Wandsworth Council is set to equip its housing inspection teams with iPads, a move aimed at streamlining operations and enhancing service delivery. The decision came to light during a Housing Committee meeting on Wednesday, where councillors discussed various initiatives to improve housing conditions and tenant satisfaction.
The council plans to purchase 60 iPads and subscribe to the NEC Go Mobile application, enabling officers to complete inspection summaries on-site, including photo documentation. This will allow for the generation of letters to tenants summarising inspection outcomes. The estimated cost is £29,500 for the iPads and £22,800 annually for the application license.
The meeting also addressed the council's response to damp and mould, including preparations for Awaab's Law, and the annual housing management complaints report. Councillors reviewed changes implemented since early 2023, including updates to the council's website, regular features in the quarterly housing newsletter, and additional training for front-line housing officers. A dedicated mould removal team has completed over 1,600 requests since March 2023, with 95% of tenants expressing satisfaction with the service since April 2025.
The Housing Overview and Scrutiny Committee also reviewed the Housing OSC Outturn Report 2024/25, which presented the outturn against revenue budgets for the services. The headline position for the committee is a General Fund overspend of £5.1m, an improvement on the £6.1m overspend forecast at Q3. The main driver of the overspend is continuing significant pressures relating to the council's statutory homelessness responsibilities.
The council is working to address issues raised in a Regulator of Social Housing inspection report, which gave Wandsworth a C3 grading, indicating serious failings in meeting consumer standards, particularly regarding stock quality and electrical safety testing. A cross-party working group will be established to scrutinise information provided to the Regulator.
The Housing Overview and Scrutiny Committee considered the current work programme, aiming to improve services, endorse policies, and gain insights into key areas of concern.