|
8 out of 10 Housing
Association residents remain pleased with their homes
HOUSING Association residents remain
pleased with their new homes, with 80% saying they were very satisfied or
satisfied after 3 to 4 years of occupancy, new research has shown. 64% said their
home was much better than their previous residence, illustrating that standards
of new affordable housing are meeting expectations and often exceeding them.
There was a high level of satisfaction with many key aspects of design, such as
space, internal layout and security, and residents themselves identified a wide
range of positive attributes of their new homes.
In addition over 80% of residents were satisfied with the overall appearance of
their housing development and most felt that it integrated well with surrounding
buildings and met the needs of residents. However, modern living was found to
challenge some aspects of design, particularly the level of storage and parking
provision, according to a survey commissioned by the NHBC Foundation and
supported by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA)
Nearly 30% of residents surveyed, were dissatisfied with parking provision. A
further 27% were dissatisfied with storage space, with some residents struggling
to store basic household items such as vacuum cleaners, bedding and linen, toys,
shoes and even clothes.
The adequacy of ventilation was also a concern, with 55% of those surveyed
recognising one or more symptoms of poor ventilation:- dampness and/or
condensation (41%), mould (28%), or lingering cooking odours (10%) In addition
some residents were dissatisfied with the winter temperatures in their homes
and, significantly about 20% found their heating controls difficult to use.
The findings are outlined in Affordable homes, that residents' views of quality and
compared with the HCA Quality Counts surveys, which takes place shortly after
residents move in. Conducting this survey 3 to 4 years after residents have
moved in means they have had more time to appreciate both the longer term
advantages and consider any issues they have encountered with their new home.
The results provide an important new picture of residents' ongoing satisfaction
levels.
Neil Smith, Head of Research and Innovation at NHBC said:- "The standards of
new affordable housing are such that most residents are still pleased even 3 or
4 years after moving in, long after the initial euphoria of having a new home
has worn off.
This is great news, but there is still room for improvement. Providing more help
to residents on how to run their homes more effectively should be a priority for
housing associations and developers. The research highlights increasing
expectations for parking and the challenge this creates for the overall design
of developments." |
