South West landlord brings repairs back in-house

Hayley Selway, who has been chief executive of Two Rivers Housing since December 2023, has been hearing from tenants about their experiences with repairs and other estate-based services to understand what is working well and what needs to change.

Following this, the executive team recommended to the board that Centigen FM close down and services be brought back in-house. 

The landlord hopes the move will help strengthen collaboration between its teams and make it easier to change services that tenants want to see improved. It follows Inside Housing’s latest annual repairs tracker revealing how providers in England are spending record amounts on repairs and maintenance.

Several landlords have also taken the decision to bring the repairs teams back in-house as the sector seeks more oversight of this work in anticipation of Awaab’s Law coming into force.

In February, housing secretary Angela Rayner confirmed that the government will bring the law, which involves strict timescales for carrying out repairs, into force from October.

Two Rivers also changed its branding, which was developed with tenants and staff and will feature on the vans driven by the repairs team.

Ms Selway added: “Our new brand reflects what tenants told us is most important to them. It represents our promise to continue to listen and work with them to continue to improve our services and invest in our homes.”