welcome to madulammoho's client services section!

Good client services are the key to our success at Madulammoho because a satisfied tenant goes a long way towards building a strong and vibrant community. Our tenants are, after all, the reason we're in business.

good communication

Ongoing communication makes up the foundation of our client services ethos. Our client services department engages with tenants before, during and after their tenancy with Madulammoho to ensure tenant satisfaction.

Pre-tenancy communication is primarily concerned with screening applicants, selecting tenants and providing information on Madulammoho through our pre-tenancy workshops.

During tenancy, communication is focused on the management of our tenants' needs and ongoing maintenance of our projects to ensure that tenants get good value for their money.

Every Madulammoho building has a house manager who lives on the premises and takes care of the day-to-day business of the building, including collecting rentals, listening to and dealing with tenant issues and undertaking minor maintenance. Also on site is a MES life coach, who deals with the holistic health of our tenants.

Other ways we communicate with our tenants include:

• Weekly floor meetings with the house manager;
• Monthly house meetings with the house manager and any external stakeholders to address general and specific concerns;
• Day-to-day interaction between house managers and each tenant;
• An annual tenant survey;
• Madulammoho's tenant handbook (to be released); and
• Madulammoho's newsletter (to be released)

Post-tenancy communication is directed at an exit interview to determine satisfaction during tenancy.

tenant intake and letting policy

When units become available Madulammoho advertises the vacancies and holds an information workshop for prospective tenants. Application forms are then completed and sorted to exclude non-qualifiers (those that fall outside of the target income), those who are not South African citizens (as they would not qualify for a government subsidy), or those who are not permanently employed.

Once prospective tenants have passed the initial assessment, a more detailed assessment of each application is undertaken, which includes affordability and credit checks.

Madulammoho then goes through the application form with the prospective tenant, focusing on their budget, and describes the rental process to them.

Once successful tenants have been selected, Madulammoho holds another workshop that lays out our rental model, explains what the institutional subsidy from government is for and provides information regarding why tenants have to pay rent and what their rental payment includes.

anti-eviction policy

Madulammoho has an anti-eviction policy. This does not mean that tenants are not encouraged to pay. In fact, rental payment is prioritized. But it does mean that all measures of assistance are offered to tenants to help them meet their monthly payments. These include early intervention, warning letters, ongoing educational and informational sessions and referral to MES.

utilities

We realize that utilities are an important issue with our tenants. That's why we have attempted to overcome billing problems by installing our own electricity and water meters on each floor and in individual units. It is important to communicate with tenants that Madulammoho is simply recovering utility costs on behalf of the utility provider. The installation of meters in each Madulammoho building is also important for transparency, as tenants can see how much electricity they have consumed.

maintenance

Madulammoho outsources as little work as possible. Cleaning and security, as well as ongoing maintenance are all undertaken in-house. Not only does this create employment for our tenants, it also means people have a vested interest in doing a good job.

Two types of maintenance are undertaken at Madulammoho - planned maintenance and reactive maintenance.

Planned maintenance is budgeted for on a cyclical basis. It is predictable and may include electrical upgrading, painting, plumbing upgrading or retrofitting taps, globes and other fittings and fixtures. Complicated maintenance is outsourced while more basic work is undertaken in-house by tenants who have received training through MES.

Reactive maintenance is dealt with on an on-going basis. Typically, a tenant lodges a complaint with their house manager and the client services department undertakes a full report. A work order is then created and a maintenance supervisor verifies the problem and instructs a relevant tradesperson to repair it. Once the problem has been resolved, the work order is signed by the house manager, who confirms that the repair has been completed.

more than just bricks and mortar

In each Madulammoho project, efforts are made to include social or other facilities that contribute to our tenants' needs beyond shelter. These may be training facilities, creches, shops, sporting facilities and parks, halls that are used for churches or entertainment, gardens and open spaces for gathering. The inclusion of these non-residential facilities serves Madulammoho's social development agenda and works towards building happy and vibrant communities - one of our core values.

Madulammoho is also in the process of launching our Community Wellness Taskforce. We believe that the social and economic challenges facing our tenants are best addressed through the development of innovative responses that not only involve our tenants, but also our partners (like MES), and focus on holistic wellness at both the individual and community levels.

The Community Wellness Taskforce (CWT) is comprised of MES life coaches, Madulammoho House Managers and our tenants, and seeks to empower and engage our tenants, strengthen communication and develop strong, healthy communities.

Some issues the CWT will focus on include:

• Tenant engagement;
• Reclaiming outdoor space;
• Social inclusion;
• Tenant elections;
• Living with HIV/AIDS;
• Substance misuse;
• Domestic violence; and
• Unemployment