COUNCIL tenants could soon be offered cash to carry out their own minor repairs.

2. COUNCIL tenants could soon be offered cash to
carry out their own minor repairs.
The Government has announced funding to allow
local authorities to reward tenants who take care
of their own maintenance rather than calling out
council staff to do the work.
And the residents could receive up to £500 a year if
they agree to take on the responsibility.
Stoke-on-Trent City Council has already explored
the idea.
Last summer the authority launched a consultation
with its tenants to consider the possibility.

3. The results of that process will be discussed by the council
next month – along with the implications of the
Government's announcement of a cash reward scheme.
Under city council plans already tabled, tenants would be
shown a DVD which explains how to carry out simple
repairs including unblocking a sink or bleeding a radiator.
Other planned changes include making tenants pay for
replacement fencing and new security lighting, removing
the £50-per-room decorating allowance for new tenants
and making residents pay for deliberate damage.
Council officials believe they can save £2 million a year by
carrying out fewer repairs.

4. They estimate the savings could pay for the installation of
500 new roofs, the fitting of 3,300 new front doors and the
replacement of 550 energy efficient boilers.
Latest figures show tenants cost the authority money by
calling in staff for basic tasks such as unblocking sinks and
bleeding radiators.
Contractors paid to carry out repairs to Stoke-on-Trent's
19,000 council houses were called out 92,331 times in
2010/11.
But the authority said it could make the £2 million saving if
tenants tackled some of the easier jobs.
Council tenant Julie Edwards, aged 47, of Norton, said: "It
would depend on what I had to do.
"I could unblock a sink and I'd have a go at simple things like
that.

5. "But what happens if I struggle to fix something and
actually make it worse – who would pay for that?"
Karen Bowen, below, chairman of Townsend
Residents' Association, has been living in a council
house for 26 years.
The 49-year-old, of Theodore Road, said: "It's a good
idea – as long as disabled and vulnerable people who
can't tackle even simple repairs are still looked after.
"It should save money and mean that if someone's
heating system has packed in, the workers will get to
them sooner."

6. Announcing the Government's Tenant Cashback
Scheme yesterday, Housing Minister Grant Shapps
said: "Rather than having to wait for landlords to act,
tenants should be able to tackle their own DIY
dilemmas — and get paid for it.
"This, combined with the potential to bring the local
community together to improve the local area,
means all councils should give residents the right to
take up tools."