Mears were appointed Havering Council’s new repairs and maintenance contractor in April 2022, servicing the borough’s circa 12,000 council homes.

In April 2022, Mears were appointed by London Borough Havering (LBH) as its new repairs and maintenance contractor. This 10-year, price-per-property contract, encompasses all repairs across the borough’s housing estates, providing a quick and effective service for all customers.

Mears have also integrated the council’s OpenHousing management system with their own MCM system, allowing residents to interact with them throughout the life of their repair, helping them get it right first time and improve our customer experience. This has provided a seamless customer journey.

In May 2023, the council switched to a dedicated Mears call centre, due to performance issues including call waiting times and incorrect descriptions and priorities. Now set up direct with Mears, it offers tenants a team of experienced staff which ensures the smooth and successful running of our repairs service.

Co-located with the council repairs and voids team, Mears are delivering repairs and maintenance works to Havering’s portfolio of rented and leasehold properties as well as the estate works. These works include:

• Repairs
• Maintenance
• Voids
• Kitchen and bathroom refurbishments
• FRA compliance work and planned program
• Playgrounds
• Garage improvements program
• Roof replacement program
• Handyman service at sheltered schemes
• Property MOTs
• Energy doctors
• Internal and external decoration programs
• EICR planned program.

Mears will also be looking to support the council with SHDF wave 3 funding to help them achieve their zero carbon targets across their housing stock. Mears' in-house decarbonisation team will be supporting the SHDF application for funding to support the worst energy-performing properties to receive vital upgrades including installation of insulation, as well as more energy efficient doors, windows, and heating systems.

The contract and partnership has already proved to be very successful. The repairs and planned maintenance programs are being delivered to the highest standards and on time, achieving over 97 per cent of the contractual KPIs to date. Mears and the council have also worked together on various work streams where other contractors have failed to deliver, enabling LBH to get their planned programs back on track and increased customer satisfaction.

Taking over the call centre has also increased customer satisfaction and on average we receive 1,000 calls per week with 97 per cent of them answered within 30 seconds - a massive improvement on previous performance.

Working in partnership with the council, Mears understand the importance of communication, which is why they attend monthly residents’ meetings, sheltered scheme update meetings and Private Sector Landlord and resident association meetings. This enables Mears to gain feedback on required improvements. These are also great opportunities for residents to meet their team, build relationships and ask questions about the works being carried out.

As part of Mears’ aim to become the most socially responsible business in the housing sector by 2025, they have also committed to delivering over £246,000 worth of social value investment in the community for LBH. This will be achieved through apprenticeships, green projects, raising money for local charities, food bank donations and sponsoring local events. Mears have already employed six local full-time staff helping those in the area find jobs and gave £3,288 worth of donations to local community projects. Throughout this project they will also be providing 72 weeks of apprenticeships and delivering 553 hours of volunteering.  

In partnership with the council and Age Concern East London, Mears have also developed the ‘Energy Doctors’ service to tenants within the borough, which helps reduce their energy consumption and assists with the increase in cost of living. This involves our team ensuring LED light bulbs are used, adding radiator reflectors and draft excluders and general support to residents.

Daniel Hadrava  |  repairs and voids manager at Havering

“Mears’ IT support were very accommodating throughout the launch of the new call centre. The collaborative approach meant the go live date was achieved with no issues. We hold regular meetings to ensure everything is working as it should and to continually improve the service. The call centre has helped to dramatically reduce call waiting times, increasing customer satisfaction and support the efficient running of the repairs and maintenance works to our customers.”