'Urgent' category for house repairs introduced

The authority said it recognised that responsive repairs were a priority for residents

A council has pledged to speed up repairs for tenants affected by issues such as a loss of hot water and minor electrical faults to lighting.

Hull City Council has approved an update to its repairs and maintenance policy to deal with "urgent" repairs within five days.

It said urgent repairs covered non-emergency issues that could still cause "serious inconvenience", or were likely to cause further problems to the property.

Officials said it would complement the existing categories of emergency repairs (within 24 hours) and routine repairs (within 28 calendar days).

The authority said the new urgent category would cover about 6,000 repairs a year, with the majority completed during a single visit.

Portfolio holder for housing, Councillor Paul Drake-Davis, said: "We've engaged with our tenants' forum on the introduction of the urgent category, as we recognise that responsive repairs is one of the most important services we provide to our residents.

"We're committed to our repairs being cost-effective, timely and of a high standard for our tenants and look forward to further improvements to the service and updated policy in due course."

The introduction of the policy was approved by members of the council's cabinet at a meeting on 28 July.

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