Sheffield Lib Dems say ‘No more excuses on Housing Repairs’

Sheffield Council has passed a resolution calling for action on the shocking backlog of housing repair cases.

This resolution to act comes after shocking reports in The Star of a seven person family living in a two bed property covered in damp and mould, with their two year old having been taken to hospital suffering from Bronchitis.

Proposed by Beauchief and Greenhill councillors Richard Shaw and Sophie Thornton, the resolution expresses the Council’s sadness at the death of Awaab Ishak in Rochdale due to inaction on mould in his family’s social housing, and lays bare the crisis in the service, with a backlog of 6,193 overdue repairs as of the 23rd of October, at least 1,112 of which relate to damp and mould.

682 tenants have taken the Council to court over disrepair since March, receiving £234,618 of compensation, and total costs to the Council from court cases have run to £5.2 million.

The motion calls for an enquiry into how the repairs service has gone so badly wrong, and commits officers to bring forward a strategy for improvement for the entire service.

The motion also proposed that the Council create an alternative disrepair resolution scheme, which would cut predatory solicitors out of the picture when dealing with housing, and proposed residents be given the right to employ a contractor to resolve repair issues themselves.

Councillor Shaw said “I’m really pleased that the Council has seen fit to accept this motion, but I’ve got to say that I’m disappointed it’s taken so long to get action.

“Me and my colleagues have been raising housing repairs as an issue for a long time, and to begin with we were brushed off by our colleagues in Labour and the Green Party. It’s only now that the problems have become too big to ignore that this Council has finally agreed something must be done.

“I’m looking forward to working with my colleagues in the Housing Committee to implement the recommendations in this motion.”

Councillor Thornton said “Council passing this motion is a milestone in a long journey that me, my colleagues, and my constituents have been on to improve this service.

“The Council is really under the microscope now – not only have Councillors agreed that something must be done, but the Social Housing Regulator has demanded we show how we’re going to improve. I’m looking forward to seeing how officers respond, and hope that the service will begin to turn around as soon as possible.”