BURST pipes, heating breakdowns and leaky roofs will be fixed at less expense to the taxpayer and to a more consistent standard, housing bosses have promised.

Harrow Council starts a new responsive repairs contract with two local firms on Monday – Linbrook Services, which will look after the east and west of the borough, and Slade, which will be responsible for the central portion.

Both companies will service 5,000 council homes and 1,100 leaseholder properties.

Derek Stewart, head of asset management at Harrow Council, said: “The main decision was taken because we feel we would get better value for money.

“From when our old partnership contract with Kier was set up, methods and pricing has moved on.

“We feel we can operate the service for 20 per cent less and we are investing the savings back in.”

The council has budgeted to spend an additional £400,000 more than in previous years and expects to afford 22,000 to 23,000 day-to-day repairs per year compared to the current 18,000.

For the first time, some tasks tenants were left to do themselves, such as replacing fluorescent strip lightbulbs, will now be completed by the repairs service.

The council is also introducing a repairs charter outlining its promises to tenants.

Paddy Lyne, chairman of Harrow Federation of Tenants’ and Residents’ Association, said: “We wanted a fresh start for repairs and I do think that is what we are getting. For me, using local suppliers was key.

“I am grateful to Harrow Council for giving residents a genuine voice in all of this.”

The council will visit the 100 most problematic properties to see if preventative intervention is possible to stop future call-outs.

It also promises to monitor the new contractors’ performance closely.

Mr Stewart said: “We will conduct random spot tests of work and random telephone surveying of customer satisfaction, and hold bimonthly appraisal meetings, and with these methods we can highlight on a monthly basis the contractors’ performance.”

Councillor Bob Currie, the council’s portfolio holder for housing, added: “Repairs are a massive bugbear for many tenants and leaseholders.

“We have an opportunity to turn this around and build a repairs service we can be proud of.”