Agenda item

Housing Repairs and Maintenance Policy

Report from the Strategic Director of Adult Care, Housing and Public Health.

Recommendations

That Cabinet:

1. Approve the Housing Services Repairs and Maintenance Policy (Appendix 1).

2. Approve the increase in decoration allowance from £25 to £50 per room, up to a maximum of £350 per property, as proposed in the Housing Services Repairs and Maintenance Policy (Appendix 1).

3. Note the ongoing work to scope the future repairs and maintenance delivery model for Rotherham and agrees to receive a further update on this work in 2025.

4. Approve the Housing Services Gas and Carbon Monoxide Safety Policy (Appendix 2).

5. Approve the Housing Services Electrical Safety Policy (Appendix 3).

6. Delegate authority to the Strategic Director for Adult Care, Housing and Public Health, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Housing, to make amendments to the following housing policies in line with operational, regulatory and legislative demands:

· Housing Services Repairs and Maintenance Policy

· Housing Services Gas and Carbon Monoxide Safety Policy

· Housing Services Electrical Safety Policy

· Housing Services Fire Safety Policy

· Damp, Mould and Condensation Policy as it relates to housing assets.

Minutes:

The Chair invited Councillor Allen, Cabinet Member for Housing and James Clarke, Assistant Director for Housing to introduce the report and noted that the report had also been considered by the members of the Improving Places Select Commission (IPSC). The Cabinet Member for Housing clarified it had been discussed at IPSC where they had set out their approach to delivering the repairs and maintenance service to make sure it met the needs of tenants and leaseholders, along with ensuring that the Council was able to meet it’s statutory, regulatory and contractual obligations. The report also updated members on work being undertaken to consider the future of the repairs and maintenance service in light of consumer regulations.

Paragraph 2.18 of the report discussed the decorating allowance which was the subject of much discussion at IPSC. As a result of those discussions the Cabinet Member for Housing sought the Boards views on a proposed amendment to that section for Cabinet’s consideration at its meeting on 18 November 2024, which would propose that that the sums awarded for the decorating allowance be increased in line with the corporate Fees and Charges annually.

The Chair welcomed the proposed amendment, which would be considered during the discussions.

Councillor A Carter noted the number of repairs carried out over the years but queried what key performance indicators (KPI’s) were being met withing the policy. The Assistant Director for Housing indicated the KPI’s could be shared outside of the meeting with members noting that many of them were corporate KPI’s as part of the Council Plan. They were reported on quarterly and could be shared. The service had also taken a decision recently to start sharing, on a quarterly basis, on the website, more detailed information about performance across the landlord services. This information in the form of a link would be shared with the Governance Manager to be circulated to members of the Board and he was happy to respond to any additional questions outside of the meeting.

Councillor Yasseen queried if our current contracts supported the Council’s goals and was responsive to its needs. It was clarified that this was being considered as part of the work to determine the future repairs and maintenance model. The contacts were performing well on their own terms and assurance was provided that both contractors were performing well against their measures. The questions were, were those the right measures. More of an emphasis was being placed on triaging the repairs adequately in the first instance to ensure those were being prioritised in the right way.

The authority was in a strong position on the responsive repair aspect. When repairs were logged it was good at fixing them and fixing them properly, but the data needed to be considered because if the same things kept breaking again and again, it provided an indication of where investment could be made. The repairs and maintenance service needed to move from not just being good at responding to be more preventative and more predictive.

Councillor Blackham queried on what basis had the existing contacts been extended by. The Council was currently in a position where the regulations around repairs and maintenance were changing but hadn’t yet been finalised. The full impacts of Awaab’s Law and how that would impact our repairs and maintenance service were not yet known. The new consumer regulation and inspection regime was introduced in April and the whole sector was assessing possible impacts of that. These were extended to allow the Council to ascertain what the requirements would be. The existing contracts were performing well and getting value for money for tenants.

Councillor McKiernan acknowledged that this had been discussed at IPSC and as Chair of that Commission he gave reassurance that a lot of similar questions had been asked during that meeting. He put forward a suggestion that fences be included as part of the household going forward. It was noted that if fences were included in the policy, it would raise the costs of the service.

Councillor McKiernan acknowledged that including maintenance of fences would increase the budget requirements for the service but suggested that current fences could be maintained. It was clarified that the Council would intervene where damaged fences caused a health and safety risk but could not committee to making sure the fencing was of a good standard when a property was re-let. It was confirmed that the maintenance of fences would be considered as part of the repairs and maintenance review.

Councillor A Carter raised concerns that in some instances mould in council properties was seen as a lifestyle choice due to the way people maintained their homes. It was noted that two to three years ago damp and mould weren’t reported as they were now but the Council had brought in a damp and mould policy and reassurance was provided that this was now core business for the Council.

Councillor Baggaley sought reassurance the needs of vulnerable tenants were being prioritised. It was clarified that once known, repairs were escalated accordingly. The contact centre used a script when receiving calls, which determines if a repair is urgent or less urgent. Traditionally those questions hadn’t been asked and whilst an IT solution was investigated the housing team were looking to update the script to ascertain those needs in the first instance.

Upon a vote, which included the additional recommendation proposed by the Cabinet Member for Housing, the following was resolved:

Resolved: That the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board supported the recommendations that Cabinet: