Council Ditches Housing Repairs Contractor Morgan Sindall
Wates appointed to deal with backlog of defects in borough housing
A Morgan Sindall repair van working in Hammersmith & Fulham
October 13, 2024
Hammersmith & Fulham has awarded a new £28 million repairs contract in a bid to precent a backlog of defects in homes across the borough. The council approved the termination of its LOT 1 and LOT 2 repairs contracts, covering the north and central parts of the borough, with Morgan Sindall at a Cabinet meeting in March.
Council papers state this was done with mutual consent and that the contracts would run until 30 September. The council has now announced it has awarded the works to property services and development company Wates following a procurement process.
The deal is worth £28m, and is to run for three years from October 1. Between late 2022 and early 2023, a backlog of repairs, disrepair works and ‘voids’ had built up. Voids are repairs or improvements needed to properties where someone has moved out and they must be done before someone else can move in.
“These had negative impacts on tenants, generated complaints and failure demand costs and created risk in terms of further legal challenge and compensation cost and continued rent loss due to overdue voids,” council officers wrote.
Steps were taken to improve the service, including the appointment of several extra contractors. While these things helped, the council decided it still wouldn’t be able to keep up with the demand for repairs in the next three years, which is when the new contract runs to. Council officers said of the new contract: “This will offer stability to our residents and our homes.”
Morgan Sindall continues to hold a contract with Hammersmith and Fulham for gas-related works. This includes boiler servicing, repairs and replacements. A spokesperson for the council reiterated Wates is not the first new contractor to join the repairs service, as it had already brought others on board to work through the existing workload.
A spokesperson for Morgan Sindall Property Services said: “The repairs partnership was reaching its contractual end date in 2025 and the decision to end it in 2024 allows the council to fully consider its service delivery and procurement options and put in place new arrangements for repairs that address the current market conditions and meet emerging service needs for the benefit of residents.”
Earlier this year, the Housing Ombudsman published a report which highlighted issues including the council’s approach to repairs, and delays to them being completed. The investigation looked into cases determined between May 29 2023 and September 29 2023.
In response, Hammersmith and Fulham said it was ‘truly sorry’, and that it had taken steps to improve its service. After being approached for this story, the council directed the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) to its latest statistics reflecting the progress made.
These include 95 per cent of routine repairs being completed on time in September 2024, with 89 per cent overall for this year, and 95 per cent of emergency repairs finished on time. They added that 100 per cent of all overdue damp and mould repairs are also now complete, with more than 1,100 jobs carried out since April 2023. Wates was also approached for comment.
Ben Lynch - Local Democracy Reporter