Results of consultation on housing management team changes

As a social housing landlord, we are required to comply with the Regulator of Social Housing’s Consumer Standards. These Standards cover things like condition of properties, building safety, how tenants are treated, how complaints are handled, and how the Council manages its housing services overall.

The Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard, requires the Council to consult with you in a meaningful, timely and accessible way whenever we propose changes that will have a significant impact on you or the services you receive, such as changes to housing management, service provision or housing policy.

By consulting with you, we are ensuring that you have meaningful opportunities to scrutinise and influence how your homes, neighbourhoods and the services are managed.

The Housing Service underwent a review of its Housing Management Team in 2025. The purpose of the review and proposed change was to improve the services we provide to you, making it more resilient, supportive and reliable.

The proposal was for the Housing Service to move to a Neighbourhood Management approach, which would see five neighbourhood teams, each consisting of five specialist Officers, managing a patch of Council properties within their designated area. The key benefits to you will be:

• You will have named Officers to deal with in relation to your specific issues.
• There will be more frontline staff available to deal with your queries and support you.
• The change will build more resilience to the services we provide, especially during periods of staff absence.
• There will be more visibility and presence of Officers in your estate and neighbourhoods.
• Staff will work more closely and collaboratively with repairs and maintenance inspectors.

The above proposed changes will have no additional cost to tenants.

We sent a SMS text to all tenants who have provided us with a mobile number, with a link to the consultation webpage where further information could be found, and where a link to the online survey could be completed.

In addition to the SMS text, we also sent an email to all tenants who have provided us with email addresses and invited them to complete the survey, this also included a link to our website with further information.

For tenants living in our Independent Living Schemes, in addition to the above, we also posted a letter informing them about the consultation, and where they could complete the survey.

We would like to thank all tenants who took the time to respond to our consultation relating to the proposed change to the Housing Management Team. We received 180 responses, 84% of which agreed with the approach, 11% disagreed and 7% neither agreed nor disagreed.

We received many comments and questions from tenants completing the survey. We have read all of these and taken note of your thoughts and comments.

Where comments and questions related to specific issues in relation to your tenancy, home or neighbourhood, these have been forwarded to the appropriate Officer for action or response.

Some tenants identified the need to improve Social Services, Care and Mental Health Services. These are not services which are provided by Dover District Council, they are provided by Kent County Council and the NHS. However, the proposed approach will ensure there are more Officers available to liaise with other agencies to assist tenants in getting the support they require.

Some tenants raised comments and questions related to specific day to day operational aspects of a change to a Neighbourhood Management approach. Details about any changes will be communicated to tenants as the proposal progresses. Please be assured that we will keep you informed about any changes which will affect you.

Several tenants asked whether this was being proposed to save money. The answer to this is no. The primary reason for the proposal to a move to a strengthened Neighbourhood Management approach is to improve the service we provide to residents.

There were questions about how this proposal and any additional staff would be paid for, and specifically would it be a cost to the taxpayer. Again, the answer to this is no. All the services tenants receive are paid for by the rent tenants pay. The rent we collect is 'ring-fenced' in a special account - known as the Housing Revenue Account - and this money can only be spent on providing housing services to tenants. Taxpayers do not pay for the services we provide to our tenants.

Several tenants asked for named Officers to deal with for specific issues, for more Officers to inspect communal areas more frequently, for Officers to hold regular surgeries out in the neighbourhoods, and for Officers to be more visible on our estates. These are concerns which will all be addressed by the proposed approach.

There were comments about the need to improve our call handling - to answer calls more quickly, respond at the first point of contact, and to return calls promptly. These are all issues which will be addressed by the proposed approach.

Some tenants also suggested setting up volunteer groups where tenants could help keep their neighbourhoods tidy and carry out improvements. These comments have been passed to the Principal Tenant Engagement and Monitoring Officer for further investigation.

Overwhelmingly, there were many positive comments about our proposed change to improve the service we provide to you. Many tenants expressed that they thought this was a good idea. Many tenants were particularly pleased there would be more staff to assist with enquiries, and that there would be cover when staff were on leave.

Thank you once again to all the tenants who responded. To keep up to date with any changes or further consultations, please ensure we have the correct mobile number for you, sign up to the Tenant Engagement topic on Keep Me Posted, check the website, and look out for any letters or texts from us.

A total of 180 tenants responded to the survey. The consultation was active from 17 December 2025 until 23:59 on 18 January 2026.

Please note, we have removed personal information from responses where a tenant has given this.

Question 1: Do you agree with the proposed neighbourhood management approach?

Overall, 84% of tenants who completed the survey agreed with the proposed neighbourhood management approach, while 11% disagreed.

Q2: Please tell us the reason for your answer and if you have any alternatives, you think we should consider.

For this question, we received 28 comments.

Only respondents who put ‘Neither agree nor disagree’, ‘Disagree’ or ‘Strongly disagree’ were asked to complete this question.

Common themes that were identified from those of you who responded to this question were:

• Some tenants were unsure about the new approach.
• Some tenants perceived the change as ‘invasive’ and ‘controlling’.
• Some tenants had didn’t believe the new approach would change anything.
• Some sheltered tenants were concerned that the new approach would impact on independent living schemes.
• Some tenants highlights that improvements need to be practical, not just structural.
• Not all tenants felt strongly about the new approach.

Q3: Do you have any points, comments or questions about the new approach you would like to tell us?

For this question, we received 106 comments.

Common themes that were identified from those of your who responded to this question were:

• Tenants want clear, reliable, human communication, faster responses and direct contact with staff.
• Many tenants welcome a return to local, visible staff and more face-to-face interaction.
• Some tenants are concerned they will be disappointed.
• Tenants want visible estate management, better repairs oversight and proactive maintenance.
• Tenants want more in-person communication, not just better communication.
• Some tenants fear losing safety, support and independence is significant and needs addressing directly.
• Tenants want neighbourhood officers who have power, presence and follow-through.
• Tenants ask financial transparency and assurance about adequate staffing.