A Housing Forum Good Practice Guide Sustainable Leasehold and Long-term Asset Management 11 If the costs held by a property database are considered an accurate forecast of repair costs, then this can serve as crucial part of an automated tool in making decisions about a property’s future. It is important that these databases are regularly updated on components that have been replaced out-of-cycle, such as might occur in a void property. At the centre of a housing Malvern House, Kenley, London Borough of Croydon, developed by Hexagon Housing Association It is important that databases are regularly updated on components that have been replaced out-ofcycle, such as might occur in a void property. How decisions on lifetime components and quality maintenance can be factored in and linked to long-term asset value Housing associations usually have a database that forecasts when components need replacing and how much it may cost. Their property viability assessments rely on the accuracy of the calculations behind the lifespan of components as well as the condition of data and extent to which it is based on actual surveys or ‘cloned’. However, any reliable asset management database will include component replacements based on surveyors’ forecasts of when an item will need to be replaced. When a property becomes void, it offers an opportunity to undertake works in advance of the forecast timing. For example, windows which are due for replacement in three or four years’ time could be specified for immediate replacement as the work is much easier to do in a vacant property and is therefore more cost effective. association’s plans will be realistic lifecycle replacement timings and costs for all the main building elements. In many cases that will be the bulk or the entire investment plan. However, it is important to make allowance for other, perhaps less predictable future investments. Collecting and maintaining accurate, complete and consistent information about the whole housing stock is crucial to effective asset management. This does not necessarily involve commissioning a 100% stockcondition survey, but a robust dataset on 100% of the assets is required to perform sufficiently granular analysis. There is no getting away from the fact that to identify the best performing assets, you need to hold data on each and every one of the assets. Calculating the property viability assessment of each of its properties is really the only way a housing association can accurately assess the return on assets expected to be assessed as part of the regulator’s value-for-money (VFM) standard. The following need to be considered: l Standards – which are to be applied? What are the aspirations of the organisation? What type of properties do you want to be letting and to whom?
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