Council told to improve management of its homes

Leeds City Council has been told there are "weaknesses" in its management of its housing stock.

The Social Housing Regulator said the council, which owns 52,000 residential properties in the city, needed to make improvements, although it gave it the second highest of four possible grades.

The regulator's report said the council did not have "complete and up-to-date information" for some of its tenants' homes, "including any potential hazards", although elements of the service were singled out for praise.

The council said it was "determined to address the issues raised as quickly and effectively as possible".

The report, which was the first of its kind published about the local authority's competence as a social landlord, also said 9% of Leeds' council homes had an electrical safety test overdue.

It added: "We found its current understanding of the condition and quality of its homes to be a weakness."

However, it did praise the local authority for "effective, efficient and timely repairs service for its homes and communal areas".

At the time of the regulator's inspection, which was conducted earlier this month, it said that 93% of non-emergency repairs and 95% of emergency repairs were completed on time.

The council also demonstrated a "respectful, fair and positive culture towards tenants", according to the report.

Councillor Mary Harland, the authority's executive member for housing, said the regulator's findings were a "fair and accurate assessment".

She added: "The council takes its responsibilities around providing safe, good-quality homes extremely seriously and, as such, we are determined to address the issues raised by the inspectors as quickly and effectively as possible.

"One of our core values as a housing service is putting customers at the heart of everything we do, so it is pleasing that the report acknowledges the positive results being delivered by our people-focused culture."

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