Isbigreallybetter?
AnanalysisforGWSFby
Scotland’sHousingNetwork
©ProducedforGWSFbyScotland’sHousingNetwork
April2017
Contents
1.0
Introduction...........................................................................................................................................................2
2.0
Dataanalysis...........................................................................................................................................................3
3.0
Detailedperformancebysize.................................................................................................................................5
4.0
Variationwithinsizeclassifications........................................................................................................................6
5.0
Financialindicators.................................................................................................................................................7
6.0
Historicalchanges..................................................................................................................................................8
7.0
Conclusions............................................................................................................................................................8
Appendix–additionalcharts..............................................................................................................................................9
AboutUs...........................................................................................................................................................................12
1. Introduction
ThisanalysisoflandlordperformancebysizewaspreparedattherequestoftheGlasgowandWestof
ScotlandForumofHousingAssociations(GWSF).
TheCharterdatafor2015-16wasusedasthebasisofperformance,withRSLsclassifiedbysizeandpeer
group.SpecialistRSLswereexcluded,butallotherRSLs(exceptGHA),includingbothmembersandnonmembersofGWSF,wereincludedintheanalysis.
Theclassificationproducedthesegroups:
Table1Sizeclassificationbypeergroup
Size
classification
<500
<1000
<2000
<4000
>4000
Numberin
group
29
46
30
27
10
Rural
3
9
2
3
Smallurban Medium
urban
24
29
Largeurban Smallstock
transfer
2
8
18
15
6
Largestock
transfer
10
9
4
UnliketheurbanRSLpeergroup,whichisalreadycategorizedbysize,theruralandstocktransferlandlords
arespreadacrosstheclassificationsusedhere,sotheyhavebeenretained,asthisfactorwouldnotaffect
theanalysis.
Theaverage(unweighted)performanceofeachgroupoflandlordswascomparedagainstallthemajor
Charterindicators.TheresultsaresetoutinTable2,colourcodedusingExcel’sconditionalformatting:this
allocatesacolourbetweendarkgreenthroughlightergreenandyellowtoorangeandred,dependingon
therelativeperformanceoneachindicator.Thisgivesanimmediatevisualcomparisonofperformancefor
eachsizeclassification.
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2. Dataanalysis
Table2Charterresultsbysizeclassification
Sizeclassification
<2000 <4000
>4000
75.83
75.55
78.08
77.50
I1Percentagesatisfiedwithoverallservice 93.38
90.51
88.96
87.58
88.79
I3Percentagesatisfiedwithkeepingtenantsinformed 95.44
I5all1ststagecomplaintsrespondedtoinfullwithinSPSO
timescales 92.92
I5all2ndstagecomplaintsrespondedtoinfullwithinSPSO
timescales 87.01
93.74
91.29
89.98
90.52
91.01
91.51
85.42
86.42
91.55
85.21
81.46
86.34
I6Percentagesatisfiedwithopportunitiestoparticipate 88.92
84.31
82.16
80.59
80.90
I7PercentagepropertiesmeetingSHQSyearend 96.45
94.50
89.69
90.62
93.12
I9Satisfiedwithstandardofhomewhenmovingin 88.88
89.09
86.24
88.43
87.34
I10Satisfiedwithqualityofhome 87.72
87.42
83.82
86.96
86.38
2.30
2.48
2.59
3.40
3.20
3.79
4.13
4.98
5.73
7.21
I13Percentagereactiverepairsrightfirsttime 94.73
93.78
93.79
91.29
86.86
I14Percentageofrepairsappointmentskept 97.44
95.43
96.38
95.05
94.38
I15Gassafetyrecordrenewedbyanniversarydate 99.87
99.86
99.84
99.94
99.86
I16Satisfactionwithrepairsservice 93.91
91.29
88.22
87.64
90.19
I17Satisfactionwithmanagementofneighbourhood 90.86
87.23
85.22
85.18
83.74
I18Percentageoftenancyoffersrefused 25.70
28.54
37.42
28.29
35.18
I19ASBcasesresolvedwithinlocallyagreedtargets 95.04
87.80
86.07
84.44
78.98
I20Percentageofalltenanciesfrompreviousyearsustained 91.20
I20Percentageofnewtenanciessustained-assessedas
statutorilyhomeless 82.49
I21Percentageoflettablehousesthatbecamevacantduringthe
year 7.31
90.89
89.72
90.00
88.68
90.35
85.60
89.26
89.85
8.05
9.14
8.34
9.04
I23Averagetimetocompleteapplications 45.64
70.46
78.97
68.88
51.38
I29Rentrepresentsvalueformoney 83.49
76.27
78.32
77.52
82.77
99.75 100.08
99.09
CharterIndicator <500
<1000
Averageweeklyrent 73.32
I11Averagelengthoftimetakentocompleteemergencyrepairs
I12Averagelengthoftimetakentocompletenon-emergency
repairs
I30Rentcollectedaspercentageofrentdue 99.95 100.02
I31Grossrentarrearspercentageofrentdue
3.52
3.80
4.16
4.87
5.35
I34Percentageofrentduelostthroughemptyproperties
0.28
0.37
0.76
0.58
1.29
I35Averagetimetore-letproperties 13.91
15.13
26.16
24.30
39.22
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Itisimmediatelyobviousfromthetablethatthesmallestlandlordswithunder500self-contained
propertiesperformbestonmostindicators,andperformancegenerallydeterioratesasthelandlordsize
increases.Infact,ofthe27indicatorsselected,thesmallestgroupperformedbeston22,andworston
onlyone.
