Pictured above: Dave Underwood

Repairs, customer satisfaction, housing officers and customer contact….are just some of the areas that the new resident inspectors at Derwent Living will be putting under the microscope this year.

The Derby-based housing provider appointed the team of inspectors last year to look at whether the company is delivering the best possible services to its residents and at areas where there is potentially room for improvement.

The four residents, who all live in Derwent Living properties, form part of the company's resident scrutiny panel. They all qualified with a Chartered Institute of Housing qualification late last year, in order to take on the important role.

The team now has a plan, which maps out the areas they will be looking into. The plan follows on from the results of the annual STATUS survey, which all housing providers are required to complete every three years to gauge customer satisfaction levels.

Between January and March the team will be looking at how the repairs service is delivered and if any improvements can be made. Between April and June, the focus will be on customer satisfaction amongst different communities. In July, the team will look at the role of the housing officers and the service they are delivering and at the end of the year they will be looking at Derwent Living's communication with its customers.

Peter McCormack, chief executive of Derwent living says: "We are pleased that our residents were so keen to become a part of a scrutiny team. It is valuable for us to have input from residents at all levels as we look to continually improve as a housing provider and maintain high standards. 

"Our STATUS survey results overall were very good, but there were areas for improvement. Now that the scrutiny team are ready to go we can look at these areas in more depth. "

Dave Underwood, one of the recently qualified resident inspectors, says: "Now we are qualified we are raring to get started. We will be looking at the repairs service initially and at how complaints are dealt with. I'm already enjoying the work and really feel like I'm making a difference to other resident's lives. I think our role is vital and with be really beneficial to others who potentially wouldn't be able to make their voices heard otherwise." 

For more information about Derwent Living, please visit their website here: www.derwentliving.com