Over 1,200 Sandwell council houses have not had electrical safety checks in ten years

Sandwell council has referred itself to the Regulator of Social Housing after it found 1,245 of the homes it manages have gone without the safety checks. Credit: PA Images

A report has found more than 1,200 council houses in Sandwell haven't had electrical safety checks for more than 10 years.

Sandwell council has referred itself to the Regulator of Social Housing.

An action plan is in place to ensure that, by December 2022, all properties have an electrical report of no more than five years old.

The investigation was carried out by Sandwell council itself, and found that approximately 1,245 homes it managed in the Black Country were affected.

More than three-quarters of the councils homes had an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) dated within the past five years, but around a quarter had been missed.

According to regulations, landlords must have electrical installations in their properties inspected at least every five years.

The council hope to "increase contractor capacity" to deliver new electrical safety reports at a target of 100 per day. They hope by December 2022, all properties have an EICR of no more than five years old.

Those properties with an EICR of more than ten years old will have their safety report completed by Sandwell council by the end of July 2022.

Kerrie Carmichael, leader of Sandwell council, said: "Since discovering this issue I have asked officers to self-refer the council to the Regulator of Social Housing, as we are determined to put this right quickly and transparently.

"I can assure tenants that we are carrying out these checks as q

uickly as possible to ensure all properties have been looked at within sector standards.

"As a council, we have been developing an improvement plan that sets out the changes we are making to the way we work to address historical issues such as this. We know there are things we still need to change so are putting robust and rapi

d processes in place so that as soon as issues are identified they can be rectified."

Sandwell council looks after six towns: Oldbury, Rowley Regis, Smethwick, Tipton, Wednesbury and West Bromwich. Credit: ITV News Central

But David Fisher, leader of the opposition for Sandwell Conservatives, said it raised "serious concerns".

He said: "Although I welcome Sandwell council's decision to refer it's to the regulator of social housing, this raises serious concerns about how

performances are being tracked on monitored.

"Measuring KPI's is an integral part of any organisation and to think some council owned properties haven't had an EICR for over 10 years is a course for concern.

"I will be asking the leader of the council to give me assurances that no other department is using an electronic system that prevents easily performances being tracked and potentially putting lives at risk."

Others say this forms part of a narrative of failings from the council with regards to housing.

Paul Barnes, a community organiser at ACORN Birmingham, said: "ACORN members are always fighting for the right to live in safer conditions, in both privately rented and social housing.

"This year, in Birmingham and Sandwell, we have campaigned on issues including: infestations of rats, mice, and cockroaches; rampant mould and damp; electrical faults; and flooding.

"This includes Sandwell council block Alfred Gunn House, in Langley, where toilet water from one flat flooded through another resident's ceiling and wires were left trailing through flooded hallways during refurbishment works.

"It is a good thing Sandwell council have referred themselves to the regulator for social housing, but that they have had to do so only reflects the current poor state of social housing in the UK."

The council says the tenants affected will be contacted in order to have the electrical safety check completed by the end of July 2022.