A proactive approach to maintenance will be introduced as part of new plans for managing North Yorkshire Council’s housing stock.
Senior councillors on the authority’s executive committee this week approved the launch of an asset management strategy.
The strategy was put together due to challenges from the different systems inherited from the seven predecessor district councils following local government unitarisation in 2023.
The issues resulted in the authority referring itself to the Regulator of Social Housing, which highlighted critical weaknesses in its ability to comply with key safety standards, including gas and electrical safety, fire risk management, and the Decent Homes Standard.
Issues were also identified with tenant engagement, data integrity, and performance monitoring.
Councillor Simon Myers, executive member for culture, arts and housing, said: “We self-referred to the regulator of social housing because we knew that we were not compliant with the regulations, and particularly new regulations that had come in.
“This is an attempt by us to have a cohesive, relevant and regulatory sound policy across all our housing stock.”
Describing the strategy as an “exemplary piece of work”, Cllr Myers said the plans included a “change from what was reactive maintenance to proactive maintenance so that we’re not just waiting till we get complaints”.
The report also includes plans for cutting fuel poverty by increasing the energy efficiency of the council’s housing stock.
It sets out how the council will improve the information it holds on the condition and compliance of its homes.
The authority’s target of delivering 500 new council houses by 2029 is also included in the document.
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