Melton's council tenants promised better repairs service by new contractor

Foster Property Maintenance will take over responsibility for day-to-day repairs, improvement work on properties, and preparing empty homes for new tenants from April.

The company will replace Axis Europe, which has held the contract for many years including during big operational challenges such as the period of the Covid pandemic.

The decision to appoint a new contractor, according to the council, follows extensive feedback from tenants and aims to provide a modernised service that is more efficient, responsive and tenant focused.

New arrangements are designed to make repairs easier and more convenient for tenants, and to improve communication and tenant satisfaction.

The new contract model also offers better value for money for the council, it says, which will support continued investment and improvements to council homes across the borough.

It was agreed at the latest cabinet meeting and the leader, Councillor Pip Allnatt, said afterwards: “The decision to re-procure our repairs and maintenance contracts was a significant one, made following careful consideration and extensive tenant feedback.

"Over the years, it became clear that the current service model no longer delivers the value for money or the quality of service our tenants rightly expect and deserve."

He added: "We take tenants’ feedback seriously and their experiences, views and voices have been used to shape and influence this new service.

"We are particularly grateful to our involved tenants, who have played a key role in shaping the design and evaluation of the new contract.

"We encourage tenants to continue sharing their experiences and feedback with us.

"This helps us understand what’s working well with our landlord services and highlights areas where improvements could be made.”

The council is required to maintain its housing stock to a high standard under the government’s ‘Decent Homes’ guidelines – 1,721 properties (96.4 per cent of them) currently meet this standard.

The new contractor will also include planned maintenance programmes such as kitchen and bathroom upgrades.

On average, the council completes around 6,000 repairs each year, and upgrades in excess of 400 homes.

Tenants can expect clearer communication about upcoming works, timeframes and any changes, as well as more flexibility to re-schedule appointments when needed.

New systems will also be introduced to make tracking repairs simpler, giving tenants and council officers real-time updates from the new contractor

James Jackson, regional director at Foster Property Maintenance, commented: “We are committed to helping the council to improve tenant satisfaction and experience, building on tenant feedback and insights.

"We will be putting new arrangements in place to make it easier for tenants to book and be updated on appointments and repairs.

“The council and Foster's have a shared commitment to improving services in the borough for tenants and look forward to meeting tenants in the coming months as we prepare to launch the new service.”

Axis will continue to deliver the repairs and void service until March 31, 2026 – the new contract begins the following day and is for a minimum of five years.

There is no change to the delivery of gas servicing and repairs, which will remain with the council’s existing partner, SureServe.