ZEBRA

Looking back on the year 17/18

Residents’ stories

Who we’ve housed

Value for money

Accounts

Residents’ survey 2018

Board, committees and staff

CONTENTS

ZEBRA

MAJOR REPAIRSIn the last year we undertook the major repair of Jeannine House, Upper Montagu Street, W1 a beautiful, listed, early nineteenth century building. This was a huge and costly undertaking and involved replacing the roof covering, repairing brickwork, parapets, chimney stacks and chimneys, renewing flashing and valley gutters and redecorating externally. The work was mainly carried out during the summer when we experienced some very heavy and intense rainfall which delayed the work programme forcing us to keep several flats vacant for longer than we’d planned. The costs of the roof plus decorating works was £210 against an approved budget of £223k.

We are very pleased with the finish and Jeannine House now looks every bit the elegant early Victorian terrace of townhouses.

We also completed the refitting of 10 kitchens and bathrooms. Increasingly these refurbishment projects are now undertaken by our in-house maintenance team.

HEALTH AND SAFETYThe Board and staff have always had a major focus on Health and Safety, but the terrible tragedy of Grenfell Tower has brought the matter even more to the fore. Unashamedly we overspent last year’s budget by 36K. Fire safety has been a clear priority and we’ve replaced and upgraded fire doors, replaced all our fire extinguishers, and have a continuous programme of servicing and updating fire detection equipment. Even though much of our accommodation is self-contained we are subject to fire protection regulations for hostels and HMOs which are more rigorous than those for ordinary flats. And our fire protection regime is independently audited and reported to the Board.

We’ve also completed major asbestos and legionella surveys.

STAFF CHANGESWe’ve had quite a number of staff changes over the year. Alison Young, Head of Finance, left to take up the post of Director of Finance at another HA. Alison had been with us for over 2 years. Alex Adjei, Finance Officer, also left to take up a post of Management Accountant. Alex had been with us since 2005 – so we lost a massive amount of knowledge and history with his departure. Effectively therefore we have had a complete change of personnel in our Finance Department, so we’ve used this positively to review and improve all our financial processes and systems which and we are excited by the potential for better reporting and financial information. Both members of staff in effect achieved promotions when they left and we wish them every success in their new roles. Sass Ezekiel has joined us as Director of Finance and Jettie Hassan as Management Accountant.

We also lost Bart Rypsyc and Aaron Gasper, both Maintenance Officers, and they have been replaced by Michael Christopher and Daryl Coe. Bart, who had been with us for a number of years, is now in Scotland and repairs historic stone masonry & plays banjo in local venues! Michael and Daryl have brought new skills and experience to the maintenance team.

And we had quite a lot of staff sickness with two members of staff having to take extended periods of sick leave during the summer. It is a testament to the skills and dedication of the staff team that despite this there was little disruption to our business and service quality

VOIDS, LETTINGS AND RENT ARREARSWe had the highest turnover of stock in our history with 83 flats becoming vacant during the year (that’s 65% of our total stock). This, together with the hangover from having to keep flats vacant for longer than anticipated at Jeannine House (see major repairs), contributed to an unexpectedly high void loss this year at £96k/5.6%. We’ve budgeted in 2018/9 for a £87K void loss and we are monitoring the situation very closely to see whether this experience was the exception or a new reality that we’ll need further responses to. However, demand for our properties remains strong and at the time of writing website hits and applications have risen by 40% on the same period for last year and we currently have 544 applicants on our waiting list. We have no rent arrears.

LOOKING BACK ON THE YEAR

ZEBRA

OUR RESIDENTSResident satisfaction remains high and our bi-annual survey showed that 90% of residents are very satisfied or satisfied with our service.

We organised 10 social events during the year which included Aladdin, Evita, Travesties, Don Juan, the Kite Runner, Stomp, 42nd Street, and the Grinning Man. Theatre in London, unsurprisingly, remains very popular with residents. The family Christmas show was Slava’s Snow Show. And as ever our annual garden party was very popular with over 150 residents and guests attending. We always ask residents for their suggestions for social events, and Aladdin, which was one of those suggestions, was the most popular show of the year.

We reviewed our website in the last quarter of the year assisted by a resident who is studying for a PG Diploma in Media Campaigning and Social Change. We wanted to ensure that the website really appealed to applicants and residents. We’ll be updating the website based upon this work in Summer 2018 and we’ll be using the strap-line “Live like a Londoner” because that’s one the main things that distinguishes our accommodation from other providers.

FINANCIAL PERFORMANCEWe recorded a turnover of £1,647,205 and surplus of £86,458.

