	16.35%	21.67%	12.93%	3.04%	46.01%	0.00%	100.00%

Further detail was requested regarding complaint outcomes. The figures provided show that in respect of tenant complaints received between April 2024 and December 2024, 59% of complaints were upheld or partly upheld versus 22% which were not upheld.