Northwards told to improve empty homes
THE Audit Commission has criticised the body which manages council housing in north Manchester for the way it handles empty properties.
It described the quality of Northwards Housing’s empty property as “generally poor” and said it took too long to re-let empty homes.
Northwards manages 12,458 council homes for Manchester City Council. Overall, the commission praised Northwards saying it delivered an excellent three-star service – the top rating – with excellent prospects for improvement.
But it said it was in the bottom 25% of similar organisations when it came to handling empty properties and collecting rents.
The commission inspected four empty properties and found all to be dirty. “Some properties had engrained dirt on the stairs, walls and doors, tiles and grouting were discoloured, graffiti and paint splashes had not been removed,” said the inspection report.
It added: “Although the void [empty property] standard states properties should be clean, Northwards has not checked or adhered to this and new tenants will view this detrimentally or be put into a situation where they accept inferior standards or judge Northwards accordingly.”
The commission said re-let times were slow, taking on average 39.3 days which is in the bottom 25% of similar organisations. However this figure is an improvement on the 65 days reported in 2006-07.
Northwards was also in the bottom 25% on income collection. Arrears are high across its estate and the report said it did not clearly record and account for rent arrears, court costs, and other debts.
In a statement Northwards said it was delighted with its three-stars and conceded there was still room for improvement.
Sue Ratchford, chair of the Northwards’ housing board added: “We are delighted with the result of the inspection. Since we began in 2005 we have worked hard to deliver an innovative and inclusive housing service, it’s great to be recognised in this way by the Audit Commission.”
Northwards employs 336 staff and handles an annual budget of £25.1m, with £9.1m spent on repairs and £16m on management costs.