ZEBRA

ZEBRA

MS D - PRIMROSE HILL‘When I was about to start my PhD at UCL I was looking for the ideal place to live, where me and my husband could feel at home during this long process. A place that was central, close to university, quiet, safe, comfortable, clean, affordable and in a nice neighbourhood – an almost utopic place for a Latin American student in London. At Zebra Housing we found all of these and more. We lived in Impala House during my first year of PhD in 2015. Then we then returned in 2018 after two years of doing fieldwork in Peru, because of the large international community and the friendly and diligent administrative team that made us feel part of the Zebra family from the first day’.

MR AND MRS M - MARYLEBONEWe have made lifelong friendships at Jeannine House! We love being part of a community of researchers from all over the world. Living centrally has helped to balance PhD life including the long work hours and participation in the wealth of professional and cultural events concentrated in London. Our thanks to everyone at Zebra for such well-cared for and friendly accommodation.

MR L - ISLINGTONI like the Zebra Housing for a lot of reasons. I am currently living in Sentosa House in N1, it is a really nice and quiet neighbourhood, with Angel station just down the road and plenty of stores like Sainsbury, Waitrose, M&S and Argos etc. The rent is cheaper comparing to other accommodations. The heating and water is included in the rent, all I have to do is to top up the electricity in the convenience store just across the road. More importantly, you do not have to deal with the landlord as the property is managed by the Zebra Housing and the management team is really responsive. In a way, living here is more like living in the university accommodation, perfect for international student who is looking for a long term accommodation.

MR C - ISLINGTONI have lived here (international student accommodation offered by Zebra Housing Association) for around three years. There are four main reasons why I chose Zebra. First and foremost, it is definitely value for money accommodation, as the accommodation fee is much lower than the market price. Second, they serve students only, and most residents are PhD or Master students. So I can live in a more friendly and quiet environment. In addition, the accommodation is located in London central area where is fairly close to my University. Finally, but importantly, if I get any problems, I can easily send email over to Zebra staff or ring them up straightaway, they can then help me out which obviously saves me lots of time. For instance, I reported that my refrigerator could not work out properly (i.e. there was a water leaking & not cooling enough) in August 2017, Heidi heard of it and then she just asked one of the maintenance staff to supply a new one and kindly delivered it to my flat. I do appreciate for everything what Heidi has done for me and other students. That is a kind of reason why I like about it.------- Matthew

我在这里住了大约三年(斑马住房协会提供的国际学生宿舍)。我选择住在这里的原因主要有四点。首先，它绝对是物有所值的宿舍，因为他们所收取的住宿费要比市价价格低得多。第二，他们的宿舍只提供给学生，且大多数住户都是博士或硕士学生。这样我就能在一个更加友好和安静的环境中生活。另外，住宿地点区域靠近伦敦市中心，离我的大学很近。最后，如果我遇到任何问题，我可以直接发送电子邮件或立即打电话给斑马住房协会的工作人员，然后他们可以帮助我，这显然节省了我很多时间。比如，在2017年8月份左右，我的冰箱坏了，它漏水以及不能制冷，于是我发邮件联系了斑马住房协会的工作人员 当项目和办公室经理海蒂女士得知此事后，她主动联系了部门维修部的同事，并让他们购买了一个新的冰箱并送到了我的宿舍。在此，我非常感谢海蒂女士为我及其他学生提供的帮助。以上则为为什么我喜欢居住在此的主要原因。------- 马修

RESIDENTS STORIES

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MS Z - PRIMROSE HILLIt is not easy to find a home in London, but fortunately I found mine in Zebra. Zebra provides international students a cozy, safe and affordable home in central London. All Zebra facilities are nice traditional style houses with great location. They have many different flats suitable for singles, couples and families. I like Zebra because not only I like my room, a big, bright and beautiful studio, but also all the staff in Zebra are really helpful and friendly. I felt I am lucky to find Zebra in London, to live with Zebra and to enjoy my study life in Zebra.

MR AND MRS C - ISLINGTONOur original plan was to come to London for four years while I completed my PhD, before returning home to settle down and start a family. For the first two years, we rented a flat from a private property agency, and during that time faced the usual difficulties of renting in London: high fees and high rents, and a landlord who was largely unresponsive to our needs as tenants! We have now been in a Zebra flat for three years and during that time have felt both safe and settled – enough to start a family sooner than expected, and we now have a beautiful 2-year old daughter! In short, through their commitment to the welfare of all the tenants, Zebra has helped us achieve the difficult task of feeling extremely settled while living in London for a limited time. I’m honestly not sure what we would have done without them!

