Enfield Council has set out a plan to improve its housing repairs service as it brings the team back in house.

The council plans to launch what it calls a “one-stop shop” for housing-related issues to make it easier for residents to report problems with their homes.

Based in Edmonton, the housing resolution centre will diagnose the repairs that are needed, schedule work and get feedback from residents.

A council report says it aims to ensure calls are answered quickly “by knowledgeable staff who diagnose issues and can book a convenient appointment slot”.

It is hoped the new team will fix more problems properly the first time they crop up, so residents do not have to repeatedly complain about the same issue.

There will also be a head of service quality, who will be responsible for improving residents’ satisfaction.

Housing repairs were handled by private companies under contract to the council for a number of years.

But in June last year, Enfield Council’s top decision-makers agreed to insource repairs in a bid to improve the service and make it more responsive to tenants’ and leaseholders’ needs.

The move followed the launch of a ‘housing MOT’ team to tackle particularly bad cases of disrepair.

Under the insourced scheme, repairs will be carried out by three area-based teams assigned to the north-east, south-east and west of the borough.

The plan was agreed by the borough’s top decision-makers at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday (February 12).

Housing bosses say they expect the changes to take 12 months to fully bed in, although it is hoped the housing resolution centre will be up and running by the end of February.

Council leader Cllr Nesil Caliskan (Labour, Jubilee) said: “The [repairs] service, over the last few years, has not been delivering the standard we expect.

“Overwhelmingly, councillors’ casework is around housing – which includes housing repairs.

“Over the past few months, officers have worked with councillors to really come up with a plan, not only to insource, but to make sure that when we do, we are prepared, and there is an improvement to the service.”

Cllr Caliskan explained the scheme would help to reduce the number of repair visits and waiting times for residents.

Deputy leader Cllr Ian Barnes (Labour, Winchmore Hill) praised the housing MOT team after it was given a customer satisfaction rating of over 94 per cent.

Cllr Barnes said: “I have had dealings with the MOT team, and I have found them to be exemplary. They have been to quite a few residents and have been very well received.

“A customer service rating of 94 per cent is incredible. Hopefully this will continue and go up even further.”