Liberty mobilises two major contracts with ForHousing
Liberty has secured two significant contracts with ForHousing, delivering a total asset management solution for the housing association and to further improve services to tenants.
The awards are the first major contracts secured by Liberty since the their move into WPS, the property services arm of Wates Group in October 2024.
The two contracts, which have the potential to continue up to 10 years, cover domestic heating and repairs and maintenance services.
The largest of the two, the repairs and maintenance contract was awarded via the Procurement for Housing framework. The contract began in October 2024, with services being delivered by Liberty under the Wates brand.
The business will carry out services including responsive repairs, voids, disrepair services, and damp and mould treatment for over 18,000 homes across ForHousing’s neighbourhoods.
In line with this tenant-first approach, the partnership is working closely with the ForHousing Repairs and Maintenance Service Excellence Group, made up of tenants who influence and shape the service.
This collaboration helps ensure that improvements are directly informed by the voices of those who use the service every day and includes a focus on company culture, customer service, and innovation – to ensure the contracts reflect the needs and expectations of tenants.
A second contract to deliver domestic heating servicing and repairs with installations, was awarded through the Fusion21 framework.
Starting back in September 2024, this contract will be delivered under the Liberty brand, and will ensure safe, warm homes for ForHousing’s tenants by covering routine servicing and responsive repairs and installations for heating systems.
Martyn Hague, Executive Director of Customer at ForHousing, said: “Ensuring that our tenants feel safe and secure in their homes is central to everything we do. By working with Liberty across multiple service areas, this joined-up approach helps us to respond faster to tenant needs and expectations and deliver better outcomes.
“These contracts are a key part of our long-term strategy to invest in homes, services, and communities. With Liberty as our delivery partner, we can continue to deliver high standards of service and increase tenant satisfaction while providing well-maintained homes that feel safe and secure.”
As part of the contracts, Liberty will also deliver social value commitments, supporting local employment, creating apprenticeship opportunities, and contributing to community initiatives across the region.
Steve Jackson, Managing Director of Liberty, said: “Securing these contracts is an important step for Liberty and marks a new chapter in our partnership with ForHousing. We recognise the responsibility that comes with delivering services that have a real impact on people’s day-to-day lives.
“We’re committed to working closely with ForHousing, listening to their tenants, and continually improving the way we deliver services – whether that’s carrying out a repair, tackling damp and mould, or keeping homes warm and safe. By taking a joined-up approach, we can deliver more consistent, efficient, and responsive services.
“This is a long-term partnership and we’re determined to make a positive difference, not only by delivering the core services well, but by creating wider social value and employment opportunities in the communities we’re working in.”
Liberty offers the full range of property services, and its teams are experts in reactive and planned maintenance across all technical disciplines, refurbishments, mechanical and electrical projects, construction, and decarbonisation projects.
Liberty secures £3.5 million gas servicing and maintenance contract with Fareham Borough Council
Liberty has secured a five-year contract to deliver gas servicing and maintenance for Fareham Borough Council (FBC).
Liberty, which has been delivering these works under a previous contract since 2018, will deliver a comprehensive service covering the maintenance, servicing, and replacement of heating and hot water systems for 1,900 FBC-managed homes and public buildings in south east Hampshire.
Valued at over £3.5 million, the renewed contract will begin in August 2025 and run until August 2030.
Liberty, acquired by WPS – the property services arm of Wates Group – in October 2024, will also work alongside the Wates Innovation Team to help the council identify opportunities to reduce costs for both the authority and its residents, while improving service quality and efficiency.
Executive Member for Housing at Fareham Borough Council, Councillor Fred Birkett said: “Reliable heating and hot water are essential to the wellbeing of our residents, and Liberty has consistently delivered a high standard of service. This new contract helps ensure those needs continue to be met safely, efficiently, and with a high level of care, building on the strong partnership we’ve developed over the years.”
Steve Jackson, Managing Director of Liberty, said: “Our teams are committed to delivering a safe, high-quality service that residents can depend on, every day of the year. That’s why we focus not just on delivering reliable technical solutions, but also on providing a positive experience for every resident we serve. This contract reflects the trust we’ve built with the council and community over the past seven years. We’re proud to continue supporting their residents and driving improvements to the services that matter most.”
Liberty secures new repairs and maintenance contract with Magenta Living
Liberty has been awarded a place on Magenta Living’s Responsive Repairs and Void Property Works Framework to carry out maintenance and repairs work on homes across their 13,000 property portfolio.
