Resident Event 2025

Engaging Our Community

We believe that a strong and vibrant community is built on fostering open communication and being responsive. That's why we held our first Resident Event since being part of the Abri group as a platform to listen, learn and collaborate directly with our residents.

Highlights from our Resident  Event

The day was filled with insightful discussions, collaborative workshops, and opportunities to connect with your neighbours and our team. The highlight video captures the energy, the conversations, and the spirit of collaboration that defined our event. Watch the event highlight video here.

Your Questions, Our Answers

We know many of you had excellent questions during the event. We've compiled the most frequently asked questions and their answers here to ensure everyone has access to the information shared.

Housing management 

Q1: What improvements to services has Abri committed to and when will we see improvements? 

A: Before the partnership, we asked all Octavia residents what mattered most in terms of improvements to services. We took that valuable feedback and designed and co-created our Customer Commitment with the Octavia Resident’s Panel. These were shared with all residents in July last year and come under the following three themes: 

Repairing and maintaining homes, and keeping residents safe 

• Make it a priority to provide secure, well-maintained homes, backed up with a high-quality housing management and repairs service. 

• Ensure that the future investment requirements for homes and estates are fully provided for within a long-term financial plan, including making homes safe, warmer and more efficient to heat.  

• Work more effectively with Octavia’s repairs contractors, including Mears, to provide a repairs and maintenance service that meets the expectations of residents and represents good value for money.  

• Make sure that money is available to improve communal areas and to deal effectively with any complaints and reports of anti-social behaviour. 

• Support Octavia’s extra care, independent living and sheltered housing schemes and make sure that they remain great places to live for older residents and for those who have vulnerabilities. 

Improving services and resident satisfaction 

• Over the next three years, improve satisfaction for Octavia residents to the level achieved by the best London landlords (and ‘best’ means the top 25%). 

• Give all residents access to a named, locally based housing officer who will listen carefully to understand and respond to the needs and requirements of residents. 

• Provide an ability to manage repairs appointments online and view the status of any planned works to homes and estates, while continuing to invest in a call centre for residents who prefer to use the phone. 

• Answer calls more quickly and make sure that residents can get through to someone who understands them, their homes and communities, and can provide the right help and support to get things right first time. 

• Maintain and work closely with the existing Resident Panel to improve service performance and resident satisfaction, and to co-design services. 

• Introduce an instant resident feedback system to improve services based on what they say. 

• Appoint a regional managing director for the London region, who will be accountable to a new regional board that includes Octavia residents, to make sure that the services delivered in the region meet the needs of residents and communities. 

Listening to you, and supporting you and your community 

• Help residents who are struggling financially to keep their tenancies and to claim any benefits and payments to which they are entitled. 

• Ensure residents have a real say in how their communities develop and thrive, and to work in partnership with local councillors and MPs. 

• Continue and build on the work of the Octavia Foundation to help residents access better employment opportunities, gain new skills and take back financial control of their lives. 
• Look at how best to deliver more new, high-quality affordable homes where they are needed the most, including in London. 

These commitments apply to all our residents, regardless of tenure. There are different timeframes for each commitment, because we believe it’s important to be realistic and transparent about how long it’ll take to achieve these. But please know that we are making good headway already and will continue to update you on progress in our monthly digital resident newsletter. 

Q2: Why are you contacting residents to update their data? How will this improve the services you provide? 

A: As part of the partnership with Abri, all our data is being reviewed and updated. New ways of working are being adopted and we’re moving over to Abri systems. This has provided us with the ideal opportunity to check the data we hold about residents: good, accurate and thorough data enables us to tailor services, understand where we might need to focus our efforts or introduce new ones, and helps ensure all residents have a good experience of services they receive. 

Q3: How can I ensure issues on, in or around the buildings where I live are dealt with? 

A: We’re committed to serving and supporting our customers. We’ve asked our people to be more present in our communities, so you have the chance to see us more and be able to raise your concerns. We’re investing in recruiting more Housing Officers, so our residents know who to go to and feel more connected.  

Q4: Can you please provide an update on the cyclical works and the kitchens and bathrooms programmes? I have been waiting a long time for a kitchen replacement. When can I expect this to happen? 

