Estate Management

1
Estate Management Quality of Life

• Dr. Declan Redmond
• University College Dublin
• Housing Practitioners Conference,
• Athlone, October 9th, 2008

2
Sustainable Communities
3
Estate Management and Quality of Life Where does
it fit?
1.Dwelling
2. Estate/ Environment
3. Social Order
4
Progress

• Origins - 1992 Housing Act
• Decentralisation of services (Localisation)
• Some devolution of services
• Estate officers
• Tenant influence on allocations
• Development of anti-social behaviour policy
• Estate improvements
• Estate management and tenant participation
  structures
• Fully embedded in LA structures?

5
Tenant Experiences
6
Estate Management Tenants- Partnership
From
To
7
Tenant Expectations

• All of the people thought that estate management
  would take care of everything (Interview)
• This, of course, is problematic

8
Views on Estate Officers

• we did have an estate officer here and he was
  absolutely brilliant because he didnt wait for
  red tape to be cut, he busted through it. And
  then he then did his thesis and jumped about four
  or five steps up the ladder (interview).

• The estate management officers that we had have
  been sound, theyve been very good people,
  co-operative and helpful interview

9
Allocations and anti-social .. Then Now

• You see between 94 and 97 you could have put
  Bin Laden in a flat. and hed have argued his
  case that hes a nice bloke and hes this and
  hes that (Interview).

• Its amazing really if you listen to people out
  there, they dont mind the police knocking on
  their door, but dont let the anti social team
  come to their door, thats a different ball game
  (Interview).

10
Local Authority Perspectives
11
Delivery and Organisation

• because sometimes as an organisation basically we
  dont talk to each other enough internally, and
  so estate management is something other
  departments use when theyve a problem
  (Interview).
• Structures with senior support essential.

12
Red Tape and getting things done

• Theres a way for dealing with people Im not in
  a position to instruct, and Im not in a position
  to demand outside the housing department,
  (Interview)

13
Comparisons and Challenges
14
Comparison UK Evidence

• Neighbourhood Management (Pilot projects)
• 20K annual budget for quick wins
• Full time neighbourhood manager
• Neighbourhood partnership
• Neighbourhood action plans

15
Comparison Estate management versus regeneration

• Regeneration
• Regeneration plan
• Investment priorities
• Local director
• Partnerships
• Social agenda

• Estate Management
• Few plans
• Loose structures

16
Challenge Local Authorities

• Senior management support
• Cross department teams
• Localisation
• Budgets
• Estate plans
• Follow through
• Performance measurement

17
Challenge Integrated Management of Estates

• Integrated Local management??
• Gardai
• Anti-social teams
• Heath Service Executive
• Education
• Drugs agencies

18
Challenge Mixed tenure

• Mixed tenure apartments (Part V)
• Mixed tenure apartments (right to buy)
• Property Management
• Immigration

19
Prospects?

• The Choice is
• It becomes embedded in local authority practice
  or,
• Remains ad hoc and partial