Home repairs suspended by Highland Council’s housing committee
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Highland Council’s housing committee has agreed to pause any non-essential repairs to council homes.
The decision follows a report detailing a projected £3.055 million overspend on the housing revenue account.
The council says this is mostly down to the rising costs of repairs and maintenance.
To get the budget back on track, housing bosses asked councillors to agree to pause non-essential repairs. This will mostly apply to external work such as repairing garden gates, fences and paths.
It could also bring a halt to any environmental improvement works, such as landscaping of council estates.
Members reluctantly agreed to the plan. Councillor Richard Gale observed: “Non-emergency repairs could become major repairs if they’re left to lie for a long period of time – then we’re playing catch-up.”
Council leader Raymond Bremner offered some reassurance that the decision would be kept under constant review, adding: “We hope that times will change.”
Council housing boss Mark Rodgers told councillors that the housing revenue account is effectively a closed budget. This means the account is solely funded by council tenants’ rent, and the council has a legal duty to balance the books.
