NSS - Repairs Partnership Across the country, housing associations are looking at new and innovative ways to make cost savings and bring value for money to their tenants. One such way is to join together on areas of expertise such as procurement and repairs and maintenance. WDH has launched Northern Shared Services (NSS), the housing sector’s largest major repairs cost-sharing group, alongside the Together Housing Group. Launched in 2013, the partnership sees WDH’s skilled tradespeople carrying out repairs at Together Housing Group properties, and vice versa, offering tenants an even better standard of service. NSS generates greater value for money by creating better economies of scale for materials and service, reducing property and maintenance costs, creating opportunities to expand our services, diversifying the commercial services we can offer, and using our existing skills to increase job security. The first phase of NSS involved 1,400 Pennine Housing* properties in Sheffield. A further 4,500 Chevin Housing* properties across West and South Yorkshire were introduced last December, and further expansion saw 5,000 more properties across the Yorkshire region added in April 2014. Under the NSS partnership, WDH has completed an additional 8,500 day-to-day repairs, with 210 void properties repaired and maintained, and 1,400 gas services completed. Our geographic spread of property maintenance operations has also increased from 350 square miles to 1,630 square miles. *Pennine Housing 2000 and Chevin Housing are both part of the Together Housing Group. Case Study NSS - Repairs Partnership. As NSS continues to expand, and revenues continue to grow, the partnership generates interest from other organisations looking to realise similar benefits. In the future it is intended that the number of properties services by our Technical team will increase by over 30% to nearly 42,000 properties, creating a foothold in a number of new markets. The area covered by our property maintenance team will be in excess of 5,000 square miles. There is already the potential take on responsibility for another 5,600 properties across the whole of Yorkshire and Humberside, generating further revenue each year of around £2.2 million. The responses from non-WDH tenants to our service have been overwhelmingly positive. A recent compliment from a customer from Swinton said: “I reported my shower at 9.20 am and a workman was on site by 1:30 pm to do the repair – brilliant.” For more information on the work of WDH, visit www.wdh.co.uk