Waltham Forest Council gives residents 24/7 access to housing services with a new resident portal
Waltham Forest Council manages 12,884 homes across the borough. As part of its Housing Transformation Programme, the council worked with Plentific to launch its first resident portal. Residents can now report repairs, book appointments, check their rent account and manage their tenancy online, day or night. More than 1,600 residents now log in every month.
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Key results
1,600+resident logins to the portal every month
24/7access to housing services, day or night
12,884homes managed across the borough
Customer Background
Waltham Forest Council manages 12,884 homes across the borough, including almost 10,000 rented properties.
Improving the resident experience is a key part of the council's Housing Transformation Programme, with a focus on making services easier to access, improving communication and giving residents more opportunities to self-serve online.
“One of the things I like most about the portal is that it's not 9 to 5. I can report repairs at any time."
- Resident, Waltham Forest
The challenge
Before the resident portal launched, residents had to use different channels to access housing services. There was no single place to report repairs, check account information or keep track of tenancy details. Many services were only available during office hours, making it harder for residents to get things done at a time that suited them.
The council wanted to create a more convenient experience by bringing services together in one place and giving residents greater choice and control over how they access support.
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The solution
Working with Plentific, the council launched a Housing service resident portal designed around a simple goal: making it easier for residents to access the services they need. At the heart of the portal is a repairs diagnostics tool that guides residents through reporting a repair and helps them book the right appointment quickly and easily.
Residents can report repairs, book appointments, check their rent account, update their details and track requests online, anytime, day or night. By bringing services together in one place, the council has made it easier for residents to manage their tenancy at a time that works for them, and to deliver a faster, more efficient service.
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Plentific’s offering
Resident portal
Repairs diagnostics
Appointment booking
Rent account and statements
The result
Since launch, residents have taken up the portal steadily and now use it to run everyday housing tasks themselves. With more than 1,600 logins every month, it has become a regular part of how residents deal with the council, and they are no longer limited to office hours: housing services are available 24/7, day or night. The repairs diagnostics tool means residents can now diagnose a repair and book the right appointment themselves, without having to contact the council first. Because repairs, appointments, rent accounts and tenancy details all sit in one place, residents can see what's happening with their requests more clearly, and the council can offer a more convenient service.
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“The resident portal helped me log my repairs and manage my tenancy details. Before it was more time consuming. Now I can log repairs at my own time."
