How we Spend and Receive Money
We want to be open about how we receive money and how we use the money we receive to deliver services for our residents. This page gives a simple breakdown of where each £1 comes from and how it is spent across our services.
Our aim is to make this information clear, transparent, and accessible, so you can understand how we manage our budget and the value it brings to you and your home.
How we Receive Money
Category |
Where we get each £1 of income from |
| Repairs Fee | 28.6p |
| Management Fee | 26.5p |
| Service & Heating Charges | 20.6p |
| Capital Fee | 20.4p |
| Commercial Income | 1.4p |
| Careline Income | 1.3p |
| Interest Income | 0.7p |
| Recharges to Subsidiaries | 0.2p |
| Other Income | 0.2p |
Terms explained:
Management fee: This is the core fee paid to us by the Council to manage tenancy services, support residents, and run the organisation effectively.
Repairs fee: We receive specific funding dedicated solely to the upkeep of properties. This income is ring-fenced to pay for the responsive repairs and maintenance work described in our expenditure.
Service and Heating Charges: This income comes directly from residents to cover shared services. It pays for communal heating, cleaning, caretaking, and lift maintenance in blocks of flats.
Capital Fee: This is funding allocated for major investment projects. It pays for the "Decent Homes" work (like new kitchens and roofs) and major safety improvements.
Commercial Income: Income generated from other non Management Fee activities.
Careline Income: Payments received for our Careline monitoring service, which supports vulnerable residents and provides emergency alarm monitoring.
Interest and Other Income: Small amounts of income generated from bank interest on our balances and other miscellaneous sources.
Recharges to Subsidiaries: Costs that we recover from our subsidiary services for shared resources.
How we Spend Money
| Category | How we spend each £1 |
| Operating - Staff Costs | 30.1p |
| Repairs - Responsive | 13.8p |
| Operating - Supplies and Services | 10.8p |
| Operating - Premises Costs | 8.9p |
| Capital - Other Projects | 8.6p |
| Repairs - Planned and Cyclical | 8.6p |
| Capital - Fire Safety | 7p |
| Repairs - Void Properties | 6.6p |
| Capital - Decent Homes | 5p |
| Operating - Transport Costs | 0.5p |
Terms explained:
- Operating - Staff Costs: Our people are our most valuable asset. This covers the salaries and training for all South Essex Homes staff who support you-from the housing officers and caretakers on your estate to the support teams ensuring our services run smoothly.
- Repairs - Responsive: This pays for day-to-day fixes when things go wrong. It covers the cost of sending contractors to your home to repair unexpected issues like water leaks, broken doors, or heating failures.
- Operating - Supplies and Services: This keeps the organisation running behind the scenes. It includes essential costs like IT systems, software, insurance, and the professional services required to manage a modern housing organisation.
- Operating - Premises Costs: This covers the cost of our offices and estate facilities, including rent, rates, and utilities. A significant portion of this goes toward electricity and gas bills for communal areas and office spaces.
- Repairs - Planned and Cyclical: Prevention is better than cure. This fund pays for routine safety checks and maintenance to keep you safe, including annual gas servicing, lift maintenance, electrical testing, and water safety checks.
- Capital - Other Projects: This funds improvements to the wider estate environment rather than inside individual homes. It includes Common Area Improvements such as improving parking, pathways, and common area upgrades to make neighborhoods better places to live.
- Capital - Fire Safety: Your safety is our priority. We have a dedicated budget specifically for fire safety works, ensuring our buildings meet the highest safety standards through upgraded alarms, doors, and systems.
- Repairs - Void Properties: When a tenant moves out, we need to make sure the home is safe and clean for the next family. This covers the repairs and checks required to turn an empty property around and get it re-let quickly.
- Capital - Decent Homes: This is our investment in the long-term quality of your home. It funds major replacements such as new kitchens, bathrooms, roofs, rewiring, and central heating systems to ensure homes remain modern and comfortable.
- Operating - Transport Costs: This covers the cost of our fleet vehicles and staff travel, ensuring our caretakers and housing officers can get out to visit you and your estates.