Newcastle council housing tenants face delays over repairs

Newcastle City Council is considering taking back responsibility for its 25,000-plus houses

Council housing bosses have warned of major pressures on its repairs service, as demand from tenants escalates.

Your Homes Newcastle (YHN) reported a surge in requests, which have jumped by almost 40,000 in just three years.

A backlog following the Covid pandemic has not eased, with a shortage of joiners and UK-wide worries over damp and mould also having an impact.

YHN told councillors it was making efforts to get "on the front foot" in improving properties.

A report presented to Newcastle City Council last week detailed how the number of repairs delivered by YHN increased from 85,000 in 2019/20 to 123,795 in 2022/23.

The Labour-led local authority aired concerns about residents facing delays of "months on end" waiting to get work done.

'Ageing stock'

It comes amid talk that YHN could soon be scrapped, with the city council considering taking back responsibility for its 25,000-plus houses for the first time since 2004, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

It was set up to manage the council's housing stock, although the local authority remains the owner and legal landlord.

David Langhorne, YHN's group director of assets and development, reported the repair problems to the council's overview and scrutiny committee.

"People are spending more time at home since Covid and we are managing an ageing stock as well, which brings its own challenges," he said.

"Nationally there is a trend around damp and mould and we are being really proactive in trying to find where we have it around our estate.

"A lot of the repairs we have coming through are related to that."

On Thursday, Mr Langhorne told the committee that YHN was attempting to get "on the front foot" in improving the condition of homes and had introduced a bespoke repairs service for older tenants living in Housing Plus accommodation.