The framework will last for four years, with a total value up to £11.5 million.
Following its acquisition by Wates Group Ltd in October, Liberty has continued to operate under its own name as part of Wates Property Services, providing heating, compliance, decarbonisation and property maintenance services.
Haydn Hansford, Property Services Director at Magenta Living, said: “At Magenta Living, ensuring our customers live in safe, well-maintained homes is our highest priority.
“Our partnership with Liberty will not only help us deliver essential repair and maintenance services but will also support our commitment to enhancing the lives of our residents.”
Steve Jackson, Managing Director of Liberty, said: “At Liberty, we recognise the impact that home repairs and maintenance can have on residents’ wellbeing.
“This new partnership with Magenta Living will allow us to make a real difference to thousands of residents, delivering high-quality repairs and maintenance, as well as void properties ready to be relet.
“We’re equally committed to supporting the communities we serve through work experience, employment opportunities, and volunteering initiatives in the area and we’re excited to make a long-lasting impact.”
Changing the narrative on safety and compliance
The role of the contractor in compliance has changed beyond recognition – or at least it should have.
Today, we need to look far beyond the numbers – and understand that we’re also here to preserve culture and help landlords tell an authentic story about their role in people’s lives.
It’s not enough to provide 100% compliance by getting through every door to carry out gas and other safety checks. We have a bigger role than that.
Often, we may be a resident’s only face-to-face contact with their landlord in a 12-month period. The way we behave in people’s homes, how we communicate with them in the build-up to and after checks, our processes, and the information we report back to landlords leave a lasting impact on individuals and service delivery.
In a new regulatory era where landlords are judged on perception, we need to ensure our actions and behaviours in communities, online, and in the office reflect the values of the organisations that we work for.
Our role is to keep people safe, but also to build and maintain trusting relationships.
Trust the process
This starts by making sure we have the right processes in place and that we are operationally sound.
There are legal and contractual obligations for what a contractor must deliver, but this should be the baseline of what we do – not a target.
At Liberty, we begin by prioritising open communication with residents through multiple channels, including letters, texts, and customer check-ins before, during, and after each visit. We also place a QR code on the side of every boiler, giving residents instant access to a customer hub with live chat, support, and other resources.
Our Customer Safety strategy – RESPECT, initially used during the pandemic, ensures we separate work areas, explain each stage of work to the resident and treat people’s homes with care. By delivering on scheduled appointments and respecting residents’ spaces, we drive customer engagement and trust.
We want to make every contact count when we are in people’s homes.
Our team undergoes regular training, from the initial onboarding process to performance reviews, and they take the time to interact and check in with residents while working in their homes.
Liberty has a Red, Amber, Green (RAG) status system that supports the teams to ensure we are prioritising work in the right homes, and we can flag early if there are issues to access properties to carry out checks.
We stay on top of the latest legislation and best practices – in areas like smoke alarms, CO detectors and fire safety to make sure we’re working with landlords well in advance to put the right checks in place and proactively adapt our approach.
Our jeopardy toolkits also help us spot and mitigate risk on every contract we work on, which strengthens our commitment to safety and reliability.
Telling a compelling story
We need to flip the narrative around the work that we do in people’s homes – and that can only be done with collaboration between resident groups, landlords and contractors.
“We need to get into your home because it’s important we are compliant” is not a compelling message for residents.
Instead, we must be clear on the benefits these checks bring to individuals and communities, and the risks if they don’t happen. Gas safety checks play a huge role in keeping people and families safe – they are essentially an MOT on people’s homes.
We need to look beyond telling people what we do and why the work is required, it is important to understand how we make them feel following every interaction with us.
Not only will this improve access rates for contractors going into people’s homes but increase resident satisfaction too.
Our commitment to telling powerful stories on safety and compliance has earned us recognition, including an HPM Award for our gas safety awareness campaign last year and a RoSPA Gold Award for a seventh consecutive year.
Reporting back
The Regulator, The Ombudsman, and just about everyone working in social housing knows that good data leads to better services – and happier residents.
We can provide lots of information to landlords from our visits; the key is making sure that it is accurate and useful information.
This is one of the reasons why we have aligned our Net Promotor Score questions to some of the Tenant Satisfaction Measure questions, included in our surveys. This enables landlords to see a direct link between our work in people’s homes and the wider satisfaction.
This level of transparency is important for landlords when they appoint multiple contractors, to allow them to make informed decisions around which areas are driving up satisfaction and which are having a negative impact.
