Covid response welcomed by Melville customers in Midlothian

Almost 9 out of 10 Melville customers are happy with how a Midlothian housing provider responded to the Covid-19 pandemic, a satisfaction survey carried out earlier this year has shown.

Staff of Melville Housing Association, Midlothian’s largest registered social landlord, were praised for increasing contact and responding to the needs of tenants during the pandemic, making sure that anyone struggling could get support. Over the past 12 months Melville has also tapped into a number of funding streams to help its most vulnerable customers.

The survey also showed that 88 per cent of Melville customers are happy with their landlord’s overall performance, according to the independent poll of 320 of Melville’s 2,070 households.

Strong satisfaction levels were also recorded in the areas of value for money (83 per cent), neighbourhood management (90 per cent) as well as communication (96 per cent) and tenant participation opportunities (98 per cent).

Melville homes in Bilston.

“This survey was carried out independently, which is vitally important if we are to get an accurate picture of how we’re performing,” said Melville Chief Executive John McMorrow.

“I am delighted with the results, particularly the recognition for all the extra work done by our staff to mitigate the impact of the pandemic. I’m also pleased that so many of our tenants are happy with the overall quality of their homes (88 per cent), as we’ve worked extremely hard over recent years to modernise homes while at the same keeping rent levels as low as possible.

“Whilst these findings are extremely positive, there’s always room for improvement.

“We know there are some aspects of the repairs service that need work and we are already looking at these, however overall, these results show that, for the vast majority of our customers, we are delivering the services they want and delivering them well.”

When asked about areas for improvement and priorities for the future, the majority of customers highlighted the importance of an effective repairs service. Eight out of 10 said they are happy with Melville’s current repairs service. There was also backing for improving sustainability and environmental performance, strengthening tenant support services and providing wider help for communities.