More than 30,000 fixes completed since consultation.
Six months since Milton Keynes City Council entered a new contract with facilities company Mears to maintain its 11,000 council homes, 32,000 repairs have since been carried out.
To help plan the new contract, the council listened to feedback from tenants and incorporated what they said was most important. Tenants wanted evening appointments, quicker action on recurring issues, and stronger oversight of repair quality.
In response, the council and Mears have reshaped the service to better meet those needs. Evening repair appointments now give more flexibility to tenants who work during the day, new ‘priority repairs’ tackle repeat issues faster, and additional checks are being done to make sure repairs are done to a high standard, as well as meeting the latest regulations for council homes.
The city council has also set up a resident group to give ongoing feedback about these and other improvements. Since the contract started, 98% of repairs that are eligible for a first-time fix are being completed in one visit, and thousands of tenants have given the repair crew a five-star satisfaction score.
“We involved our tenants in designing the new contract and that’s meant we’ve been able to give people more of what they want,” said Cllr Ed Hume, Cabinet Member for Housing.
“The early results show real progress. We’ll keep working closely with residents and listening to what they tell us, and we’ll stay focused on getting repairs done right first time.”