A: We’re sorry that Octavia has not had the capacity and resources to carry out as much of the planned works as it would like. Now we’re part of the Abri group, we’re taking the opportunity to update the information we hold about the condition of our homes so that we can identify priorities for planned works like new kitchens and bathrooms. Once we’ve updated all the information, we’ll provide a further update on what work is planned and when. 

Q5: What changes will there be with how my home is managed with Abri? Will my housing officer change? 

A: When Octavia joined the Abri group, we became part of a larger, financially stronger and more resilient organisation. Abri operates a regional housing model that puts emphasis on local governance and leadership, to deliver quality services to the communities and neighbourhoods in each distinct area. Emily House, Octavia’s head office, is now the main office for the London region and will remain open for residents to drop by and chat to us at any time, along with providing a space for office-based staff to support delivery of frontline services. There are no immediate changes to how we provide housing management services, or who your housing officer is. However, as we continue on our partnership with the Abri group, we’ll look to make improvements and address key issues that you’ve told us are important. We’ll keep you updated with our progress on this and if it ever results in changes. 

Q6: What’s the policy on how you manage pest control – what service do you provide? 

A: We have a policy that sets out when we’ll provide pest control services and when residents are responsible for dealing with pests. If pests are found in communal areas or in multiple homes within a block, we aim to provide treatment as soon as possible and the cost of this will be paid through service charges. But if pests are found inside an individual home (including private gardens, terraces or balconies, it’s your responsibility to manage and treat the issue. If there’s a pest infestation on public land, you should report this to your local authority.  

Q7: How are service charge set? How can I be sure that I am getting value for money with my service charge? 

If you live in one of our homes where we provide a service to your building, such as hallway cleaning, you’ll need to pay service charges. These charges allow us to maintain communal areas, keep the building safe, and provide services that benefit all residents living there. We understand that getting value for money is really important to residents, so we regularly review the internal and external services at each scheme or block to make sure that you’re only being charged for services you benefit from. 

Q8: Why was my repair not done properly the first time? What are you doing to make this service better? 

We’re sorry that our repairs service hasn’t been up to the high standard that you deserve. We’re committing to be more effective and responsive in our repairs service, by working more closely with contractors and tracking repairs so we have assurance they’re delivered with quality and on time. To improve our repairs, we’ve introduced a resident feedback survey to capture satisfaction around our repairs service, asking you to rate your repairs experience and inviting you to leave comments about how it went. If you receive an email asking for your feedback, please let us know your thoughts – your comments will help us improve our services.  

Q9: Why don’t you have a resident app for reporting repairs? Will we get one? 

A: Abri has an online customer portal which can be accessed through any mobile device with an internet connection, and that includes a function to report and book repairs, along with a whole host of other handy abilities, like making a payment, updating your details and getting in touch through live web chat. There’s some work that needs to be done before we can introduce Octavia residents to the app, but it’s coming! 

Q10: I don’t have enough space in my home for my family. How can you help with my overcrowding issue? 

A: You have the option to swap your home with the tenant of any housing association or council in the country. This is often called a ‘mutual exchange’. If you’re planning a home swap, you need to check your exchange partner’s tenancy agreement, because you’ll be taking on that agreement. The new agreement may give you different rights and responsibilities. We also have a transfer list for residents who want to transfer to another Octavia property. To be accepted onto our transfer list, you need to be a permanent tenant with an assured or secure tenancy. If you’re currently living in an overcrowded home, or have a medical need to move, you can apply for a housing transfer. 

More information on mutual exchanges and transfers can be found on our website here. Please give us a call if you’re unsure about anything or would like to chat about your options. 

Resident involvement and influence 

Q11: Can we have more opportunities to meet with you to discuss our concerns with how our homes and buildings are managed or raise any concerns we have? 

A: We have a planned programme of local meetings and events where residents have the opportunity to meet with us and discuss their housing concerns. We tailor each event to best suit that neighbourhood – whether that’s in the form of meetings, social get-togethers, drop-in surgeries or door-knocking. If you have a local issue that’s affecting all residents in your area, and think it would benefit from being discussed in a group setting, please highlight it with us by contacting info@octavia.org.uk. If you’d like to know more about how to get involved, you can contact us at: be.involved@octavia.org.uk. 

