Nottingham City Council says it has cut its housing repairs backlog almost in half after a critical report by the Regulator of Social Housing.
In January last year, the regulator said it had found almost 1,000 repair problems in council-managed homes and rated the authority’s performance on repairs as “poor”.
It also raised concerns over gaps in smoke and carbon monoxide checks, a lack of tenant involvement in decision-making, and the council’s understanding of the condition of its housing stock.
The council was given a C3 rating, the second-lowest on a scale from C1 to C4.
In December, the council said it had set up a new team and committed £9 million to help address problems across its housing estate.
The work also comes as social landlords respond to the first phase of Awaab’s Law, which came into force at the end of October and requires faster action on dangerous housing conditions.
The law was introduced following the death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak, who died in December 2020 from a respiratory condition caused by prolonged exposure to mould in his Rochdale home.
At a housing meeting on Monday, June 15, the council said significant progress had been made.
Charlotte McGraw, strategic director of housing, said the backlog had fallen from 758 repair cases in April 2024 to 371 in April this year.
She said: “At the start of the improvement work, repairs were constrained by a really high volume of works in progress, overdue jobs, and limited confidence in the quality and timeliness of data.
“Since February 2025 the repairs service has moved from a largely reactive model to a more structured and preventative one. Average repair completion targets are now within target.
“Emergency repairs average 0.45 days, and that is against a one-day target, so we are far exceeding there.
“On urgent repairs it is 4.42 days against a seven-day target, so again, really good progress.
“Non-urgent repairs are 22 days, against a 28-day target. For planned repairs the target is 90 days, and we are on 42 days. So hopefully that gives members some assurance.”
The regulator had also said it lacked confidence that the council fully understood the condition of its housing stock, noting that almost 40 per cent of homes had not been surveyed for more than 10 years.
A full stock condition survey is now under way, with 19,764 homes surveyed by March.
The council has also set up a tenant-led housing assurance board to improve engagement and satisfaction.
Ms McGraw added: “The feedback from the regulator has been really, really positive. There is clearly a really good relationship built with the regulator that has been built up on trust and honesty.
“We last met in April when they confirmed that, given the significant progress, they were ready to reassess us, and that we are currently being considered for a review of the grading, with a very strong case being put forward by them to the panel that we will be awarded a C2.”