Repairs to Enfield Council’s housing stock will be brought back in house as part of a scheme which aims to improve the service and make it more responsive to tenants and leaseholders needs.

Enfield Council owns 10,500 homes and has some obligations to repair a further 5,000 leasehold properties. Repairs are currently carried out by contractors and while there have been improvements in the quality of service in the past six months, the borough’s cabinet agreed on June 12 to bring the service fully under the control of the Council at an initial cost of £1.2m.

The move follows a£40m investment in housing stock in the borough and will further improve the repair services following the introduction of the Housing MOT service earlier this year.

The MOT scheme ensures vulnerable and older tenants’ council homes are well-maintained and addresses persistent problems through the deployment of a dedicated team of Council officers who are tasked with visiting social housing properties in the borough to check their condition.

Once there, the workmen put right any faults that are found, conduct stock surveys to inform future major works projects and offer residents advice on ongoing issues such as condensation or damp if required.

Enfield Council’s Cabinet Member for Social Housing, Cllr Gina Needs, said: “Our repairs service has improved in recent months but we feel the service to tenants and leaseholders could be improved further by bringing the service fully back in house.

“Providing warm, dry, good quality homes to residents is a key priority for this Council and we have a commitment to carrying out repairs quickly and efficiently so that tenants and leaseholders have a high quality property in a good state of repair that they can call home.”

The cabinet’s decision is subject to call in.