Our promises to you

Before we officially became Red Kite on 12th December 2011, we made a number of promises to you and we are now more committed than ever to delivering these. During the first few months of us being your landlord, we have been working hard to make sure that we have everything in place to be able to start work on improving your homes as efficiently as possible.

You will start to see lots of improvements happening within the first year, but a number of our promises will be delivered over the next five years and they won’t all happen at once. We've just finished our stock condition survey and are now putting together a plan of what work needs to happen where and when. THis plan will be published on our website for everyone to see and will list each area and what work we'll be doing. It won't give individual addresses though, so don't expect to see your home on there individually.

In the meantime, a summary of what we plan to do once we have all the information back from the survey is outlined below which recaps on what we said in our original offer document and also the Red Kite standard. You can also read the document in full here: Housing transfer offer document [pdf] 5MB. There is also the Red Kite standard you can refer to which sets out our promises a little more simply: Red Kite Standard [pdf] 6MB

We know that you’re really keen to start seeing things taking shape, but we want to get it right so please be patient and we promise that your homes will benefit as soon as we can.

Kitchen upgrades

We promised: Around 3,774 new kitchens with greater choice

Starting in March, our pilot programme will involve the installation of around 700 new kitchens. We will work with local suppliers who will give tenants a choice of worktops, cupboards, appliances, tiles and finishes and provide a designer who will work with you to agree the best options.

After the pilot programme and once the stock condition survey has shown us exactly which kitchens need replacing, we will:

offer every home that has a kitchen more than 15 years old a new one within the first five years of transfer
replace all kitchens when they are 20 years old
give you a choice of all the materials to be used in your kitchen.

Bathroom upgrades

We promised: Around 3,666 new bathrooms with greater choice including fans and shower over the bath as standard

Starting in March, our pilot programme will involve the installation of around 700 new bathrooms. We will work with local suppliers who will give tenants a choice of tiles, taps and finishes and provide a designer who will work with you to agree the best options.

After the pilot programme and once the stock condition survey has shown us exactly which bathrooms need replacing, we will:

offer every home that has a bathroom more than 20 years old a new one within the first five years of transfer
replace separate or additional toilets more than 20 years old within the first five years of transfer
replace all bathrooms in our homes when they are 25 years old, and the same would apply if there is a separate or additional toilet
give you a choice of all the materials to be used in your bathroom.

Boiler and heating upgrades

We promised: Around 2,951 new or upgraded central heating systems

Starting in March, our pilot programme will involve the installation of around 450 new or upgraded central heating systems. You will be able to discuss the best location and suitability of the new boiler, radiators and heating controls with a qualified surveyor. We will:

replace boilers more than 12 years old within the first five years of transfer
replace boilers every 12 years
replace existing gas central heating systems about every 30 years.

Internal decorations

We promised: A low-cost redecoration programme

For our elderly and vulnerable tenants, we will offer a low-cost decoration programme for internal redecorations if:

you are over the age of 60 or
you have a disability and you have no-one to help you with your decorating.

External decorations

We promised: To survey your home every five years and carry out necessary external decorations and repairs

After the stock condition survey is done, we will know exactly where external decorations need to happen. This will include repairing windows, doors, brick work, drains and gutters, as well as checking fire doors and looking after communal areas.

Fences and gates

We promised: To repair fences and gates and put up new ones where they are needed

After the stock condition survey is done, we will know exactly where new fences and gates are needed and which need repairing. We have dedicated £1m to improving fences and gates and we will:

use timber from a sustainable source.

Windows, doors and communal door entry systems

We promised: Around 3,666 new timber or UPVC external doors

An extensive programme to replace or repairs windows and doors where we need to will give you a choice of front door locks on replacement doors and a choice of replacement windows to give you more safety and security. We will:

fit double-glazed windows and external doors for all homes that need them within the first five years
fit a new door entry system for around 378 properties.

Electrical re-wiring

We promised: Around 2,434 homes to be re-wired or to have an electrical upgrade

Your safety is our top priority so we want to make sure that your homes have an appropriate electrical system that protects you and your family. If your home needs re-wiring, we will:

discuss options with you for a full electrical upgrade and consult you on how to use your home and sockets
carry out an inspection of, and repairs to, your electrical systems at least every 10 years.

Other promises

As well as the improvements detailed above, we will:

improve communal facilities such as lounges, guest rooms, laundries and communal bathrooms in sheltered schemes
spend £500k each year for adaptations
re-roof around 650 homes
spend up to £3.35m for sheltered bedsit conversions
spend around £100,000 each year for new parking bays or hard-standings
spend around £231,800 each year for the refurbishment of garage sites
contribute around £25,000 each year for garden maintenance assistance scheme for older and disabled tenants.

Next steps

We know that we have made a lot of promises to improve your homes and communities and that you want to see these happen now.

We will keep you up-to-date with what’s happening by contacting you directly and also here on our website. The detailed plan with a schedule of works will be available after the summer so look out for that for more information.