Agenda item

1. That the following four Housing Repairs and Maintenance policies be approved and adopted:

a)    Disabled Adaptations Policy

b)    Housing Repairs and Maintenance Policy

c)    Housing Repairs Recharge Policy

d)    Managing Damp and Mould Policy

2. That authority be delegated to the Corporate Head of Housing, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Good Homes, to make any minor amendments to the damp and mould policy so it is compliant with legislation from October 2025.

Councillor Reach introduced the report.  The second recommendation was to make minor amendments to the Damp and Mould Policy to ensure compliance with forthcoming legislation, commonly known as Awaab’s Law.

Corporate Head of Housing, provided a further introduction which included the following points:

a)    The policies were important to support the re-procurement of maintenance and compliance activities and as a business need to provide clear guidance for officers and a clear understanding of responsibilities between landlord and tenants.

b)    It was essential that tenants were involved in the development of all policies and procedures.

c)    The policies were designed to be compliant with laws and regulations, provide consistency and fairness, mitigate risk, and improve customer communication and satisfaction levels.

d)    The policies would be reviewed every two years to ensure they remained effective and that tenants were central to the work being carried out.

Councillor Reach added further points reflecting feedback from the TACT Board, which included:

a)  A need to ensure a “human touch” was applied to the policies, particularly the recharge policy, to avoid punishing vulnerable tenants who may struggle with maintenance for various reasons.

b)  Consideration should be given to how the policies could differentiate to reflect individual tenant circumstances and whether the council could refer tenants to other services for assistance.

c)  An emphasis was needed to ensure contractors and surveyors did not just follow a tick-box exercise but took into account the individual circumstances of the property and its residents.

Councillor Reach, the Strategic Director, Corporate Head of Housing and the Housing Project and Policy Manager then responded to questions and comments raised by councillors as summarised below:

a)    Whether the impact of the new policies would be reviewed by members after the first year and how this impact would be measured.

b)    A suggestion was put forward to involve tenants more in policy development through a standing group, similar to the previously successful 'Readers' Panel'.

c)    A question was asked about the Disabled Adaptations Policy and its application to tenants who were under-occupying their property, and what solutions were available for them.

d)    A query was raised about the success criteria for the policies, particularly concerning contractor competence, missed appointments, and the impact on tenants who had to take time off work.

e)    A suggestion was made to regularly publish performance data to reassure the public that the service was performing well and to demonstrate improvements.

f)      How did the adaptations policy address the needs of individuals with progressively deteriorating conditions and where future needs could be anticipated.

g)    Whether more could be done to develop and share both positive and negative case studies for learning and communication purposes.

h)    A question was asked regarding the availability of Occupational Therapists (OTs) through Hampshire County Council and the number of in-house OTs employed by the council.

i)      Clarification was sought on the definitions of ‘responsive repairs’ and ‘programmed repairs’.

j)      Confirmation was requested that the Disabled Adaptations Policy was comprehensive and covered a wide range of physical and mental health conditions.

k)    What were the consequences for contractors who breached the code of conduct.

l)      A query was raised about whether lagging cold water feed pipes had been considered as part of the Damp and Mould Policy.

m)  Clarification was sought on the criteria used to define ‘untidy gardens’ in the list of rechargeable repairs, as this was subjective in many cases.

Ian Tait and Lynda Vincent spoke during public participation as summarised briefly below.

Ian Tait

He supported the change in ethos within polices to ensure remained resident centric, i.e. ‘with and for them’, rather than ‘to them’.  He advised that TARA meetings were of positive value and were informative, especially as contractors attended.  He suggested that systems, primarily regarding repairs, weren’t currently well integrated.  This was likely a technological issue of recording information on council systems and engaging its contractors correctly.  Therefore, to achieve what the policies are aspiring to do, there may be some necessary practical changes to make.

Lynda Vincent

Queried whether the council’s disabled access polices were being consistently and fairly applied to include access for members of the public to council scheme communal areas, including gardens.

Sought reassurance regarding policies regarding leaseholders using video doorbells and cameras that monitor and record activities in tenant resident and communal areas.

Secure cycle storage should, where possible, be provided in residential properties so to encourage greater use of cycles due to its various benefits. 

Councillor Reach, the Strategic Director, Corporate Head of Housing and the Housing Project and Policy Manager responded to the comments made as summarised below:

a)    Use of technology would help to further improve how repairs were dealt with.  A resident post repair satisfaction survey had also been recently launched, and this information would be fed back via contractor meetings.

b)    Adaptations and Aids budget were part of the HRA budget and only  applied to council home communal areas for tenants and not for members of the public.

c)    Regarding video doorbells etc, it was incumbent on the owners to ensure that these were operated in compliance with the law.  The Information Commissioner should be consulted regarding any complaint regarding their use.

d)    Council policies encourage walking and cycling wherever possible.  Where unused spaces areas in residential spaces could be adapted for cycle storage, this could be investigated, along with broader investment to this area. In addition, secure facilities were also installed at some destinations.  

Following further debate of the report, Councillor Reach explained that performance exception data regarding the policies could be considered at the TACT Board and he would also discuss at his regular internal meetings as Cabinet member.  Where possible, it was also noted that ward councillors be engaged where was appropriate to do so.

The Cabinet Committee agreed the following for the reasons set out above and outlined in the report.

RESOLVED:

1.                That the following four Housing Repairs and Maintenance policies be approved and adopted:

a)    Disabled Adaptations Policy

b)    Housing Repairs and Maintenance Policy

c)    Housing Repairs Recharge Policy

d)    Managing Damp and Mould Policy

2.                That authority be delegated to the Corporate Head of Housing, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Good Homes, to make any minor amendments to the damp and mould policy so it is compliant with legislation from October 2025.