Council signs off £230k for housing repair backlog

There has been a rise in requests and issues with new IT software

Senior Cannock Chase councillors have agreed to spend more than £230,000 to tackle a backlog of housing repairs, following a rise in requests and issues with new IT software.

Historically the district council’s housing maintenance team has received an average of just over 1,300 service requests a month.

During the last financial year this rose to an average of 1,615 requests a month – and April saw 1,899.

A report to Cannock Chase Council’s cabinet proposed that the authority should use an external contractor to work through the backlog.

The authority has seen a rise in claims in the wake of increased pressure on landlords to take more responsibility for damp and mould.

This follows the death of toddler Awaab Ishak in 2020 from a respiratory condition caused by mould in his family’s rented home in Rochdale.

The report also said there had been “teething issues” with a new IT system, adding that there were currently about 3,500 orders in the system, whereas “we would normally run on a monthly basis circa 1,500.”

The estimated cost to cover the backlog of jobs is £231,000 and the money will come from the council’s Housing Revenue Account (HRA).

The report warned that failing to respond to disrepair claims would result in regulatory targets being breached.

“By using some of the HRA budget to procure an external contractor, we can clear the backlog swiftly and progress with the positive initiatives that we have planned,” said councillor Sue Thornley, Housing and Corporate Assets portfolio leader.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.