The number council tenants in West Dunbartonshire happy with work done to repair and maintain their homes has continued to fall in the wake of the covid pandemic, according to a survey.
West Dunbartonshire Council bosses expressed their disappointment following the results of the tenant satisfaction survey on housing andhttps://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/all-about/homelessness
The survey was carried out in November last year to identify areas for improvement, and revealed that 68% of tenants are satisfied with the service overall with 28% dissatisfied.
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A total of 600 telephone interviews were carried out between October 11 and November 27, 2022.
Results of the survey revealed that the most satisfied tenants (66%) overall reside in Dumbarton and Alexandria (62%) with the least satisfied with living in Clydebank.
In 2022, 68% of the respondents said they were satisfied with the way their landlord dealt with repairs and maintenance compared to 75% in 2019 and 81% in 2017.
A table of results also showed that 76% felt their landlord is good at keeping them informed about services and decisions compared to 61% who felt their rent was good value for money.
Respondents also agreed they would like to see the council spend more money on regular maintenance programmes and new houses.
Feedback also identified five main areas for improvement including being able to heat the home, housing quality, repair service, management of the neighbourhood and rent value for money.
Speaking about the report, chief officer housing and employability, Peter Barry said: “I won’t shy away from the fact that this is not a good read. It is very disappointing to see though I have to say not surprising.
“Not all of it, but a significant amount is influenced by people’s experience of the pandemic and we could not get into properties as quickly as we would have liked.
“We did the survey in November and I am very keen that we get to committee not just with the problem but with a plan on how we are going to deal with it.
“An action plan is included to improve tenant satisfaction.”
It is hoped that by March 2024 the council will be able to improve customer satisfaction through building services, maintenance improvements and repairs performance.
The council will also monitor progress in removing dampness and mould in tenant homes.
Councillor Michelle McGinty added: “I don’t think it is surprising. We all knew as we came out of covid that there was a backlog of repairs.
“We were all very aware that there was issues that needed to be addressed. I know you are trying to change that and are working very hard to make sure there are improvements.
“As we go forward the next set of results will be quite important as we will see whether the things we are trying to do are having the impact that we are hoping for.”
The results of the survey will be reported to the Scottish Housing Regulator as part of o 2022/23 Scottish Social Housing Charter requirements.
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