Landlord Terminates 20,000-Home Maintenance Contract

A major housing association has walked away from the biggest of its three contracts with social housing contractor Mears, due to the company’s performance ‘falling below an acceptable standard’.  Metropolitan confirmed this week that it had ‘terminated’ an agreement with Mears, which in 2008 won a trio of Metropolitan contracts worth £157 million that were described at the time as ‘10-year’ deals. Mears maintained that the contracts were currently in the process of ‘winding down’. Mears has been responsible for maintaining as many as 38,000 homes on behalf of Metropolitan under the three contracts since 2008, dealing with east of England and the midlands, Clapham Park, and the rest of London. Read more on Inside Housing.

Think Tank Encourages 'Meaningful Engagement' With Tenants

Stronger relationships between social landlords and tenants are required to help overcome the complex challenges of today, a think tank report has found. Research by LGiU, and supported by Mears Group, calls for councils and housing associations to re-think their relationships with their tenants and engage in meaningful conversations with them. The report welcomes that 60 per cent of councils and housing associations raised their spend on tenant engagement in 2013/14 compared with the previous year - showing that tenant engagement is a growing priority. Download a copy of the report from the Mears website.