An event to discuss the future of the repairs and maintenance contract for council-owned homes is open to all council tenants.

The council will be starting a major procurement exercise throughout 2024/25 to retender the services currently delivered by Osborne Property Services Ltd.

These will cover:
• responsive repair services
• refurbishment of empty properties
• maintenance and renewal of property elements (windows and doors, roofing, kitchens and bathrooms etc)
• servicing and maintenance of heating systems, electrical services and lifts
• other compliance services, including water hygiene, and asbestos
• fire safety services.

An event on 20 February in Langley offers residents the chance to discuss what they want to get out of the new service and how they want to get involved in supporting the council.

Ideally, the housing team would like resident support in the following areas: 
• initial resident engagement workshop
• participation in focus groups to review council service specifications
• support in the evaluation of tender submissions from contractors
• participation in the contract mobilisation phase.

Councillor Paul Kelly, lead member for housing, highways and transport, said: “This is another way we want to involve residents. We hold monthly housing surgeries, have a Resident Board which scrutinises issues and we would love to have more residents getting involved in our work.

“Use the link below to register for the event on 20 February and to express an interest in our engagement activities. You don’t have to give up endless amounts of time; the team will find the engagement activity to suit, based on how much time commitment you can make.

“We also produce a monthly newsletter for council tenants and leaseholders, called Housing Highlights. If you haven’t gone online to read it yet, I would recommend you do, as it provides all sorts of updates on housing issues.”

All cleaning services currently delivered by Osborne Property Services Ltd will be coming back in-house to be managed directly by the council, at the end of the current contract.

To find out more about the housing drop-in surgeries, visit our website. 

To sign up for the 20 February event, which will start at 6.30pm at Hawker House, Heathrow Business Park, Heron Drive, Langley, SL3 8XP, please register your interest in advance.

If you are unable to register in advance, you are still welcome to turn up on the day.