Torbay's social housing needs fixing

Too many in poor nick

Social housing providers in Torbay need to do more to keep homes in good condition, a councillor says.

On average, Torbay issues 49 housing repair notices a year. Cllr Andrew Barrand (Conservative, Cockington with Chelston) wants to pressure housing providers into doing more to keep existing houses up to scratch, particularly with the difficulty of keeping up with the demand for new homes in Torbay.

“The social housing providers, I feel from what people have told me, are not doing enough,” he said at an overview and scrutiny committee meeting on Thursday [9 February]. “We really do have to get onto these social housing companies to get them to pull their finger out and do these repairs to keep people in their homes.

“There’s a shedload of people out there who are waiting for homes which we can’t build fast enough. We need those people who are in social housing to be able to stay there.”

Cllr David Thomas (Conservative, Preston) cited a case in King’s Ash of “water literally running down the ceiling,” leaving a young child suffering as a result of “mould infestation.”

Council leader Cllr Steve Darling (Liberal Democrats, Barton with Watcombe) said if the council has evidence of neglect by housing providers, it needs to scrutinise them.

“We need to be champions of our community, and if we do have that evidence to hand, we ought to be holding [housing providers] to account.”

Housing providers in the area – Sovereign, Sanctuary and Westward – have all been contacted for a comment on the committee’s concerns.