THE FIRM which looks after council housing in Basildon has paid out more than £9,500 compensation to tenants in 18 months because of poor repairs.

St Georges Community Housing had 16 complaints about poor housing referred to the Local Government Ombudsman over that period.

Maladministration was proven in eight of those cases, and compensation was paid out.

Payouts ranged from £75 to £4,233 in two cases.

Complaints included an eight-month delay to insulate a loft and eliminate drafts from a property, three months to fix a leaking roof, eight weeks to replace kitchens and bathroom tiles, and delays to repairing a security door and fencing.

In another case, a complaint stemmed from a gas leak caused by a wrongly fitted gas valve.

The ombudsman was also involved in a dispute between a tenant and St Georges over alleged overpayments from a communal heating system.

St Georges agreed to obtain an independent report on the heating system and meter.

An annual ombudsman report on the housing service provided by St Georges said: “This is still an area of concern. It is disappointing there do not seem to be any indications of an improvement in this service area.”

The ombudsman also investigated three complaints against Basildon Council services over the same period.

The council had to pay out £750 over a housing allocations matter, £500 due to a problem with planning when two people were not told about a third storey being added to a property near their homes, and £75 to a business over a complaint about Towngate Theatre staff.

Four cases against the council are ongoing.

Basildon Council leader Tony Ball said: “It is a council responsibility to respond to the ombudsman even though it is St Georges who do the repairs.

“We will be demanding an improvement next year.”