A UK tech company has developed an AI-powered solution aimed at helping social housing providers to remain compliant through identifying missing, dirty or incomplete data, and to automate the process of gathering accurate data.
VerseOne, a specialist in the housing and healthcare sectors, has launched DataSure, which probes line-of-business applications like Housing Management Systems, Asset Management Systems and Workforce Scheduling Systems to identify gaps or anomalies in tenant data. It then automates the process of gathering and populating clean data.
It does this via VerseOne’s portal, which presents a personalised interface, through which residents update data, flag problems and book repair work.
Improving information management “a silver bullet for social housing”
Responsible Social Landlords (RSLs) are facing pressure to improve the quality of housing stock and to prevent hazards that risk the health and wellbeing and the lives of their residents.
The death of Awaab Ishak in Rochdale due to untreated mould, following on from the Grenfell disaster due to inadequate cladding leading to fire, has led to government intervention with the Social Housing Bill, aka ‘Awaab’s Law’. This will become an Act soon.
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Meanwhile, cost-of-living and inflationary pressures, along with capped rent levels, mean that housing associations and local authorities must do more with less. Additionally, pressure from the regulator and ombudsman to take appropriate mitigation against the 29 hazards listed in the Housing Act 2004 or face unlimited fines is spurring many into action.
“The Housing Associations’ Charitable Trust (HACT), who publishes the UK Housing Data Standards, estimates that 25-30 percent of all resources in the sector are being spent on data-related issues, whilst the Housing Ombudsman Service has stated that improving information management is a silver bullet for social housing,” said Alan Neilson, founder and executive chairman at VerseOne. “We know that dirty or missing data can cost lives but that clean data has the potential to save them.”
Better data leads to improved service
Neilson said the benefits of DataSure relate to speed and accuracy. “Not only does it automate data collection, it uses AI and crowdsourcing to enrich that data too. Better data allows social housing landlords to improve their service with responsive repairs as well as by scheduling preventative maintenance to prevent potential hazards from cropping up at all.
“This not only gives transparency to the tenant, but also works to eliminate failed site visits, which we estimate will mean a pay-back in less than six months. DataSure brings a compelling ongoing return on investment, helping housing associations with the ongoing financial pressures they face.”