Thesecondsmallestgroup,<1000properties,wasthenextbestperformer,bestonthreeindicators,and
worstononlyone.
Therewaslittledifferenceoverallbetweenlandlordswith<2000and<4000properties,butwithmajor
differencesintheirperformanceonindicatorsfordifferentCharteroutcomes.The<4000groupwasbest
ontwoindicators,whiletheyworstonsevenandnineindicatorsrespectively.
Thelargestgroup,thosewithover4,000properties,performedworstontenindicators,andbestonno
indicators.
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3. Detailedperformancebysize
Thereasonsbehinddifferinglevelsofperformanceonspecificindicatorswouldinmanycasesmeritfurther
researchandsoshouldbetreatedwithcaution.Whatismoresignificantistheoveralltrendintermsofthe
relationshipbetweensizeofassociationandperformance.
Landlordswithunder500units
Perhapssurprisingly,theaveragerentchargedislowestforsmallerlandlords.Alimitedfinancialanalysisis
includedfurtheroninthereport,toconsiderthisinmoredetail.
FortheCharterindicatorsonservicequality,the<500groupwasgenerallyaround3%betterthanthe
averageforallfivegroups.Theperformancewasparticularlybetteronthevalueformoneyindicators,
particularlyre-lets.The<500landlordsaveraged14daystore-letemptyproperties,andvoidrentlosswas
alsomuchbetter,at0.3%.
Theonlyindicatorwherethe<500landlordsperformedworstwasontenancysustainmentforhomeless
applicants.Thiswasmarkedlyworse,evenexcludingthelandlordwith0%.Thisisparticularlysurprising
giventherelativelylowpercentageofletstohomelessapplicantsfromsmalllandlords.
Landlordswithunder1,000units
Ingeneral,thelandlordswith<1000stockperformedwell,particularlyonrentcollectionandvoids,
tenancysustainmentandmostsatisfactionindicators,althoughtheywerethelowestfor‘rentrepresenting
valueformoney’.
Landlordswithunder2,000units
Thisgroupwereonlysecondhighestontwoindicators,1ststagecomplaintstimescalesandkeeping
appointments,whiletheywerelowestonSHQSandqualityofhome,refusals,andadaptationstimescales,
aswellashavingthehighesttenancyturnover.
Landlordswithunder4,000units
Thisgrouphadthebestperformanceforgassafety,andforrentcollection. However,theyhadthehighest
averagerents,andwerelowestonseveralsatisfactionindicators,aswellascomplaintstimescales.
Performanceonmostotherindicatorswasotherwiseclosetoaverage.
Landlordswithmorethan4,000units
Thelargestlandlordshadthelowestresultsformostrepairsindicators,neighbourhoodandcommunity,
andthevalueformoneyindicators.Theirrelettimesarethreetimeshigherthanthe<500group,while
thevoidrentlossisbetweenfourandfivetimeshigher.Mostsatisfactionindicatorsweresubstantially
lower,althoughtherentofferingvalueformoneyindicatorisveryclosetothefigureforthe<500
landlords,eventhoughtheaveragerentisaround£4aweekhigher.Theirperformanceonadaptations
wasalsosimilartothe<500landlords.
