Repair delays and antisocial behaviour drag down satisfaction in Barnsley Council homes, survey shows

While overall satisfaction with the housing service has held steady at 75 per cent, approval of repair timeliness has dropped sharply by eight percentage points, from 76 per cent last year to just 68 per cent in 2024/25.

The figures come from Berneslai Homes’ latest tenant satisfaction survey, which gathered feedback from more than 1,100 tenants across the borough. The data shows a growing gap in satisfaction depending on who carries out repairs, with external contractors receiving notably lower scores than in-house teams.

Only 68 per cent of tenants were satisfied with the time taken to complete their most recent repair, down from 76 per cent last year. A quarter expressed dissatisfaction with repair speed, making this the only area of the survey where a statistically significant decline was recorded.

To address this, Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council has allocated an additional £8m in its annual budget to tackle outstanding repairs.

A review of the current repairs and maintenance contract is also underway, and Berneslai Homes is investing in IT systems to improve scheduling and communication.

Despite these challenges, the council noted that performance on urgent repairs remains strong, with more than 77,000 responsive repairs completed each year.

Another area where tenants are unhappy is antisocial behaviour. Only 48 per cent said they were happy with how it’s dealt with, and just over half said Berneslai Homes makes a positive difference to their area. To improve this, neighbourhood teams have been restructured and a new joint strategy is being developed with the council to better support victims and respond more consistently.

Reports of antisocial behaviour in Berneslai Homes properties have fallen by 20 per cent in the past year, dropping from 763 cases to 611, as BMBC and Berneslai Homes stepped up joint efforts to improve community safety. Their work, including targeted action on organised crime, was recently recognised with a national Resolve ASB Award.

Complaints are rising, with 31 per cent of tenants saying they had to raise an issue this year. However, satisfaction with how complaints are handled has stayed steady at 45 per cent, which is much higher than the national average of 29 per cent. Extra staff have been brought in to help deal with complaints more quickly, and the council says it’s also focusing on fixing the root causes, mainly the long wait for non-urgent repairs.

A report presented to the council’s cabinet during today’s (May 14) meeting, states that rising costs and stricter rules on social housing mean that funding has to be focused on urgent repairs, safety work, and making sure homes meet legal standards. This means less money for things like improving shared spaces and general neighbourhood upgrades, which may explain why satisfaction in these areas continues to fall.

Staff sickness and turnover at Berneslai Homes have also caused problems, especially with how visible and active neighbourhood teams are in some parts of the borough. Fixing these staffing issues is now a top priority.

The council has set new targets for the year ahead, based on tenant feedback and national benchmarks. The report says that the targets will be ambitious but realistic given current challenges. A new system will also be used to track performance more fairly, taking into account the small margin of error in survey results.

Sir Steve Houghton CBE, leader of the council, acknowledged both the strengths and challenges in managing the borough’s council housing stock.

He praised the council’s partnership with Berneslai Homes, saying, “We know from the external inspectorate that the council, working with Berneslai Homes, is highly effective in managing council stock.”

However, he recognised that there have been problems, particularly with repairs. “The report shows where the challenges are and confirms where we knew there were challenges, particularly around repairs, but we are getting a grip, particularly on the backlog of repairs [that] now has been cleared out, and we’re in a stronger position to move forward.”

Looking ahead, he said the government must play its part in addressing long-term funding pressures. While Barnsley has benefited from recent changes in the local government funding model, enabling investments in areas like school transport and community clean-up schemes, he warned that social housing needs similar reform.

“The current funding model isn’t sustainable,” he said. “Every authority across the country is saying the same thing, and the government is going to have to get a grip on this.”