Councillor Tom Heggie

Councillor Tom Heggie, chair of the Nairnshire Area Committee, said: “I would like to thank our Housing and Benefits and Welfare Teams for the support and assistance that they have shown and continue to provide to our tenants in Nairnshire during the ongoing pandemic.

“These are incredibly difficult times and the housing staff are still providing a very pro-active response with a high level of humanity and deep local knowledge helping tenants to the best of their abilities – I thank them all.”

Figures presented to councillors which covered the period 1 April to 30 September showed that the average length of time taken to complete non-emergency repairs in Nairn and Cawdor council homes was 2.9 days in April to June, and 5 days during July to September.

While these response figures were lower than the 8-day target they were also better than the Highland average of 7.8 and 12.4 days for the same periods.

Emergency repairs for the same periods were also within the target of 14 hours average length of time taken to complete emergency repairs with 8.2 hours for April to June and six hours for July to September.

The average re-let time for council homes in Nairn and Cawdor was also within the 35-day target and was better than the Highland-wide average. From April – June the average let time was 7.67 days and from July – September 26.33 days compared to 45.86 days and 53.24 days for Highland over the same periods.

Councillor Heggie added: “We are conscious of the great deal of work that is done locally and it is important that tenants seek help – if required - as soon as any issues arise.

“Members have noted the increase in the number of tenants applying for Universal Credit and increasing rent arrears and levels of homelessness over the period with 21 people presenting as homeless in April to June and 14 in July to September in Nairnshire. We also note that re-let times are longer due to the need to observe COVID regulations.

“The Nairn Area Housing Team provides support to tenants offering advice and assistance, discussing repayment of rent arrears and signposting to specialist money advice services and the council’s welfare and benefits team.

“It important that those who are eligible apply for all the help and assistance that they can get and I urge anyone who is financially struggling to make sure that they are not missing out on benefits they might be entitled to.”