It’s been six months since Milton Keynes City Council entered a new contract with Mears to repair and maintain its 11,000 council homes, and 32,000 repairs have since been done in line with new standards set out by council tenants.
To help plan the new contract, the city council listened closely to feedback from tenants and incorporated what they said was most important. Tenants wanted evening appointments, quicker action on recurring issues, and stronger oversight of repair quality.
In response, the city council and Mears have reshaped the service to better meet those needs. Evening repair appointments now give more flexibility to tenants who work during the day, new ‘priority repairs’ tackle repeat issues faster, and additional checks are being done to make sure repairs are done to a consistently high standard, as well as meeting the latest regulations for council homes.
The city council has also set up a resident group to give ongoing feedback about these and other improvements.
Since the contract started, 98% of repairs that are eligible for a first-time fix are being completed in one visit, and thousands of tenants have given the repair crew a five-star satisfaction score.
“We involved our tenants in designing the new contract and that’s meant we’ve been able to give people more of what they want. The early results show real progress. We’ll keep working closely with residents and listening to what they tell us, and we’ll stay focused on getting repairs done right first time.”
“Mears is proud to be working in such a strong partnership with Milton Keynes City Council to deliver a modern, responsive repairs service. We navigated a successful, smooth mobilisation together and have continued working closely with the Council and listening to tenants, we’ve been able to introduce new ways of working that improve speed, quality and transparency. We’re pleased to see early results reflecting this progress and remain committed to getting repairs right first time for every resident.”