MS Q - PRIMROSE HILLZebra Housing is a warm and diverse community. Living in Impala House is very convenient to approach central London and my school campus. There are also many wonderful places surrounding the Impala House. The Primrose Hill Park is close at hand while there is a small nice garden in the backyard.These provide me a safe and comfortable place to study and relax outside the campus. It is great to be able to live in Zebra. Every staff here are very supportive. I feel really lucky to meet so many friendly neighbors here and understand different cultures. The great experience in Zebra lets me better adapt to the living in London and provides me a larger picture of the world as well.

Zebra Housing是一个友好且多元化的社区，其中Impala House位于伦敦北区，距离市中心和我的校园仅几站之遥。公寓周边有很多超赞的去处。街巷尽头是著名的Primrose Hill公园，这里为我在校外提供了非常安全舒适的学习和休闲环境。Zebra Housing运营团队也非常友善负责。我也很幸运能够在这里结识来自世界各地的邻居了解不同的文化。住在Zebra Housing使我在伦敦的学习生活更加丰富精彩。

MS C - MARYLEBONEWe met at the university when we were Masters degree students. At that time we were living in private accommodation. We had so many issues with housing, due to poor conditions and lack of health and safety inspections. The ceiling of one of our houses even collapsed once! We literally were living for half a year without a part of the ceiling. One of the best things to live in Zebra Housing is the sense of security regarding housing conditions and health and safety. These are very valuable aspects, especially in London, where the housing crisis is blatant. The second aspect we would like to remark on is the central location of the apartments. We would have never had the opportunity to live in central London if it weren’t for Zebra Housing. Living at Impala House offers a wide range of attractions and cultural activities. Since our baby was born in September 2016, we especially enjoy Regents Park, Hampstead Heath and Primrose Hill. Zebra Housing is making these locations more inclusive neighbourhoods. This is also very important for us as we are committed to social justice at various levels. Finally, Zebra Housing is formed by a warm international community of students. Doing a PhD can be a very isolating process. Having a close network is crucial, especially in the absence of relatives, friends and a wider social fabric.

WHO WE’VE HOUSED

ARGENTINA 3AUSTRIA 1BANGLADESH 1BELARUS 1BELGIUM 1BRAZIL 7CHILE 25CHINA 10

COLUMBIA 1DENMARK 1EGYPT 1GERMANY 5GREECE 4ICELAND 1INDIA 5INDONESIA 2

IRELAND 1ISRAEL 1IRAN 4ITALY 4JAPAN 2JORDAN 1KAZAKHSTAN 1MALAYSIA 5

MEXICO 2NETHERLANDS 1PERU 3POLAND 1SAUDI ARABIA 1SERBIA 1S AFRICA 1S KOREA 4

SPAIN 1SWEDEN 2THAILAND 5TURKEY 2USA 6VENEZUELA 1

AND THE ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS THEY ATTEND

UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON

GOLDSMITHS UNIVERSITY OF

LONDON•

SOAS UNIVERSITY OF LONDON

ROYAL COLLEGE OF ART

LONDON BUSINESS SCHOOL

KING’S COLLEGE LONDON

IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON

ARCHITECTURALASSOCIATION –

SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE

•BIRKBECK

UNIVERSITY OF LONDON

•QUEEN MARY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON

BRUNEL UNIVERSITY•

CASS BUSINESS SCHOOL

•COVENTRY UNIVERSITY

LONDON•

THE LONDON SCHOOL OF HYGIENE &

TROPICAL MEDICINE•

MIDDLESEX UNIVERSITY

•NATIONAL

INSTITUTE OF ECONOMIC &

SOCIAL RESEARCH•

NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY

LONDON•

LONDON SOUTH BANK UNIVERSITY

•UNIVERSITY OF

GREENWICH•

UNIVERSITY OF WESTMINSTER

1 2 3 4 7 11 18 43

We know how expensive living and in London can be. This is particularly so for those with young families. So, achieving value for money (VFM) remains a fundamental business strategy for Zebra. VFM, is at the heart of and is embedded within Zebra’s culture and residents, staff and the Board are all involved in generating cost savings whilst also increasing efficiency, improving service and satisfaction levels.

Zebra has introduced metrics contained in the new Value for Money Standard into this year’s accounts which compare results against benchmarks published by Housemark of a sample of 200 housing associations across the country. But value for money metrics don’t capture the full story and it was pleasing to see that 86% of residents said our services represented excellent value for money.

