Agenda item

The Head of Service, Housing gave a presentation on behalf of the Head of Service, Technical.

Repairs Call Handling -  well within target and at the end of August was 96%.

Reactive Repairs – All Repairs

Context was given in respect of figures for earlier in the year and also the previous year.  Although the figures were still showing red the figures had improved significantly.

The Chairman made reference to staffing issues as mentioned in the report, the Head of Service, Housing indicated that she would discuss the subject later in the presentation.

The number of repairs 2,969 in WIP had gone down since August. To give some context the Committee were informed that in  April 2024 this number had been 3,798, therefore Members could see the improvement in the figures even though they were still in red.  The number of overdue repairs was moving downward and the current figure was 1,705.  Again to give some context in April 2024 the figure was 2,965.

Reactive Repairs – In House

Emergency Repairs completed on time was 100% and showed green for August.  The number of overdue repairs was decreasing and for August was down to 1405, in February that figure had been 2,118, so improvement could be seen. 

Reactive Repairs - Sureserve

Systems were being focused on together with overdue jobs in this area which showed a large amount of green within the presentation matrix.

Reactive Repairs – Other Contractors

Again reference was made to the amount of red shown and it was noted that the number of overdues had increased in June, July and August.  In order to tackle the increase, new contractors were being put in place and the Interim Repairs Manager had been replaced with a permanent new Repairs Manager.

Damp and Mould

Reference was made to the red line shown and to give context to the Committee it was noted that in May there had been 406 overdue repairs this had reduced to 241 which was a vast improvement.

Voids

It was noted that the Void slide shown in the presentation was mostly green which showed the massive improvements that had been made by the Voids Team over the last year.  In August the Voids in WIP were down to 68. To put the figure in context it was noted that in January 2025 the number of Voids in WIP had been 119 and as at the end of September that figure stood at 61.

 

The Chairman made reference to the massive improvements that had been made with Voids and asked if the targets currently in place needed to be revisited. 

 

The Director of Housing and Projects indicated that work would eventually plateau, currently there were 45 voids a month and the Team were turning over 52 a month to address the backlog in place.  There would come a point when the number of voids received in the month would be turned around in the month.  It was noted that if the figure started to increase then more resources would be aimed at voids, however, between 50 and 60 was the ideal number and that where possible the voids needed to be managed within the budget limits.  It was also noted that some major voids came at a significant cost which would be recharged to capital where possible, however there was between £12,000 and £14,000 revenue costs, it was being able to work within budget limits and turning voids round as efficiently as possible.

 

An internal audit had been undertaken in respect of voids and it was stated that the turnaround next year would reduce to 60 days.  The audit had stated that top targets needed to be managed against the Housemark, the industry standard and this standard was operated by other Councils.

 

There were other pressures within the system in respect of the budget not just in respect of voids but also repairs and Awaab’s law which came into force 27 October 2025 which had strict timelines which had to be adhered to.

 

The Government had recently consulted on a new Decent Homes Standard which could introduce new financial pressures on the Council, however no additional funding was expected to resource the funding pressures.

 

Customer Satisfaction

 

It was noted that once repairs had been undertaken, tenants satisfaction was high and although it had reduced to 88% this was still green and over the target.

 

Planned Works

 

Contracts were being mobilised between April to September with surveys being validated and work being undertaken between September and March next year.  Work on Warm Homes had started with currently 17 homes being worked on.

 

Asset Management

 

It was highlighted to Members that the number of homes failing to meeting Decent Homes Standards had massively reduced.  The programme of works in respect of the 173 properties continued to be carried out.

 

The Cabinet Member Housing commented on the number of refusals to have work carried out in respect of Decent Homes and the reasons behind a refusal.  

 

The Director of Housing and Projects stated that currently there were 14 homes refusals that didn’t meet the Decent Homes standards and taking them out it equated to 159 refusals.  Reasons could be that residents were still happy with the bathroom or kitchen that they had, they may have complex vulnerabilities which meant that Officers needed to work with them to help manage people whilst work was done or elderly residents simply didn’t want any disruption.   An example was given to the Committee in respect of the terms of conditions in respect of the Warm Home grant and what needed to be installed in properties both air source heat pumps and solar panels and some tenants simply did not want the upheaval this ensued.  Officers would continue to work with tenants but works would be undertaken at void as required.

 

Stock Condition

 

It was noted that the focus was to complete all stock conditions surveys by the end of the year.  It was hoped that 1,100 would be completed by December 2025.

 

Allocations and Lettings Call Handling

 

The number of calls handled was increasing but all targets continued to be met and it was something that both Teams focused on.  Reference was made to the abandoned calls and it was noted that the automated message did refer to online service that could be accessed so calls could be abandoned at this point.  The 4% shown did not mean that the call had not been answered.

 

Housing Options

 

It was noted that information on the slide was reproduced in the Homelessness and Rough Sleeper report.  Numbers in temporary accommodation was between 60 and 70 during the summer months.  The number of homelessness approaches had increased slightly through the summer.  The number of homelessness cases was roughly 247.  Number of rough sleepers in June was 15, this figure had reduced to four in September 2025. 

