April 2026 Customer Engagement Meeting

Agenda

Tenant Satisfaction Survey

We will be discussing the Tenant Satisfaction Survey. How can we improve our services? 

Smoke and CO2 alarms

Did you recently receive some information about smoke and CO2 alarms from us? How could this comms be improved?

Feedback

Customer Engagement Strategy

We shared details of our new customer engagement strategy. It is designed to ensure our customers are at the heart of everything we do. Below is a summary of the key points of our strategy. 

We will:

• Listen proactively: gathering views systematically and meaningfully
• Be responsive and transparent: providing clear information, acting on feedback, and reporting back
• Drive continuous improvement: using feedback to inform service design and performance
• Ensure accessibility, equality & inclusion: engaging all customer groups, especially those who are vulnerable or under-represented

Objectives for customer engagement

• Better understand our customers’ needs: priorities and satisfaction - inform service improvements aligned with Tenant Satisfaction Measures & Social Tenant Access to Information Requirements (STAIRS)
• Improve customer partnership and co-production: enhance legitimacy and outcomes through customer collaboration
• Reduce complaints & escalate less: effective engagement will lead to better customer experiences and fewer issues
• Deliver transparent communication
• Meet regulatory expectations and STAIRS transparency

Possible touch points – how we could be talking to you differently

• By engagement type: repairs feedback, QR codes, visits, surveys, drop-ins, housing meetings, Facebook, WhatsApp
• By housing type: Homes for Independent Living, Hostels, Shared Homes (HMOs), Over 50s sheltered scheme
• Targeted – service-specific engagement: repairs improvement group, anti-social behaviour, allocations and lettings, neighbourhood review
• Targeted – scrutiny and assurance: a small group of customers meeting every quarter or 6 months to feedback on reports and policies, actions and future plans
• Targeted - vulnerable groups: one to one interviews, advocates, easy read formats, translated materials, remote meetings, local partners
• By locality: estate walkabouts, community safety sessions, pop-up surgeries, joint events with Luton Borough Council and Central Bedfordshire Council
• Customer Engagement Action Plan (Calendar): creating a planned calendar of opportunities for engagement 

Customer thoughts

• Customers broadly supported the strategy that was outlined to them in the meeting
• They suggested that Squared could be more present at local events at wards across Luton and Dunstable, sharing general information with the local community
• They also suggested that surgeries in the community would be beneficial

Update from Squared

We will be considering all customer feedback from this meeting and other customer conversrations to create an engagement calendar. This will include sharing details of future engagement groups in due course. 

Fire/Carbon Monoxide Alarms

Following recent communication to customers around the testing and installation of smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, we wanted to get customers feedback on this communication and new measures we are taking to better monitor alarms in our properties. 

Customer thoughts

• One customer suggested a way to remember to check alarms is when the clocks change
• A customer raised confusion in some communications between CO and CO2 

Update from Squared

Customers are advised that smoke and carbon monoxide (CO) alarms should be tested once a month. Please contact us if you are unable to test your smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. All alarms in communal areas are tested by the Property Services team on a monthly basis. 

Tenant Satisfaction Survey

In Autumn 2025, all customers were invited to participate in a survey through online and postal questionnaires. It is mandatory for Squared to collect TSMs once every two years and publish them to customers biennially. 

During our meeting we took customers through our latest outcome report. compared to the last survey in 2023/24, almost all metrics showed improvement. Whilst this is really good news, customers did also highlight areas that we can improve on. 

Please look out for our latest report which we will be sharing on our website shortly.

Other customer concerns

Customer thoughts

• Concerns were raised about the old customer portal being difficult to use but customers felt the new customer portal was easier to use
• A customer raised that some infromation on the Squared website and customer portal is out of date
• Concerns were raised about rubbish being dumped on their estate, with customers being charged for its removal
• Concerns were raised regarding parking with people parking or blocking others from getting out
• Customers had mixed experiences with Property Services, with some mentioning a lack of prompt responses and no follow up
• Comments were made about recent improvements in the gardening service but concerns were raised around communal cleaning
• Customer asked how they can make a complaint 
• Questions were raised about service charges relating to rubbish clearance 
• Concerns were raised around damp and mould not being followed up after damp returned
• A customer asked about reporting anti-social behaviour (ASB)

Update from Squared

Customer portal

We recommend that all of our customers sign up to our current customer portal. It allows customers to report repairs, pay rent and access a range of useful information through our Customer Hub. We're pleased to hear feedback that customers find our current portal easier to use.

We would urge and customers who are unsure how to access the customer portal or how it works, to contact us.

Property Services

We have been making changes to our Property Services processes and team which we believe will provide an improved service for customers. We are aware that customers have raised concerns around some of the cleaning in communal areas and we are taking this on board, working to improve this area of our service. 

We were pleased to hear customers who have had recent interactions with Property Services have had a better experience and service. If you are waiting to hear back on an outstanding repair, please contact us either by calling 01582 391 053 or emailing repairs@squared.org.uk.

We would also encourage customers to complete the repairs survey that is sent out after a job in sompleted, as this provides valuable feedback for our services and highlights any outstanding issues or areas for improvement. 

Website

We do review content on the website and the customer hub regularly but following feedback we will be doing a full review of all website and customer hub content to ensure it is up to date. 

Fly tipping

Fly tipping is challenging to deal with and can be very frustrating and unpleasant for people who live near rubbish that is dumped. We recommend in such instances reporting this to your local authority or if you witness fly tipping in progress call 999 and report it as a crime.

Parking

We are aware that issues around parking are common and we are keen to look into ways we can support our customers, including potentially installing private parking signs. There is a limit to what we can do legally if a car is parked blocking another car in a private car park. We will be in contact with relevant customers about this issue in due course. 

Complaints

We define a complaint where a customer has expressed dissatisfaction, however it is made, about a standard of service, an action or lack of action affecting an individual or group of customers. 

We record both service user requests (where a customer has asked for a service to be carried out, such as submitting a repairs request or asking for a rent balance) and complaints on our system. If a customer is unhappy with the response to a service user request, they can make a complaint. Customers can make a complaint at any time by any means they choose. However a complaint is submitted, either in person, by email or over the phone, does not change how that complaint is treated. All complaints go through the same complaints process in line with our complaints policy. 

Our complaints policy is available for all customers and can be shared at any time upon request. We have a clear complaints process and procedure that we follow in line with the Housing Ombudsman Statutory Complaints Handling Code.

All feedback with customers around any complaints that are submitted is done in line with the Housing Ombudsman complaints handling guidance. We carry out a self-assessment on our complaints handling performance each year and the next one will be published on our website by 30th September 2026. 

It is very important that customers are always able to speak openly with us. 

Submitting a complaint, for any reason, will never put a tenancy at risk. 

Customers can find our policy, as well as the Housing Ombudsman Complaint Handling Code, on our website. 

How you can help avoid damp & mould in your home

The best way to avoid damp and mould is to regularly ventilate your home by opening windows, using extractor fans where appropriate or keeping air vents open if you have them. 

Here are a few other ways to reduce damp and mould appearing in your home:

• Avoid drying clothes indoors without opening a dindow or ventilating your home
• Keep lids on pans when cooking to reduce moisture
• Wipe down condensatoin from walls and windows
• Report any or signs of damp & mould immediately

How to report issues

The best way to report any damp and mould issues is through our customer portal.