Q12: What is the Resident Panel and what does it do? 

A: The Resident Panel is a group for residents of any tenure that works to ensure the voice of residents is heard. The panel influences decision-making, helps to identify areas for improvement and shape our services. 

The group does this by looking at the wide range of resident feedback collected about our service delivery and monitoring our performance, to determine priorities for each year, and hold us to account for performance in these areas. 

Involvement of the Resident Panel so far: 

We’ve been involved in the conversations between Octavia and Abri for over a year now. We supported with the resident consultation last year and have made sure that your views have very much been considered as part of the agreements. When the Panel were made aware of the potential partnership between Octavia and Abri, we set about agreeing a methodology for consulting with residents through the summer of 2024, to ensure all Octavia residents were given the opportunity to make their views known on the proposals. We were really pleased that so many residents took part, sharing that they wanted to see improvements to their services and homes as an outcome of this partnership. 

Partnership with Abri: 

As the Octavia Resident Panel, we’ll continue to work closely with Abri as this integration process progresses. We’re dedicated to making sure your concerns are heard and addressed and to make sure that the commitments Abri made to residents in the consultation are being delivered. 

It’s still very early days but we’re looking forward to seeing what happens and the resident panel will be continuing to challenge and make sure your voice is heard. 

Get in touch: 

If you have an issue that you would like to highlight with the Resident Panel, or if you’d like to know more about how to get involved, you can contact us at: be.involved@octavia.org.uk.  

Q13: what is a Resident Association and how can I join one for my building? 

A: Resident Associations represent many of the people who live in homes owned and managed by Octavia. They work closely with the Resident Involvement and Housing team to improve services, and some organise events for residents. 

As a representative, you can help your area in a range of ways, to help build community spirit and support other residents. This could include: 

• building local support for a positive change in your area 

• giving residents a collective voice to shape and improve local services 

• organising events in your local community, estate, local hall, or green space 

• running a community gardening programme 

If you don’t already have a Residents’ Association in your area and would like to set one up, we can offer advice through: 

• expert advice from the Resident Involvement Manager 

• a grant to help you get off the ground 

• a template constitution setting out rules for your association to adopt and use 

• details about meeting venues which may be available for your use 

You can find out more about setting up a resident group where you live by reading our  Resident Groups Guide. 

If you have any questions or require support, please do not hesitate to contact the Resident Involvement Manager, Peter Walkinshaw, on 020 8354 5500 or email be.involved@octavia.org.uk 

Performance monitoring and service quality 

Q14: How can we find out how well Octavia is performing with regards to its services to residents? 

A: Like all housing associations, we undertake Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSMs) to listen to you, our residents, and understand how we’re doing. Introduced back in 2023 as part of a new system developed by the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH), the TSMs help us understand what we’re doing well and where we need to improve. The measures are aimed at helping improve standards for people living in social housing, by:    

• Providing visibility, letting tenants see how well their landlord is doing. And enabling tenants to hold their landlords accountable   

• Giving the RSH insight into which landlords might need to improve things for their tenants    

We’ll be sharing our latest results for 2024/2025 in July. 

Q15: How are you ensuring that my home is safe to live in? 

A: We carry out a number of assessments and remedial measures to make sure residents are safe and that we adhere to regulations on resident safety.  We routinely carry out: 

• Fire Risk Assessments carried out by qualified professionals to identify and manage fire risks. 

• We also assess fire doors, escape routes, alarms, emergency lighting, and more. 

• Maintenance of fire safety systems, both active systems (like fire alarms, smoke detectors, sprinklers) and passive systems (such as fire doors, compartmentation, and fire-resistant materials) are regularly tested, serviced, and maintained. 

• Annual gas safety checks (Gas Safe Register certified engineers). 

• Electrical safety inspections at least every five years (EICR certification). 

• Regular water hygiene checks to prevent Legionella bacteria, particularly in communal systems. 

• We carry out planned and ad hoc external wall inspections, structural surveys and a myriad of other departmental assessments. 

These and more are some of the steps taken by us to ensure resident safety. It’s important that if we contact you to come and carry out these checks that you give us access to make sure we’re keeping you safe.