Plans to combat £1m overspend in Exeter housing

Exeter City Council has set out a new action plan on how it maintains and manages housing in response to a £1 million overspend from the council’s housing revenue account (HRA).

The action plan could see  some tenants prevented from transferring into a new council house or even face eviction or fines  if their property is in a poor state of repair.

The council will also look to better understand the reasons behind the overspend ahead of a major restructure of the service due to begin later this year.

Cllr Rob Hannaford, Lead councillor for Housing and Customer Access, said: "We are looking at carrying out more regular visits to properties in an attempt to nip problems in the bud,

"If repairs need to be carried out it is better that they are identified early on.

"We have learnt from the past and must now move forward. Yes, there are things that we can do better and those things have now been included in an action plan that the City Council is now implementing"

Part of the overspend is thought to have been caused by the extra repair works needed after the extreme winter weather caused an influx of leaks and damp issues.

Other factors such as the government’s welfare reforms are also thought to have added financial pressure.

However even with the extra costs, the council has said that the HRA, which is wholly funded by rents paid, has ‘more than enough’ money to cover the overspend.

The action plan was recently approved by the city council’s scrutiny committee and lays out 11 ways for the council to make the service more cost effective.
Much of this plans revolves around stepping up inspections on council properties to catch repair issues sooner so major repair work can be avoided.

Inspectors will also give Tenants advice on how to properly maintain their property to ensure they don’t slip into a state of disrepair.

The new structure will also see a dedicated team set up to inspected and maintain vacant homes to keep a close eye on the costs of these properties.

The council has said the more frequent inspections will not cost any more money to run but there could be some short term increases in costs if lots of damages are discovered. However the extent of the repair work is still unknown at this stage.

The council has begun to recover the money the Council has had to spend, from tenants who caused damage to properties. Recently an outgoing tenant received a bill for £2,336 following unauthorised work to their kitchen.