Council housing in West Northamptonshire ‘not good enough’ as shortfalls in tenant satisfaction identified

The local authority owns more than 11,400 residential properties and acts as a landlord to those in social housing. WNC reported that it is not hitting its own housing targets in nearly 60 percent of its assessed criteria.

In the latest period, 65 percent of people living in council housing in West Northants said they were satisfied with how the local authority acted as their landlord.

The meeting also heard that half (51 percent) of tenants felt that the council did not listen to their views on their homes. More than two-thirds of people in social housing (68 percent) who had made complaints about the service also said they weren’t happy with the way it was dealt with by WNC.

Deputy leader of the opposition, Councillor Bob Purser said: “On the face of it, it all makes for worrying reading.

“Tenants really should expect repairs done speedily and their complaints handled well and neither of those are in place at the moment for enough people.

“We’ve got a huge task to improve here. It’s going to involve all of us absolutely working together to get on top of this and I hope that all those measures are in place so actually our tenants get the service they properly deserve.”

The report noted that out of the 27 ‘red measures’ that were not hitting targets, only seven were showing improvements compared to the previous period.

Other areas that have underperformed this year include satisfaction that the landlord keeps communal areas clean and well-maintained, the percentage of people who agree that tenants are “treated fairly and with respect” and resident satisfaction with the time taken to complete repairs and happiness with the repairs service in general.

Leader of WNC, Councillor Adam Brown, said the council took the findings “very seriously”.

“I think what this report says is that currently the situation is not good enough.

“Until such time that the situation improves to our satisfaction and residents are getting the service and the accommodation they deserve, we will take every measure to make sure that we as a landlord are fulfilling our duty.”

Given the sector-wide underperformance, WNC has commissioned an independent assessment of landlord services. The authority will present the findings and recommendations report alongside an associated action plan to the cabinet when complete.

Councillor Rosie Herring, cabinet member for housing, and the director of communities and opportunities will also be attending quarterly tenant engagement events in order to gain greater insight into their issues and concerns.