 

Allocations

 

Reference was made to the number of Housing Register applications waiting for assessment which had increased.  The Head of Service, Housing referred to the staffing issues during the summer months with long term sickness affecting the Team and long-term absences from work.  It was noted that agency workers were now in position to help with the backlog of housing register applications.  It was managing sickness and long-term absence that was effecting the workload.  Housing register applications were being prioritised with some Officers undertaking overtime by agreement to help reduce the backlog.

 

The Chairman highlighted the staffing situation again to which the Head of Service Housing replied that the staffing picture was improving with staff returning from long-term sickness and agency staff in place in the interim together with Housing Option Officer and Housing Options Officer Assistant recruitment being undertaken.  Reference was made to the drop from 1,100 to 1,000 and it was stated that people did get rehoused and also reviews took place and people did decide they no longer wished to be on the register.  Number of offers remained consistent.

 

Tenancy Management

 

It was noted that the number of Anti-Social Behaviour cases was large in June, July and August and also ASB reports.  An increase was a trend that was seen during the summer months.

 

A questions were asked about the increase in the number of tenancy terminations and the number of sign-ups that had taken place and the difference between the two.  The Head of Service, Housing indicated that she would look into this and the reasons why people terminated their tenancy and carry out some analysis in this area.  It was noted that people could also sign up to Housing Associations nominated by the Council and the Council wasn’t involved in these.

 

A question was asked in relation to allocations and the banding shown. Was it possible for the type of property and the area to be shown.  It was stated that the banding could be broken down further to show the type of property that people were eligible for and it was agreed that this would be included next time.

 

ØAction

 

To include a slide showing the breakdown of property per banding within allocations.

 

The Director of Housing and Projects stated that the Housing Register was consulted when looking at acquisitions to see what types of properties were needed and the example of Larch Close and the changes to the development specification that was undertaken to address a complex housing need that was shown.

 

Compliance

 

The Director of Housing and Projects stated that the Legionella, Asbestos, Fire Risk Assessments, Lift safety and Smoke/CO detectors all remained at 100% compliant. Gas checks remained at 99.26% with currently 41 properties without a gas certificate, seven of these had been made safe and were not shown within the non-compliant properties which meant 34 were non-compliant.  Officers continued to work with tenants whilst court warrants were applied for as only 30 warrants could be applied for at any one time. It was confirmed that these were failed attempts to access properties.  Three attempts to access properties were made before application was made to the court for access.  Electrical inspections had increased with the current figure for end of September at 220.  Officers continued to work with Sureserve to access properties to carry out inspections as there wasn’t the same process in place for electricity certification as for gas certification.

 

An annual meeting was held with the Regulator of Social Housing in July 2025 where it was stated that remedial actions should also be reported to the Committee.  The slide before the Committee showed the number of outstanding actions in respect of Fire Risk Assessments undertaken.  Outstanding actions were 923 of which 185 were advisory recommendations only.  Work had been undertaken to clear the 30 high actions which should be completed within the next week.  The Housing Repairs Manager and the Head of Service, Housing’s Teams were focused on reducing the number of medium actions shown.  A Fire Safety Group met monthly to discuss and work on the dates for completion of the actions,  examples of actions were given.

 

The Chairman thanked the Director of Housing and Projects and her team for the comprehensive report. 

 

A discussion then followed on the information before the Committee with the following questions being asked:

 

·       How could the Damp and Mould performance be improved

·       Was there a dedicated resource for Damp and Mould - yes

·       The current HRA forecast overspend, what impact could this have on any housing investment plans (new builds) – new builds funded from RTB receipts.

·       The time period for handing properties back and whether this included minor repairs being completed – only repairs outstanding would usually be in respect of gardens.

·       How the Damp and Mould would be resourced in the winter months when it was more prevalent due to weather conditions – there was capacity within the system to deal with this, with two large repairs firms, the contract was for a five year period.

·       Information on overall distribution of void properties and the number of days void and their location and financial impact of rent lost – inclusion of oldest major void, oldest minor void, also the Stat Map report showed all properties which Members were able to access.  The finance implications were monitored by the Finance and Economic OSC as it came under the budget remit, however it could be included once it had gone to the Finance and Economic OSC.

·       What mechanisms were in place for prioritising Damp and Mould issues – priorities would be as in respect of Awaab’s Law and HHSRS.

·       Reactive Repairs overdue - were repairs by other contractors not Sureserve being taken to do other projects, how were decisions made about what repairs were allocated to who.  A 60 day completion date had been introduced following the introduction of the new Repairs and Maintenance Policy.  Two formal contracts were in place so that there was capacity to carry out necessary repair work and it was expected that a reduction in the figures would follow.

 

The Chairman referred to the incredible “journey” that the Housing Section had been on and the positive work that had been done by the Teams and asked what was the current number one priority.  The Director of Housing and Projects referred to the continued improvement with Reactive Repairs and also the key focus of the completion of the stock conditions surveys and HHRS surveys as it was important as a landlord to be clear about the condition of its housing stock.

 

In respect of the question on the oldest void property it was stated that this had been included within the main void report that had been circulated to the Committee March 2024.

 

The Chairman thanked the Officers and their Teams for the report which was noted by the Committee.