Tenants Let Down by Nottingham City Homes

12.00.00am GMT Sat 11th Mar 2006

Nottingham City Homes (NCH) has failed to get 2 stars in an inspection by the Audit Commission. This means improvements to Council Houses are now in doubt and millions of pounds on funding has been put on hold until NCH can prove it is well run.

The report highlights problems with: management competencies, how vacant homes are dealt with, allocations and lettings, value for money and repairs. Concerns were raised that senior staff were misusing the manual allocations process and giving preferential treatment to some applicants without any justification. A senior member of staff has already resigned.

These problems clearly go back to before NCH was set up in April 2005 to when the homes were owned and managed by the Council. Cllr David Liversidge, chair of NCH, has said he will resign as chair. Cllr Gary Long, leader of the Liberal Democrats on Nottingham City, said "Cllr Liversidge has done the honourable thing and resigned. So should Cllr Trimble who is the paid Portfolio Holder for Housing."

He added "The service that tenants get is not good enough. They will also suffer delays in getting their homes up to standard."