North Kesteven District Council works its way through repairs backlog

North Kesteven District Council is getting through a long list of repairs to its properties which has caused council housing delays.

About 2,000 jobs were required in April as the previous contractor came to the end of its agreement with the council.

The new contractor has been able to catch up with repairs, with 170 still outstanding, and the list should be cleared by February.

A report that went before the council’s executive on Thursday (November 28) says the issue has caused major delays in re-letting properties.

It took 209 days to get new tenants into properties where major work was required – nearly three times the target of 80 days.

For properties which needed less work, it took 59 days rather than the expected 32 days.

These figures were for July, August and September 2024.

Councillors said they expected the delays to improve now a new contractor has been able to catch up.

Councillor Ian Carrington (Con) told the meeting: “These figures cover a period when we were transitioning from one maintenance contract to another, so there was some bedding in.

“We had a great deal of legacy work, and the new contractor had to learn the ways of North Kesteven.

“The situation is now improving, but we will keep an eagle eye to ensure that it keeps doing so.”

The council had other housing success over this period as Grinter Close was officially opened in North Hykeham, providing 18 new and 14 refurbished homes.

It is also beating its targets for the number of cases of homelessness it was able to prevent or solve during the period – 153.