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4. Variationwithinsizeclassifications
Theanalysisabovefocusesontheaverageforeachgroup.However,theperformanceofindividual
landlordsvaries.Thetablebelowillustratesthisforfourindicators:averageweeklyrent,overall
satisfaction,emergencyrepairstimescaleandaveragedaystore-letproperties.
Table3VariationinCharterresultsforselectedindicators
Averagerent
Size
Highest
Average
Lowest
<500
93.36
73.32
63.65
<1000
96.88
75.83
56.79
<2000
85.99
75.55
56.65
<4000
87.05
78.08
65.99
>4000
88.18
77.50
69.55
<500
100.00
93.38
84.00
<1000
97.60
90.51
71.82
<2000
96.27
88.96
71.66
<4000
93.78
87.58
74.29
>4000
95.03
88.79
79.94
<500
4.7
2.30
0.6
<1000
6.3
2.48
0.9
<2000
8.9
2.59
1.2
<4000
9.4
3.40
1.3
>4000
8.6
3.20
1.4
<500
37.7
13.91
0.0
<1000
76.9
15.13
1.3
<2000
62.2
26.16
6.8
<4000
58.0
24.30
5.2
>4000
102.2
39.22
13.1
Overallsatisfaction
Emergencyrepairstimescale
Averagedaystore-let
Foreachofthesefourindicators,thebestperforminglandlordsineachsizeclassificationperformbetter
thantheaverageforthesmallestlandlordsasagroup,eventhoughthisisthebestperforminggroup.
Similarly,withoneexception,theworstperformingsmalllandlordsperformmorepoorlythantheaverage
forlargerlandlords,andsubstantiallyworsethanthebestperforminglargerlandlords.
Thissuggeststhatthatwhilesizemaymatter,itisclearlynottheonlyfactoraffectinglandlords’
performance.
6
5. Financialindicators
Astheaverageweeklyrentforsmalllandlordswaslower,somefurtheranalysiswasdoneofsomefinancial
indicatorspublishedbySHR.
Table4Financialindicatorsbysizeclassification
FinancialIndicator <500
<1000
<2000
<4000
>4000
Management&maintenanceadmin.(£)
1272
1232
1103
1118
1032
Staffcoststoturnover(%)
20
20
19
21
24
KeyManagementPersonneltostaffcosts(%)
19
21
14
9
7
Netsurplus/(deficit)(%)
17
16
16
10
18
Cashperunit
4449
3522
3282
2206
1956
HousingpropertiesNBVperunit
38401
45122
35001
47866
34493
25981
15756
23590
15358
Housinggrantsperunit
21367
Netdebtperunit
17033
19141
19244
24276
19136
Interestpayableperunit
309
446
393
611
555
Managementandmaintenanceadministrationcostsperunitshowedthatsmallerlandlordsspentmore
thanlargelandlords.Whetherthisisduetoeconomiesofscaleordifferentspendingprioritiesisnotclear
fromthis.
Staffcostsshowlittlevariationacrosscategories,butthereisasubstantialdifferencefortheSHRkey
financialratioof‘KeyManagementPersonneltostaffcosts(%)’.ThisratioiscalculatedbySHR,andisone
oftheirriskfactors.Largerlandlordshaveamuchlowerratiothansmallerlandlords.
Thenetsurplusacrossthedifferentsizeclassificationsissimilarforallexceptthe<4000group.
Thesmallestlandlordshaveamorefavourablefinancialpositionoverall–theircashholdingsare
substantiallyhigher,andtheirnetdebtperunitislower,withinterestpaymentscorrespondinglyloweras
well.
Insummary,thereareprobablytwofactors atstakeinrelationto thelowerrentsforsmallerlandlords:
• thelowerdebtandinterestcostsaidtheloweraveragerentforsmallerlandlords,and
• thebetterperformanceonvoidsandarrearshasalong-termcumulativeeffectthatbenefitssmaller
landlords’financialposition.
7
6. Historicalchanges
ItshouldalsoberememberedthattheRSLsectorhasundergonemajorchangesinthelast15years.The
numberoflandlordsandtheiraverageholdingarenowverydifferentfromthepositionin2001-02(the
earliestforwhichdataisavailable).TheTablebelowshowsthisforallRSLs(includingspecialists).
