Wandle homes, and money management
What homes does Wandle have, and where are they?
Wandle has just under 7,500 homes across south London.
Most of our homes are general needs rented homes, as well as other rented homes, with 768 shared ownership and 620 leasehold homes.
Number of homes by borough
Money management
Wandle is a not-for-profit housing provider - we're a charity that relies on rents and grants to provide social homes and services. Any surplus each year is invested back into services and homes.
Below you can see how each £1 you pay us is spent, and also how much we spend on each home - on average.
Where does the money go?
In accounting, housing providers report on "Cost per unit" - which is the average cost of providing all services to each home each year. In the table below, you can see what we aimed for, compared to other London landlords of a similar size (the "L12"), and what we actually spent per home.
Helping Hand Fund
Applicants in 2024/25 have been requesting similar items as in the previous year, with white goods, furniture and food vouchers being the main items for which assistance is being requested.
We have also been encouraging more new tenants to apply for this fund at the time of sign up, as we recognise that owning furniture and basic household items at the outset will contribute toward being able to sustain their tenancy. We are proud that, as a social landlord and charity, we continue to support our customers this way.
Facts and Figures:
317 HHF applications
305 successful
Of the successful applications:
45 to tenants new to Wandle.
126 to households with a defined vulnerability
*258 awarded food vouchers
*238 awarded Argos vouchers to purchase essential household items.
*5 awarded carpet replacement.
*1 awarded gardening assistance
*awards are often a combination of voucher type and other assistance, that’s why the total is more than 305.
Total grants issued in 2024/25:
Grant fund breakdown:
Total Argos vouchers issued: £100,800.00
Total Sainsbury vouchers issued: £26,500.00.
Total funds issued for garden works and carpet replacement: £8,376.48.
Real life impact of the Helping Hand Fund
Mr C* is a disabled resident who moved into his Wandle home in November 2023 with no possessions. His housing officer advised him to apply to the Helping Hand Fund to help him settle into his new home.
He was awarded £700 Argos & £150 Sainsbury vouchers to purchase essentials, such as furniture, cleaning products and food.
At the time, he expressed his gratitude for this award. He had found the move to independent living, as a disabled person, challenging and struggled financially with paying his rent. Then, this year his Income officer encouraged him to make a further application – being awarded £100 Sainsbury vouchers, which freed up his money to pay his rent. He had also requested a grant from welfare benefits providers. However, this was delayed so we made an exception and awarded a further payment ‘in year’ to allow him to purchase a microwave.
“On behalf of Mr. C, I would like to express our sincere gratitude for the invaluable support and assistance you and the Wandle team have provided during these challenging times. Mr. C faces significant health and financial difficulties, and your help has been truly remarkable. We are deeply appreciative and could not have managed without your support."
Overall Satisfaction
Learning and improvement - Complaints project, we have complaint handling and compensation guidelines currently being embedded.
Three highlights of the year include the successful deliverables from our complaints, repairs, and damp and mould project. We are beginning to see positive results from streamlined processes, which have led to a review of our policies to ensure a better customer experience. Additionally, we use insights from your feedback to continuously improve our service provision.
- As a direct result of your feedback, we have made changes to several policies. Example- throughout the year, we received reports of numerous pest control issues, prompting a review of our pest control policy. We have since revised our approach to handling pest control reports and treatments.
- Furthermore, we have updated our damp and mould policy to ensure swift triage of reports, allowing our in-house surveyors to conduct visits and recommend the most appropriate course of action.
Overall, we have updated the following policies as a result of your feedback
- Pest Control Policy has been revised and is undergoing approval process.
- Additional Assistance and Reasonable Adjustment Policy
- Damp and Mould Policy
- Repairs Policy
- Safeguarding Policy
What we are focusing on in 2025
Antisocial Behaviour: Regular community meetings and an expanded team to manage cases effectively.
Customer Care: Staff training to ensure a customer-centric approach and building trust.
Repairs Handling: Improving response times and addressing missed appointments. We are launching a new complaint handling system in September. This system will streamline our approach to knowledge and information management, making it easier to consolidate information in one place.
A Customer's Voice: A resident reported issues with an uneven surface in her garden, which led to pests burrowing through. She was disappointed that the work was not completed as planned, and the complaint was escalated to the Housing Ombudsman. The Ombudsman found maladministration due to the delay in resolving the issue.
Following the Ombudsman's review, we contacted the resident and apologised unreservedly for the delay in completing the repairs. A manager reached out to the resident and worked with her to ensure the repairs were completed to her satisfaction.
We regret that the work was not completed in a timely manner and we have offered redress for the delay and inconvenience caused.