Woman with a broken down boiler(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Gateshead housing complaints more than double in a year but figures don't tell whole story, claim officers

While some complaints are inappropriate or erroneous, councillors remind staff that many people do wait too long for repairs

by · ChronicleLive

Housing complaints made to Gateshead Council have more than doubled, but the raw figures don't tell the full story, say authority officers.

Gateshead Council's formal housing complaints have risen from a total of 57 last year to 144, according to a housing report. These figures include 'Stage Two' complaints, which had been escalated by tenants.

Many of these complaints are related to maintenance and repairs. However, Gateshead Council's director of repairs claims some complaints were not correctly attributed to his department or were not appropriate.

Director of repairs Ian McLackland said: "We get complaints about how long repairs take and that's correct but we also get lots of complaints where someone says 'I've been waiting for new bathroom for three years' and that's not with my team.

"Kitchens, bathrooms, windows, we get complaints about those but they are not mine to deliver."

Mr McLackland went on to say he was "not hiding behind the fact" that some repairs take too long but other factors such as disagreements over if something needs repairs or the life span of a kitchen or bathroom also contribute erroneously to complaints.

Some complaints have also referred to issues not within the council's tenancy agreements or obligations, claims Mr McLackland.

Councillors acknowledged that complaints may be misdirected or in some cases erroneous. However, Coun Dott Burnett claimed that complaints about the need for new bathrooms or kitchens often arise from waiting for an extended period for an initial repair.

Coun Burnett said: "We know when a complaint has been going on for a long time. I understand it's often not sent to the right place but the reason people are waiting for a new bathroom is because of a complaint in the first place.

"I had a woman whose toilet had been leaking for two years, the floor was rotten and there's no doubt in my mind that's how long she had been waiting, I went out to see it."

Coun Burnett continued: "It's not because they fancy a new kitchen or bathroom. It has come up because it needs repairing."

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