Compliance has changed. Liberty continues to strive to shape that change to align with our client’s needs.
We’ve listened to feedback from landlords and residents and hear that we have a much bigger role to play in people’s homes and in the sector.
We’ll get behind every door to make sure homes are safe, but also take time to understand residents, treat people with empathy, and feedback on what we find.
That’s how we can make sure that residents live in safe homes while helping landlords tell a story of care, reliability, and respect.
Here at Liberty we like to be prepared so we plan for the winter period.
In addition to this document, we also have lots of information which your tenants may find useful this winter on our Customer Hub. Just click here to check it out.
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New Managing Director announced for Liberty
After overseeing the transition of Liberty to Wates, Ray Jones has decided to leave the business following six years as Group Managing Director.
Ray has been a pivotal figure in Liberty’s journey to join the Wates Property Services team as well as overseeing growth of the business, which delivers property maintenance for 186,000 UK homes, plus heating & compliance and decarbonisation expertise.
Steve Jackson has been appointed to the role of Managing Director for Liberty. Steve brings a wealth of experience to the role, with more than 35 years in the industry, and 28 years at Wates. He has spent 24 years specialising in social housing and was instrumental in creating Wates’ retrofit proposition. Having already been working closely with the Liberty team, he will focus on effectively integrating the team as well as growing the business in the coming years.
Steve was a founding board member of Wates Property Services on its formation in 2006 and has since held numerous senior positions including Director of Operations, Regional Managing Director and most recently, Strategy Director, affording him a wealth of industry knowledge and experience to drive Liberty forward.
We thank Ray for his contribution to the Liberty team and wish Steve the best in taking the business forward.
At Liberty, we’re dedicated to ensuring that every tenant has a safe, warm, and comfortable home.
This Damp and Mould Action and Awareness Week, we celebrated the incredible work of our damp and disrepair teams, whose efforts every day make a tangible difference in the lives of the people we serve.
To mark the week, we launched two insightful videos (linked below) highlighting practical advice for reducing condensation and a behind-the-scenes look at the crucial work of our team. These videos shared simple, actionable tips to help tenants and homeowners tackle one of the leading causes of damp in their homes—condensation. By sharing this knowledge widely, we aim to prevent damp-related problems before they start, fostering healthier living conditions for all.
Our Customer Hub also took centre stage during the week. Packed with resources and guidance on tackling damp and mould, it serves as a go-to resource for anyone – Liberty customers and beyond – seeking expert advice to manage these issues effectively. By encouraging followers to share our posts, we extended the reach of this invaluable content, reaching over 4,500 people throughout the week.
Lewis Davey, Contract Manager overseeing Liberty’s damp and disrepair work, emphasised the importance of proactive measures: “Prevention is always the best solution when it comes to condensation-related damp. By understanding the causes and taking simple steps to manage moisture levels in the home, tenants can avoid more significant issues down the line. Our goal is to empower people with the knowledge they need to keep their homes warm, safe, and mould-free.”
At Liberty, our mission goes beyond being clients’ go-to for excellent property service – we’re committed to equipping communities with the tools and knowledge to maintain healthier homes. Damp and Mould Action and Awareness Week 2024 was just another step in this ongoing journey.
Customer Service Week 2024: celebrating excellence
National Customer Service Week is all about celebrating customer service and the people focused service Liberty provides to clients and customers.
This week-long celebration highlights the importance of customer service in building strong relationships with customers and enhancing their overall experience.
The Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a valuable tool that measures customer loyalty and satisfaction. Liberty is proud to say its NPS is consistently higher than the industry benchmark and is currently at +71 across the heating & compliance and repairs & maintenance businesses. This is a testament to the quality of our customer service. Additionally, its Trustpilot rating has increased to 4.3 out of 5, reflecting the positive experiences of our customers, with many praising our responsiveness and professionalism.
Liberty’s good customer service is built on a foundation of four core values – passion, openness, respect and trust. Colleagues deliver these through four key principles; people focused, smart, innovative and accountable. These principles are reflected in the feedback received from our customers, who often commend our team for their helpfulness and dedication.
Throughout the week Liberty will be recognising and celebrating the achievements of its colleagues efforts by sharing excellent customer service on X and LinkedIn.
Wates are excited to announce that they have completed the acquisition of Liberty from social housing provider, ForHousing.
As a specialist in domestic property repair and maintenance, as well as heating and compliance, Liberty will be joining Wates Property Services business.
