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More than three-quarters of open Warwick council housing repairs were overdue at the start of October, with the backlog growing every month since April. The figures go to Warwick District Council’s Housing Scrutiny Committee on Tuesday 3 November at 6pm, at the Town Hall in Leamington.
On this page
Of 3,036 open repair jobs, 2,332 were late (76.8%). That compares with 1,429 overdue in April and 2,313 in August. The council has about 5,850 homes across the district.
How late are they?
- By type: 2,008 routine, 310 urgent and 14 emergency.
- By age: 928 under three months late, 936 at three to six months, 450 at six to 12 months and 18 over a year.
- Finished on time: 89.1% of emergency repairs against a 98% target, and 67.6% of non-emergency repairs against a 90% target.
What the council says
The report blames a combination of losing key operational staff, delays in entering completed jobs on the system, and too little scheduling capacity at the contractor to book appointments with tenants.
The contractor, Axis, is working to a recovery plan: an average of 150 appointments a day and 250 repairs completed a week, with weekly meetings between the council and the firm. The priority is urgent and emergency jobs, and a set of those identified by housing consultants HQN has come down from 422 to 268. The council wants to keep reducing routine repairs through to November.
Damp, mould and complaints
The same report covers Awaab’s Law, the legal timescales for dealing with hazards such as damp and mould. All potential cases were investigated within 10 working days in September, but only 38.5% of the related works orders were finished on time, up from 18.2% in August. Of 63 open cases covered by the law, 25 have overdue work.
All Stage 1 complaints got an answer on time, but only 25% at Stage 2, the final stage inside the council. Of 45 open Stage 2 complaints, 31 are overdue. In other figures, 252 homes (4.31%) don’t meet the Decent Homes Standard.
If you’re waiting for a repair
Tenants can request a repair or ask about an existing one on the council’s website, or call 01926 456129, which the council says to use for gas, electric and emergency repairs. If the council’s complaints process doesn’t sort it out, the Housing Ombudsman looks at complaints about social landlords.
The figures sit alongside a report on fire safety work in council flats, which goes to the same meeting. Both follow the C3 grade from the Regulator of Social Housing in September 2024, which found serious failings in the council’s landlord services, including its oversight of repairs.
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