PI's: Repairs & Void Works Cost
Value for Money: Repairs & Void Works Cost
CPP 02: Cost per property of responsive repairs and void works
Rationale, Definition & Worked Example
Below you can find information regarding the rationale, definition and formula for this performance indicator. This includes a worked example to demonstrate how this indicator should be calculated.
Rationale
This is one of four cost-per-property indicators with detailed definitions. These indicators enable wider sector benchmarking, as well as benchmarking with other Acuity members.
The key to successful benchmarking of these measures is allocating your costs in a consistent way. Cost allocation varies significantly between housing providers, meaning cost per property measures within financial statements are not comparable.
Organisations wishing to benchmark these high level cost per property measures need to ensure they are closely following the definitions.
Responsibility for ensuring data accuracy of these measures falls to the housing provider. If participants require detailed validation of their data, assistance with collating it (over and above clarity on definitions) please contact the Acuity team.
The purpose of this exercise is effectively to split your total operating costs into five distinct areas:
However, the fifth category (other) includes items that are not benchmarkable (as they will vary depending on your operational portfolio) and as such are merely set aside for the purposes of this benchmarking exercise.
We are effectively benchmarking the costs of your core landlord functions that every landlord needs to carry out.
Simply divide all costs into the five categories and divide them by all units in management.
The key to successful benchmarking of these measures is allocating your costs in a consistent way. Cost allocation varies significantly between housing providers, meaning cost per property measures within financial statements are not comparable.
Organisations wishing to benchmark these high level cost per property measures need to ensure they are closely following the definitions.
Responsibility for ensuring data accuracy of these measures falls to the housing provider. If participants require detailed validation of their data, assistance with collating it (over and above clarity on definitions) please contact the Acuity team.
The purpose of this exercise is effectively to split your total operating costs into five distinct areas:
- Housing management
- Responsive repairs and void works
- Major works and cyclical maintenance
- Overheads
- Other
However, the fifth category (other) includes items that are not benchmarkable (as they will vary depending on your operational portfolio) and as such are merely set aside for the purposes of this benchmarking exercise.
We are effectively benchmarking the costs of your core landlord functions that every landlord needs to carry out.
Employee and non-pay costs
Your non-pay costs should generally be fairly straightforward to allocate to the above five categories, using the guidance below. Your employee costs may be more difficult. We would expect the majority of employees to fall wholly into one of the above five categories. However, some staff (particularly in smaller housing providers) may carry out functions that cut across two or more of the categories. In this instance, the cost of these staff should be apportioned between the five categories based on the time they spend carrying out each role. For example, a call-handler taking calls relating to both arrears and repairs will need to have their cost split between housing management and responsive repairs and void works.Units and turnover
To scale your costs for benchmarking purposes, we divide them by the number of units in management.Simply divide all costs into the five categories and divide them by all units in management.
Definition
This indicator includes all costs relating to responsive maintenance and standard void works. Importantly, it includes both service provision (contractor side) and management (client side) meaning that staff involved in taking repairs calls or managing contractors should be included.
This is the total direct costs relating to responsive repairs and voids works divided by the number of units in management.
The numerator must include:
This is the total direct costs relating to responsive repairs and voids works divided by the number of units in management.
The numerator must include:
- Total cost of all staff directly engaged in the delivery of responsive repairs and void works, both in management (client side) and service provision (contractor side) if applicable, and include their national insurance, pensions and on-costs.
- All non-pay costs relating to responsive repairs and void works
- Note that responsive repairs includes all repairs that are carried out in response to a repair call (from either a tenant or member of staff) and will include responsive gas maintenance (but exclude servicing). Void works includes all standard void repairs that are carried out when a property becomes naturally vacant. It excludes planned and major works even if they were delayed until the property was void in order to carry them out.
- Include communal repairs (where they are responsive)
Responsive repairs and void works direct staff includes:
- DLO staff, and any other staff carrying out responsive repairs and void works
- Staff involved in management of responsive repairs and void works, which may be contractor management.
- Staff involved in repairs pre and post inspections.
- Directors and heads of responsive repairs and void works functions and their PAs (note if they also look after major works and cyclical maintenance, only a proportion of their costs relating to responsive repairs and void works should be counted)
- A proportion of call-handling staff time based on the amount of time they spend on responsive repairs calls (for a multi-functional call centre this would usually be around 40%)
- All staff engaged in housing management as detailed under direct cost per property of housing management
- All staff engaged in management or delivery of major works and cyclical maintenance programmes as detailed under direct cost per property of major works and cyclical maintenance.
- The chief executive and all staff involved in overhead / back-office functions, as detailed under overheads as a percentage of turnover
- All estate services contractor-side staff, such as caretakers, concierges, groundsmen, cleaners etc.
- All care and support staff
- All staff carrying out wider-role functions, such as community investment, financial inclusion, regeneration etc.
Responsive repairs and void works non-pay costs include:
- DLO costs
- Payments to contractors
- Out-of-hours responsive repairs call centre costs
- Disrepair cases (compensation and legal fees)
- Contract preparation costs
- Council tax, heating and security on voids
- Redecoration allowances
- Removal of squatters (legal fees etc.)
- All housing management costs as detailed under direct cost per property of housing management
- All major works and cyclical maintenance costs as detailed under direct cost per property of major works and cyclical maintenance
- All overhead / back-office costs as detailed in overheads as a percentage of adjusted turnover
- Estate services (contractor side) costs
- Costs relating to care and support
- Other costs eligible for service charge
- All costs relating to wider role type activities (such as area regeneration, financial inclusion, employment and training)
- Reconciling items such as
- One off redundancy costs
- One-off pension deficit funding
- Loan fees and financing arrangements
- Charges for bad debts
- Charitable donations
- Depreciation of housing stock
- Impairment
- Cost of sales
- And any other costs that are not part of your ongoing operating expenses.
Formula
Total direct responsive repairs and void works costs ÷ Total number of units in management
Where:
A = Total direct responsive repairs and void works costs
B = Total number of units in management
CPP 02 = A ÷ B
Worked Example
Total responsive repairs and void works costs = £800,000
Total number of units = 1,000
Calculation:
£800,000 ÷ 1,000 = £800