David Morgan, Executive Managing Director at Wates Property Services said: “We’ve been actively seeking a specialist property support business to expand and strengthen our existing expertise in the social housing sector, and extend our range of services into the areas of heating and compliance, as well as renewable energy services. In Liberty, we’ve found the strategic fit we were looking for, so I’m delighted to be able to make this announcement.”
Eoghan O’Lionaird, Chief Executive Officer, Wates Group said: “Most importantly, Wates and Liberty are both purpose-driven businesses. At Wates, we reimagine places for people to thrive, ensuring all our work brings positive benefit to people, places, and planet. We are pleased to be bringing together companies that share these values, as well as a successful track record in this sector. We look forward to welcoming our new colleagues as we take this exciting step into the future together.”
Ray Jones, Group Managing Director at Liberty said: “By joining Wates, we enter the next stage of our growth and development. Our combined service provision brings a stronger offer to both existing and potential clients, especially in property and renewable energy decarbonisation; services to which Liberty and Wates are strongly connected. This new step forward will ensure continued high-quality services for Liberty’s current clients and their tenants, as well as an exciting future for Liberty and Wates and our people.”
Liberty will continue to trade under its own name as part of Wates Property Services, whilst also ensuring high-quality service delivery for its clients and their customers, covering property repairs, maintenance, heating and compliance services, as well as construction and decarbonisation projects.
Liberty takes the lead in promoting Gas Safety Week to clients across the UK
Liberty, is spearheading a series of nationwide events during Gas Safety Week (9th – 15th September 2024).
We will be working with 13 of our clients nationwide to help share essential gas safety tips with thousands of members of the public.
Working with partners, we will be holding various pop-up events and distributing advice leaflets throughout the week in order to reach as many residents as possible to share the importance of being gas-safe.
Neglected boilers, ovens, gas fires, and other gas appliances can pose significant risks, including gas leaks, fires, explosions, and the silent threat of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning, making Gas Safety Week all the more crucial.
The business and our partners are sharing top tips on responsible gas appliance upkeep and how to spot signs an appliance is unsafe.
In Leeds the service delivery team will be sharing gas safety leaflets with tenants as part of their annual boiler service and will be targeting hard to access tenants to ensure their home is safe and remind them of the importance of having a boiler serviced regularly.
Liberty and Exeter City Council will be delivering a talk on illegal gas works at a coffee whilst in Haverhill, the service delivery team will be hosting a Meet the Contractor event for new client Havebury Housing Partnership who awarded Liberty as its heating services contractor in August 2024.
Over in the North West, pop-up events will be hosted for Magenta Living, ForHousing, Port Sunlight, West Lancashire Council and Wrexham County Borough Council, all aimed at highlighting the importance of being gas-safe.
Karen Sloan, Managing Director for Heating and Compliance at Liberty, said: “As a leader in the property services sector, Liberty is proud to take a proactive stance in promoting Gas Safety Week.
“We believe in the power of awareness and education to empower individuals to make informed decisions that positively impact their safety and the safety of those around them.
“With over a quarter of a million homes serviced by Liberty, we want to reach as many people as possible so we can all play our part in keeping our homes gas-safe.”
Jonathan Samuel, Chief Executive Officer for Gas Safe Register, said: “This is the fourteenth Gas Safety Week and the theme for 2024 is Checking — Every Check Counts. The week will encourage checking, in many guises, and shine a light on the importance gas safety in keeping ourselves and our community safe.
“Throughout Gas Safety Week, our partners, stakeholders and Gas Safe Register will share information to help everyone be gas safe, so I am very pleased to have the support of Liberty to help share those messages, such as check the Gas Safe Register to ensure your engineer is registered and qualified.”
Top tips are:
- Check for warning signs that could indicate your gas appliances are not working correctly. Signs may include lazy yellow /orange flames instead of crisp blue ones, black marks on or around the appliance, a pilot light that keeps going out, or too much condensation in the room
- Be aware of the six main symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning – headaches, dizziness, breathlessness, nausea, collapse, and loss of consciousness.
- Fit an audible carbon monoxide alarm and make sure your friends and relatives have one too.
- Make sure you have your annual safety check. Gas appliances should be safety checked once a year and serviced regularly by a Gas Safe registered engineer. If you rent your home make sure your landlord arranges this. Set a reminder so you don’t forget at GasSafeRegister.co.uk.
Liberty has over 50 years’ experience in heating solutions and compliance services. And their team of skilled professionals is dedicated to providing top-quality solutions that ensure the safety, comfort, and efficiency of heating systems in domestic and commercial environments.