Stock Condition Surveys for Southern Housing Group

The Project

Following a comprehensive review of the existing asset data held and the survey configuration, we were delighted to be appointed by Optivo to conduct a comprehensive programme of condition surveys of the entire property portfolio. The project involves the inspection of 38,000 homes and related buildings over a five-year period to provide robust data to support the strategic management of assets.

Now that Optivo has merged with Southern Housing Group (SHG) to form Southern Housing, our appointment has been extended to incorporate unsurveyed legacy SHG assets.

Our Role

• To provide condition, RdSAP and HHSRS data using the Apex Survey Manager data capture software for legacy Optivo assets and Keystone Foundation for legacy SHG.
• To project manage access to occupied dwellings to optimize attempts, with the objective of achieving as close to 100% data representation as possible over the five year commission.

The Challenges

• The commencement of the projects was delayed by the initial lockdown period for Covid-19.
• The portfolio contains an eclectic range of premises spread throughout Greater London, The South East and The Midlands.

The Solution

Travel limitations and the closure of overnight accommodation due to Covid-19 meant we had to adopt a surveyor scheduling programme based solely on geographical location. Where we did not have surveyors living in locations close to properties, we actively sought new resources, with experience appropriate to the range of properties to be inspected.

In order to safeguard the health and wellbeing of our surveyors and residents, we focused on surveys of the communal blocks of flats for the first year of the programme. As a result of the late start to the project, we deployed additional surveying resources and back office staff to mitigate programme slippage.

Added Value

The project has adopted a partnering ethos and we have worked alongside Southern for improvements to the asset management software, risk area focussing for surveying priorities and the agreement of specific social value commitments for the benefit of residents.