Welcome
A message from our Chief Executive
Welcome to this year's annual report, which sets out how we performed throughout 2024/25. Everything we do is geared towards delivering for our customers and communities, and this was reflected in our achievements last year.
In April 2024, the government’s new consumer standards for social housing came into effect, setting clear expectations for social housing landlords to ensure services meet customers’ needs. We were amongst the first housing associations to be assessed against the new standards, when we had our inspection by the Regulator of Social Housing in May, and we were thrilled to achieve the highest possible rating of C1.
We also retained our G1 rating for governance and our V1 rating for financial viability. These results demonstrate our ongoing commitment to providing good-quality services and homes that are safe and well-maintained.
The government’s Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSMs), which were introduced in 2023, have also continued to guide our work – helping us to understand what we do well and where we could do better. Overall customer satisfaction increased, and we are continuing to use the feedback we receive through the TSMs to keep improving in the key areas that matter to our customers.
Our core purpose is to provide good homes that help people to live well, and building new housing is an important part of this. In 2024/25, we continued to build an impressive amount for an organisation of our size, putting us in the top 10 housing associations for new homes as a percentage of total stock. These homes help to provide affordable options and vital opportunities for those most in need.
We were also pleased to welcome many new customers in 2024, as Hendon Christian Housing Association transferred its 140 homes to Watford Community Housing, and we took over the management of around 200 supported housing bedspaces for Hertfordshire County Council.
We finished the year by launching our new 2025-2030 business plan – Making a Difference. Along with our suite of key strategies, it sets out our ambitious goals for the years ahead, keeping customers at the heart of our work as we look to embrace opportunities to keep improving our services and enriching our communities.
Tina Barnard, Chief Executive
A message from the Chair of our Gateway Membership Team
Last year, the Gateway Membership Team continued to work tirelessly to champion every Watford Community Housing customer and make your voices heard.
We’ve been involved in a number of key projects and initiatives and are immensely proud to have played a big part in Watford Community Housing achieving a C1 rating from the Regulator of Social Housing. We were one of the first organisations to receive this new grading, which focuses on consumer standards and how well an organisation addresses and prevents issues.
The regulator carries out their assessment over several weeks to make sure its findings are thorough and accurate, and the C1 for Watford Community Housing goes to show that customers are listened to and can make real, tangible change. Combined with the retained G1 rating for governance and the V1 rating for viability, it means that Watford Community Housing are run well, financially secure and have residents’ best interests at heart.
This is also reflected in the fact that, once again, we saw more compliments received than we did complaints. Customers have always been encouraged to voice concerns and make formal complaints when services fall short, and the Gateway Membership Team will always work to ensure that these are handled quickly, sensitively and professionally.
We continued to run scrutiny sessions to ensure every area is delivering the high-quality service that people expect, engaged in training sessions to make sure we’re up to date with the latest sector regulations and best practice, worked to help tackle tenancy fraud and have been out on doorsteps as part of the Big Door Knock to speak to fellow customers and really get to the bottom of what it is that matters most to you.
We’re also delighted to see that by helping people claim benefits they’re entitled to and offering support and advice around their finances, Watford Community Housing’s Financial Inclusion team have helped people in our communities to be better off to the value of more than £1 million. This would be an enormous achievement and something to be proud of under any circumstances, but is even more important as living costs are continuing to rise for everyone.
As always, there is more room to grow and improve, but I believe things are continuing to move in the right direction and am so proud of the role we have played in making things better.
Thank you to my fellow Gateway Membership Team members for your hard work and dedication, to every customer who has raised an issue or worked with us to help make improvements, and to everyone at Watford Community Housing for their commitment to doing a good job for us.
Chris Blackett, GMT Chair