Your views
Camden Leaseholders’ Survey Report 2014/15
About the survey
In January 2015 many of you took part in our annual survey focusing on how happy you are
with the way Camden delivers services and fulfils the lease obligations in respect of your
home. It was carried out by an independent market research company - Acuity.
survey was sent to a sample of 1,881 leaseholders. Over 460 of you responded
 The
(25%). Thank you to all of you who took part!
report contains key results from the survey and compares results from the last one
 This
(2013/14). The questionnaire was based on HouseMark’s STAR (Survey of Tenants and
Residents) questions, which allows the results to be compared with other landlords.
Satisfaction with key services
fifths of Camden’s leaseholders are happy with the overall services they receive
 Two
(42%).
highest rating from Camden’s leaseholders was for their neighbourhood as a place to
 The
live (77% - 1% higher than in 2013/14)
two thirds were satisfied with the quality of their home (63% - 2% lower than in
 Around
2013/14).
third of leaseholders are satisfied with repairs services overall (28%) – a 2% decrease
 Acompared
with 2013/14.
for money for service charge (20%) is rated much lower and is a 1% decrease on
 Value
2013/14.
Overall satisfaction with Camden
services
42%
Quality of home
63%
Neighbourhood as a place to live
Overall repairs service
Value for money of service charge
77%
28%
20%
77%
Satisfied with
neighbourhood
Individual homes and services





The survey collected valuable household information such as age and ethnicity. This type
of information helps Camden to understand the needs of different groups and to plan how
best to deliver services in future.
14% of leaseholders are under 35 years of age, while 50% are between 35 and 59 years
and over a third of residents (36%) are aged 60 years or over.
One in eight leaseholders (12%) have someone in the household with a long-term health
problem or disability.
52% of leaseholders are women and 48% are men.
60% of tenants are British White, 19% are White Other and 21% are Black and Minority
Ethnic.
The charts and graphics below show the effect things like age have on how people feel about
services.
The views of leaseholders of different ages
53%
44%
37%
36%
28%
26% 24%
16%
Overall satisfaction
Repairs & maintenance
20%
Up to 34 years
35-59 years
60+ years
Listening to views
The graph above shows that, on the whole, older residents are more satisfied with services,
repairs and listening to their views than younger residents. The graphics below show that
gender has little impact on satisfaction.
42% of men are satisfied
with services overall
46% of women are satisfied
with services overall
An independent survey carried out by ACUITY (an independent research agency specialising in housing
Neighbourhood



Over three quarters of leaseholders are satisfied with their neighbourhood (77%)
Three-fifths of leaseholders are satisfied with the appearance of their neighbourhood
(60%)
A high percentage of leaseholders have problems locally with rubbish/litter (75%), dog
fouling/dog mess (68%), noisy neighbours (60%) and car parking (56%).
Satisfaction with neighbourhood
77%
60%
Neighbourhood as a place to live
Appearance of neighbourhood
Estate services



Almost half of leaseholders are satisfied with the cleaning and upkeep of communal areas
(49%).
Three-fifths of leaseholders said that they are satisfied with the grounds maintenance in
their area (60%).
Only a quarter of leaseholders are satisfied that the estate services they receive represent
value for money (25%).
Estate services
49%
60%
25%
Cleaning & upkeep of
communal areas
Grounds maintenance
Value for money of estate
services
An independent survey carried out by ACUITY (an independent research agency specialising in housing
Contact and information

Just under half of leaseholders are satisfied with the information they are provided with
about obligations under the terms and conditions of their leases (48%).

Two-fifths of leaseholders are satisfied with Camden’s website as a source of useful
information (42%)/
48%
42%
Satisfaction with information
about obligations under the terms
of conditions of the lease





Satisfaction with Camden''s
website as a source of useful
information
Over half of leaseholders agreed that Camden staff are friendly and approachable (55%).
Around two-fifths of leaseholders agreed that Council Officers are knowledgeable and able
to deal with their enquiries (37%).
Comments expressing dissatisfaction with contact mainly covered poor customer service,
aspects of repairs and maintenance and poor information or assistance around service
charges
Around a fifth of leaseholders are satisfied that Camden listens to their views and acts
upon them (22%) and around a third were satisfied with the opportunities provided to voice
their comments and take an active part in shaping the services the Council provides
(34%).
Over three-fifths of leaseholders felt that the Council keeps them informed about issues
that affect them as a resident (62%).
62%
55%
37%
34%
22%
Friendly and
Staff knowledgeableListens to views and Opportunities to
approachable staff and able to deal actions upon them make comments
with enquiries
and take part in
shaping services
Kept informed
An independent survey carried out by ACUITY (an independent research agency specialising in housing
Service charges



A fifth of leaseholders are satisfied with the value for money provided by the service
charge (20%).
Almost a half of leaseholders find it easy to understand the service charge invoice (47%).
A third of leaseholders are satisfied with the information Camden gives about how the
service charges are calculated (33%).
47%
33%
20%
Value for money of the
service charge
Ease of understanding
service charge invoice
Information about how service
charges are calculated
Complaints and anti-social behaviour



Two-fifths of leaseholders are satisfied with the way anti-social behaviour complaints are
dealt with (40%).
Just under a third of leaseholders are satisfied with the way complaints are handled by the
Council (30%).
Two-fifths of leaseholders are satisfied with how enquiries are dealt with generally (41%).
41%
40%
30%
Satisfaction with the way anti- Satisfaction with the the way
social behaviour complaints are
complaints are handled
dealt with
Satisfaction with how enquiries
are dealt with generally
An independent survey carried out by ACUITY (an independent research agency specialising in housing
Changes in satisfaction since 2013/14

There have been some encouraging improvements in satisfaction levels in a number of
areas since the last survey in 2013/14.
2014/15
2013/14
Overall services
Quality of home
Value for money of service charge
Ease of understanding service charge invoice
Information about how service charge is calculated
Neighbourhood as a place to live
Appearance of neighbourhood
Cleaning & upkeep of communal areas
Repairs to communal areas
External building repairs & maintenance
Grounds maintenance
Value for money of estate services
Friendly and approachable staff
Knowledgeable and able to deal with queries
Listens to views and acts upon them
Keeps residents informed
Overall repairs service
Anti-social behaviour
Complaints
Enquiries generally
42%
41%
20%
21%
63%
65%
47%
43%
33%
35%
33%
26%
30%
28%
49%
43%
25%
24%
37%
33%
22%
24%
60%
60%
77%
76%
60%
55%
55%
50%
28%
30%
40%
30%
30%
19%
41%
20%
62%
54%
You say – We do
Carrying out this survey is just part of the part of the work Camden does to involve you in
developing services. As well as publishing the results of the survey, Camden plans to put the
findings to good use by working with residents to further improve the services they provide.
Publish findings for
leaseholders
Use findings to
plan and improve
services
Involve
leaseholders in
shaping service
improvements
An independent survey carried out by ACUITY (an independent research agency specialising in housing