HOUSING bosses in York are set to overhaul the way they charge tenants for repairs, after £100,000 of bills were left unpaid in two years.

A report to councillors stated that antiquated processes and a lack of clarity has hindered the collection of rechargeable repair bills, and led to unnecessary disputes between residents and the council.

City of York Council's housing and adult social services panel has now been advised to introduce a new system of charging for repairs, where damage has been caused by the tenant, a member of the household or a visitor.

The change would see the council introduce flat rates for a range of common jobs or replacement items, which householders would be billed for up-front.

That contrasts with the current system, under which tenants are charged the precise cost of each job, and charged once it has been completed - sometimes as long as three months later.

In the report, housing operations manager Tom Brittain writes: "By putting fixed charges on the different types of work, we will be able to inform customers of the total charge to them at the point when the work is ordered.

"Payment will be required at the time the request is made, reducing the need to generate the administration required in the recovery process.

"Where work is deemed necessary to ensure that the property remains wind and weather tight, or is of a health and safety nature, if payment is not made in advance, works will be ordered and recharged to the tenants."

This is the first time the approach has been reviewed since 1992. It was prompted by poor performance in recovering outstanding payments, and also by customer complaints.

Mr Brittain wrote: "It was found that many of the processes were antiquated, and were compounding staff ability to provide an effective and efficient service. Equally, these processes were directly responsible for a poor recovery rate."

He said debt recovery rates were directly linked to the speed with which the process was started.

There is currently more than £100,000 worth of outstanding debt relating to rechargeable repairs owed to the authority. According to the report, the financial ledger shows £19,000 has been recovered in two years.

Cost of repairs

These are some of the proposed charges for common housing repairs carried out by City of York Council:Gaining access to property - £25
Changing a lock (price per lock) - £30
Glazing (per square of glass) - £60
Replacing damaged internal doors - £70
Rubbish removal - £70
Replacing a light fitting/switch (price per fitting) - £30
Prices exclude VAT