Table5Changesinnumberoflandlordsandstockbysizeclassification,2001-02and2015-16
Numberoflandlordsandstockfor2001-02and2015-16
<500
<1000
<2000
<4000
>4000
2001-02Numberoflandlords
94
34
37
9
1
2001-02Totalnumberoflettableself-containedunits
22084
25589
52140
22818
4282
2015-16Numberoflandlords
39
47
33
29
11
2015-16Totalnumberoflettableself-containedunits
11170
34876
47793
79150
63080
Ofcourse,thesechangeswillhavecomeaboutthroughgrowthofsmallerlandlordsintolargerones,aswell
asthroughnew-build,mergers,andstocktransfers,aswellasgrowthoflargerlandlords.
However,becausetherelativesizeofthesectorhaschanged,smalllandlordsmakeupaverysmall
proportionofthetotal.Soalthoughthe<500grouphashighermanagementcosts,thisonlytotalsaround
anextra£2.4m,thesameamountastheadditionalvoidrentlossofthe>4000groupcomparedtothe
positioniftheirvoidlosswassimilartothatofthe<500group.
7. Conclusions
TheCharterdataclearlydemonstratesthatsmallerlandlordsperformbetterfortheirtenantsthanlarger
landlordsgenerally.Theirfinancialpositionisalsostronger,partlybecausetheyperformbetteratletting
propertiesandcollectingrents,butalsobecausetheirdebtpositionisbetterthanlargerlandlords.
However,thereisalsovariationamongstlandlords:thissuggeststhatwhilesizemaymatter,itisclearlynot
theonlyfactoraffectingperformance.
CommentfromGWSF:TheForum’saimincommissioningthisreportisnottotrytoarguethatbeingsmaller
inherentlymakesahousingassociationgood,orthatlargerassociationsareinferior.Indeedanumberof
GWSF’smembersarelargerassociations.Awiderangeoffactorsmakeforagoodassociation–itsculture,
itscommitmenttothecommunityitserves,goodgovernanceandhighqualitystaff,tonamebutafew.
Instead,thereportaimstoprovideevidencetocounteroften-heardclaims–includingfromwithinthesector
itself–thatthereare‘toomanysmallhousingassociations’.Ifpeoplewanttoholdthatopinion,thenthatis
theirright,ofcourse.ButGWSFbelievesthatthisreport,likeothersbeforeit,providesnoevidencethat
smallerassociationsarelessefficientorlesseffective,withmuchdataappearingtopointintheopposite
direction.
8
Appendix–additionalcharts(basedonCharterdata2015/16)
Averagerentperweek
80
79
78
77
76
£ 75
74
73
72
71
70
78.08
75.83
75.55
<1000
<2000
77.50
73.32
<500
<4000
>4000
Emergency repairstimescales
4.0
3.4
3.5
3.0
2.5
2.3
2.5
2.6
<1000
<2000
3.2
Hours 2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
<500
9
<4000
>4000
Non-emergencyrepairstimescales
8
7.2
7
5.7
6
5.0
5
Days 4
4.1
3.8
3
2
1
0
<500
<1000
<2000
<4000
>4000
Grossrentarrears
6
4.9
5
4
3.8
3.5
5.3
4.2
%3
2
1
0
<500
<1000
<2000
10
<4000
>4000
Timetore-letproperties
45
39.2
40
35
30
Days
26.2
25
20
15
13.9
15.1
<500
<1000
24.3
10
5
0
<2000
<4000
>4000
ASBontarget
100
95
88
90
86
84
80
79
70
60
% 50
40
30
20
10
0
<500
<1000
<2000
11
<4000
>4000
AboutUs
Scotland’sHousingNetworkisthenationalbenchmarkingclubinScotlandandsupportssociallandlordsto
improveservicesbybenchmarkingcostandperformanceresultsandsharingbestpractice.Theorganisation
providessupporttolandlordsthroughourdatacollectionandbenchmarkingservice,ourinvaluableforums
andthroughourself-assessmentresources.WithovertwothirdsofsociallandlordsinScotlandasmembers
ofthenetwork,representingalmost90%ofthesectorbystock,theorganisationplaysanimportantrolein
drivingupservicestandardsacrossthesocialrentedsectorinScotland.
Getintouch
GWSFisthemembershipbodyfor68communitybasedhousingassociationsinGlasgowandtheWestofScotland.
Contactuson01419460645orviawww.gwsf.org.uk
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