London council adopts a new groundbreaking housing repair service

The London Borough of Redbridge Council has announced they will be using a new digital housing repair service. 

Last week the local authority in London stated they are using a new digital repairs service which allows tenants to report any housing repair needs via a self-service. The software, now live at the council, has been created by Made Tech, a leading provider of digital, data and technology services to the UK public sector. 

The housing repairs software as a service provides Redbridge’s 5,500 council tenants with a convenient way of logging their repairs 24/7, meaning residents are no longer restricted to traditional call hours or email threads to report issues.

Against this backdrop, the new software also acts as a quicker way to raise a complaint with a property, which, following the tragic case of Awaab Ishak last year, is a welcomed response. The user-centred service has also been deemed easy to use as it avoids complex language and unnecessary logins. When using it, tenants are able to immediately log with issue and are met with an immediate text or email confirmation as proof it has been acknowledged.

Tom Harrison, Programme Director at London Borough of Redbridge, said: ‘We’re committed to providing a user-friendly, reliable service to the citizens of Redbridge. We needed an online housing repairs service that would work smarter for our citizens and fit around their everyday lives. With Made Tech’s help, we’ve now got exactly that. We’ve already had positive feedback from our tenants who like the design, and agree the step-by-step process is really easy to use.’

Glen Ocskó, Head of Local Government at Made Tech, said: ‘Forward thinking local authorities like Redbridge are helping to reinvent how housing repairs are delivered to citizens, with data at its centre to help make better-informed, proactive decisions. 

‘We’ve built an innovative and affordable new product for Redbridge, based on GOV.UK standards, making it more efficient for people to report their housing repair needs. We previously conducted research with community groups, to make the product accessible and easy to use as possible.’

In the future, the council have plans to work with Made Tech in a bid to analyse the housing repairs data from the new platform to continue to improve its housing service even further. It will also be extending its plans to provide user centric design for other services within the council. 

Image: Ricky Singh