Large London landlord extends reach of in-house repairs arm

Responsibilities under the latest move will include a range of jobs from electrical works to roof repairs and replacement. A total of 61 Equans staff have joined Hyde to help deliver the service, taking the maintenance team beyond 300 members.

Mark Batchelor, director of property services at Hyde, said: “Bringing our repairs in-house enables us to better manage our homes and ensure a more consistent level of service. This also gives us more control and flexibility over these services.

“Customers across London are already seeing the benefits of this approach after we brought repairs and maintenance services originally provided by Mears in-house last year.

“Over the last year, we’ve carried out more than 68,000 repairs to our homes. We’ve employed experienced trade operatives as well as office professionals who’ll help us deliver a first-class repairs service to our customers.”

New staff received their Hyde vans, uniforms and IT equipment at a ceremony at the start of October. The event also included several training sessions.

Hyde was one of seven landlords to sign up to an online platform this summer to improve the speed and effectiveness of its repairs service.

Earlier this week, the G15 member was hit with findings of severe maladministration by the Housing Ombudsman after it left an elderly resident with a heart condition living in damp and mould for 18 months.

According to the ruling, Hyde “unreasonably” delayed taking actions to resolve the issue and did not take into account physical disabilities and mental health impacts throughout.

The older woman, who was left without the use of her living room, also had breathing difficulties and mobility issues.

Hyde also failed to address another resident’s reports of anti-social behaviour adequately.

The landlord apologised to both residents and said it had made improvements to help ensure similar instances do not happen again.