HPBC are "delivering decent homes for tenants"

A recent report has stated that most council homes in the High Peak are meeting national standards for decent housing, and plans are in place to improve the 5% that currently don’t.

The latest compliance report presented to the Housing Board showed an improvement in the properties classed as non-decent from almost 9% last year to 5% in the first quarter of this year.

The big improvement follows Council investment of £2.3m in structural works, energy efficiency measures, damp mitigation, radon detection and fire safety upgrades.

Executive Councillor for Housing, Fiona Sloman, said: “Our tenants deserve homes that are well maintained, safe and affordable so it’s important that we continue to invest in improving them and that we regularly monitor the condition of our properties.

“I’m delighted that this latest update confirms we’re going in the right direction – more of our homes are meeting the decent housing standards, and we have plans in place for the small percentage that don’t to bring them up to compliance.

“We’ve got a five-year programme in place to ensure all our properties are surveyed and any issues identified are dealt with. People renting their homes from the Council can be assured that their comfort and safety is as important to us as it is to them.”

Other service improvements introduced by the Council include:

1) Fast-tracking damp, mould, and disrepair processes so issues are dealt with within three weeks
2) Notifying tenants when contractors change
3) Improved communications with vulnerable tenants

Councillor Sloman added: “We’ve listened to what our tenants tell us and acted on that to deliver better services and communications with them. I’m pleased with the improvements we’ve made and it’s great to see that 95% of our tenants reported that they were satisfied with the repairs service.”

To find out more about the Council’s housing service visit: www.highpeak.gov.uk/article/199/Housing