Tenant satisfaction league puts district councils at top

District councils are leading the way on tenant satisfaction, according to figures from the government's housing watchdog.

Carrick Council in Cornwall, whose homes are run by an arm's-length management organisation, topped the league with 92 per cent of its tenants saying they were satisfied. Eighty-three per cent of Carrick tenants said they were getting enough of a say in the way their housing was managed, according to the Audit Commission figures for 2006/07.

District councils dominate the top 20 performing authorities for tenant involvement and overall satisfaction levels. Eight of the top 20 councils for tenant participation have ALMOs, including Carrick.

Tenants were less happy in unitary authorities compared with the districts but were particularly dissatisfied in many of the London boroughs. The capital's councils dominated the bottom 10 spots for each of the performance indicators. Their average overall satisfaction rate was 67.6 per cent compared with an England average of 77 per cent.

London tenants were also less happy with how much say they had compared with the rest of the country. An average of 57 per cent of London tenants expressed satisfaction with opportunities for involvement compared with 64.2 per cent nationally.

Housing academic Professor Hal Pawson said the findings reflected the difficulties of managing social housing in big cities, like London, which have higher housing densities. District councils tended to have a better condition of housing stock, he added.

Professor Pawson said he was encouraged by the disproportionate number of ALMOs within the top 20 councils for tenant participation. 'One of the arguments put in ALMOs' favour is that they are supposed to be a device of bringing about greater tenant involvement and to reflect tenants' priorities, more than the traditional way that council housing is managed.'

The London borough of Kingston upon Thames came bottom in the overall satisfaction ranking, with a percentage of just 51. A council spokesperson described this as 'disappointing but not surprising'. It said its low rating was due to the financial difficulties created by its tenants' rejection of a stock transfer proposal three years' ago. 'Investment in communal areas has been restricted in recent years as we focus our spending on the interior of our housing stock in order to meet the [decent homes] standard,' he said.

The findings emerged as district councils including Carrick opposed plans to swallow their authorities into larger unitary councils. Louise Dwelly, Carrick Council's affordable housing manager, said: 'Districts have a strong track record on affordable housing, it's one of their key priorities and services. In unitary government, without political will, housing can be dwarfed by other priorities and flounder'.