COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

South Dublin County Council Crest

MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

Monday, January 13, 2020

QUESTION NO. 2

QUESTION: Councillor Carly Bailey

To ask the Chief Executive how complaints regarding the condition of social housing (whether managed by the council or by an AHB) are handled? How many complaints were received in 2018 and 2019? How many properties were subsequently inspected? How many of those had repairs carried out and how long after the complaint did they take place?

REPLY:

 The Council categorises all maintenance requests in relation to our housing stock according to the following guide:

CATEGORY         

TIMESCALE               

EXAMPLE

Emergency (Life-threatening and other serious matters)

1 – 5 working days

Smoking Fuse Board, Burst water tank

Urgent  (Matters which could cause significant damage to property)

Up to 10 working days

Leak under sink unit, Leaking roof

Routine (Matters which require attention but don’t pose an immediate danger to life/property.)

Up to 12 weeks+

Replace toilet cistern, Faulty radiator

Categorisation of a maintenance request is generally the responsibility of the Clerk of Works or Foreman of Works - this may involve an initial inspection of the property to determine the exact nature of the repair request and the works required.

In 2018 we received 18,932 maintenance requests with a further 17,546 requests received in 2019.

In 2018 & 2019 the majority of requests were assigned as follows with the balance being either tenant's responsibility, required no further action or required another miscellaneous response:

Repairs

2018

2019

Contractor

Central Heating

5,088

4,957

External Contractor

Inspections        

3,797

3,607

Foreman of Works/Clerk of Works

Electrical

2,127

1,996

External Contractor

Plumbing    

4,321

3937

Direct Labour

Roofing

249

239

External Contractor

Carpentry

264

380

Direct Labour or External Contractor

On submission of requests for repairs, tenants are advised as to whether the works are the Council responsibility or the Tenants responsibility  Generally, Tenants are responsible for repairs of a non-structural nature repairs to doors, windows, fixtures and fittings in the property caused by destruction or malicious damage.

The Council is not responsible for the maintenance of properties under the control of Approved Housing Bodies (AHB) but in general, a similar set of guidelines regarding categorisation and timescales for repairs is in place across the AHB sector.