ASW Property Services, a property services specialist covering Wales, the Midlands and the South West of England, has signed an agreement with Family Housing Association, a registered social landlord in Swansea, to maintain its 2,800 properties over the next four years.
The deal creates job security for more than 100 staff employed by ASW, will enable the company to invest in apprenticeships and provides certainty and a quality service for the tenants of properties managed by Family Housing Association.
The deal was signed this week by Anthony Thomas, managing director of ASW, and Karen Dusgate, chief executive of Family Housing Association, which develops and manages homes for thousands of people across South West Wales from Pembrokeshire in the west to Neath Port Talbot in the east.
As a result of the agreement, tenants will be able to access a responsive, emergency hotline available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, which they can call if they have problems in their homes. Emergencies will be attended within 2 hours by ASW.
ASW will also be responsible for refurbishing void properties when tenants have moved out, making them available as quickly as possible to the next residents. Its target in terms of turnaround time is just ten days – significantly faster than the industry average.
The agreement also means that ASW can invest in training a new generation of apprentices. ASW’s Thomas estimates that in the duration of the four-year deal, up to 16 apprentices will work on properties owned by Family Housing Association. He stresses that such schemes are critical when it comes to being able to invest in training a new generation of workers. ASW will also engage with the local communities providing work experience placements and supporting local community projects.
Anthony Thomas said:
“Agreements such as this are important to both organisations for several reasons. It gives the tenants of Family Housing Association a reliable and high quality service they can call on at any time and know they will receive good service.
“For us, it allows us to plan over the next four years in terms of our workforce and training. We will be able to invest in training apprentices while offering job security to our existing staff. On top of that, all our staff live locally and therefore also spend their wages locally, keeping wealth in the area and boosting the local economy in a way that does not happen if larger companies from further afield are awarded such work.”
Karen Dusgate, Chief Executive at Family Housing Association, said:
“We went through a very comprehensive tender process, working closely with our tenants at all stages and are delighted to have appointed ASW Property Services to provide our day to day repairs service and empty homes repairs management.
“We look forward to building on our strong existing relationship with ASW to deliver a repairs service that makes a positive difference to the lives of our tenants and the communities they live in.”
