Concern over East Renfrewshire Council housing issues

Inspectors have identified "a number of weaknesses" in some housing services provided by East Renfrewshire Council.

The Scottish Housing Regulator said the authority could make improvements to its system for handling housing allocations and rent arrears.

It also identified "significant number of areas for improvement" in the council's services to homeless people.

The regulator praised improvements in other areas. The council said all areas of concern had been "taken on board".

Lesley Kerr, acting head of inspection at the Scottish Housing Regulator, said the council was "achieving positive outcomes through its nomination agreements with other social landlords".

Weaknesses identified

She also noted a "good approach to monitoring letting performance" and improvements in the council's "performance in re-letting empty houses" and its gas safety testing.

"However, we also found that it has a number of weaknesses in its housing allocations and rent arrears processes," she said.

"It also has a significant number of areas for improvement in its services to homeless people."

The council's housing convener, Councillor Danny Devlin, said: "We found the inspection process to be beneficial and all of the regulator's recommendations have been taken on board and are being acted upon to ensure that our customers continue to receive a good service.

"We have re-organised our services and staffing structure to ensure that the issues highlighted are addressed.

"We are therefore confident that the service we provide will continue to improve."