The management and maintenance of social housing is to come under more scrutiny from East Cambridgeshire District Council.
It follows a rise in the number of disgruntled residents contacting district councillors to seek advice on what to do about poor standards of living accommodation.
While East Cambridgeshire District Council has responsibility for managing who has access to social housing, it relies on around 30 registered housing providers to provide suitable accommodation for residents.
In a Motion passed at the Full Council on 16 July, councillors agreed residents living in social housing deserve “safe, responsive and high-quality housing services.”
The Motion also raised concerns that inconsistent service levels experienced by some housing association tenants may disproportionately affect older and vulnerable residents.
It also said it was important all tenants should be able to access “responsive services and have their voices heard.”
Cllr Lee Denney who brought the Motion, said: “We recognise the important role played by housing associations and community land trusts in meeting local housing need across East Cambridgeshire.
“We value strong partnership working with these organisations, and acknowledge the positive contribution made by community-led housing groups across the district.
“We are bringing this Motion because we have seen an increase in the number of residents contacting us or taking to social media about poor standards of some social housing.
“They are unhappy about lack of maintenance, the length of time repairs are taking and the number of long-term empty properties that are not being done up for people to live in.
“Our Motion seeks to raise greater awareness of this issue, particularly in light of Awaab's Law, the Renters’ Rights Act and the Government’s Make Things Right initiative, which aim to improve living standards.
“We are concerned that while providers are subject to regulatory judgement this does not provide sufficient transparency or granularity about performance at a local level.”
The Motion resolved to request council officers to work with housing associations above an agreed stock threshold within the district to establish a six-monthly performance reporting framework covering key housing management and maintenance measures.
These reports will be referred to its Operational Services Committee for regular review, enabling Councillors to monitor trends, identify good practice and understand where improvement may be required.
Representatives of housing associations will be invited to attend meetings with the council to discuss performance, challenges and improvement activity where appropriate.
Council officers have also been tasked with exploring options to strengthen tenant engagement and improve understanding of tenant experience, particularly among vulnerable residents and those less likely to raise concerns directly.
The council has also committed to continued collaboration with housing providers, with the aim to increase East Cambridgeshire’s social housing capacity.
Sanctuary Housing is the biggest provider of social housing in East Cambridgeshire, owning 4,260 (65%) of these homes, representing around 10% of the entire housing stock in the district.
The next largest provider is CHS (Cambridge Housing Society) Group with 554 homes.
Flagship Housing owns 231 homes, Clarion 208, and Accent Group 137, with the remaining smaller providers owning around 100 homes or less.