A BELOW INFLATION RENT INCREASEWhilst cost inflation was running at 3% per annum our last annual rent increase to residents averaged 2.07% - so, well below inflation.

MAJOR REPAIRSWe spent £210k re-roofing and redecorating Jeannine House, Upper Montagu Street. This will reduce future maintenance costs and running costs and greatly enhance the appearance and value of the building. This was one of the most ambitious and costly programmes of repairs we’ve ever carried out.

IN-HOUSE MAINTENANCE TEAMWe’ve continued to up-skill the team and expand the scope and complexity of work it undertakes. We’ve already taken all the servicing of fire equipment in house. This year we carried out all kitchen replacements in house and undertook structural repairs to the Jeannine roof as outside contractors replaced the roof covering. Employing building contractors in central London is very costly and can lead to delays which are also expensive. The fact that our team was able to get on with these repairs meant that the roofing contractor was able to focus on their work and our tenants were able to re-occupy their flats sooner than would otherwise have been the case. We estimate that this saved us in the region of £8k. We plan in this and following years to undertake more electrical works in-house using the skill and expertise of the team producing further savings that can be re-invested.

Our rent levels remain at 70-80% of the “low” market average and we benchmark them carefully researching the local market to ensure they remain competitive.The Board agreed a rent uplift of just over 2% from April 2018 – 1% below the inflation rate reflecting the slight downward pressure of rents in London,and we benchmark them carefully researching the local market to ensure they remain competitive.

VALUE FOR MONEY

ACCOUNTS

2018 2017 £ £TURNOVER 1,647,205 1,660,615 Operating costs (1,506,637) (1,250,000) OPERATING SURPLUS 140,568 410,615 Interest receivable 5 7Interest and financing costs (54,115) (73,382) Total comprehensive income and expenditure for the year 86,458 337,240

2018 2017 £ £TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS Housing properties, at depreciated cost 9,451,441 9,394,831Other fixed assets 18,600 19,520 TOTAL TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS 9,470,041 9,414,351

CURRENT ASSETS Debtors 81,157 37,631Cash at bank and in hand 9,143 161,983TOTAL CURRENT ASSETS 90,300 199,614 CREDITORS: amounts falling due within one year (606,118) (505,457)

NET CURRENT ASSETS (515,818) (305,843) TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES 8,954,223 9,108,508CREDITORS: amounts falling due after one year (2,112,875) (2,353,618) NET ASSETS 6,841,348 6,754,890 CAPITAL AND RESERVES Called up share capital 18 10 10Revenue reserves 6,841,338 6,754,880 6,841,348 6,754,890

A full set of audited accounts, which received an unqualified audit opinion, is available on written request to the Secretary of Zebra Housing Association

Statement of comprehensive Income For The Year Ended 31 March 2018

Statement of financial position as at 31 March 2018

ZEBRA

In Spring 2018, Zebra carried out its bi-annual survey of residents. The Association used an electronic platform, Survey Monkey, to carry out this process.

This resulted in our best ever return, with 73 respondents submitting forms, 21% up on the last survey, carried out in 2015, which was 100% up on the survey we carried out in 2012.

The survey is crucial to the Association in gauging the quality of our service and identifying the things that residents would like us to address.

In key areas, these were the responses of our residents:

THE RESULTS

90% of respondents said that they were pleased with the overall service received from the Association.

86% of respondents said that they considered Zebras accommodation and services value for money.

87% of respondents said that they were pleased with Association’s in-house maintenance service.

85% of respondents agreed that the location of our residences was a factor in choosing Zebra’s accommodation.

90% of respondents said that they were satisfied in their dealings with our staff team.

Our next survey will be carried out in 2020.

RESIDENTS SURVEY 2018

Our Board

Richard Kennedy Chair of Board, Chair of Development Committee and member of Audit and Risk Committee Bola Adesoga Treasurer, Chair of Audit and Risk Committee and member of Development CommitteeEmily Orme Vice Chair of Board and member of Audit and Risk CommitteeAlison Ahearn Board member and members of Audit and Risk and Development CommitteesPaul Van Driessche Board member and member of Audit and Risk and Development CommitteesRoland Shanks Board member and member of Development CommitteeAlexandra Vougia Board member and member of Development CommitteeHenrik Lonberg Board member and member of Development Committee

Our Senior Staff

Peter Gray Chief ExecutiveSteve Musham Operations ManagerSass Ezekiel Director of FinanceHeidi Southren Office, Projects and Health and Safety ManagerAlex Stewart Maintenance Manager

BOARD COMMITTEES AND STAFF