Stoke-on-Trent City Council is set to take back full control of its repairs and maintenance service from April, bringing the management of 17,500 homes and around 600 public buildings back in-house.
The transition marks the end of Unitas, a wholly owned subsidiary of the council that was set up in 2018 to handle repairs and maintenance. In August 2024, the council announced its decision to reintegrate the service, aligning it with new government regulations that require landlords to meet higher standards and take full accountability for service delivery.
From Tuesday, April 1, the service will be known as the council’s Repairs and Maintenance Service, with the Unitas name and logo being retired. The rebranding will bring the service in line with other council-run departments, with the Stoke-on-Trent City Council crest replacing the existing Unitas branding.
As part of the transition, new name badges and ID cards are being produced for repairs staff. These ID cards will include a verification phone number, allowing tenants to confirm the identity of workers before letting them in to their homes.
Councillor Chris Robinson, the city council’s cabinet member for housing and planning, said: “Over the last six months, a lot of work has been going on behind the scenes to ensure this transition is carried out as smoothly and sensitively as possible for all involved.
“The project is progressing well and I’m pleased to be able to announce that, from Tuesday, April 1, the service will be back under control of the council.
“For now, and in the near future, we don’t expect tenants to notice a huge difference in the way we are delivering our housing repairs and maintenance service. Everything will continue as normal up until at least April.
“But we know from speaking to our tenants that improvement is needed to our repairs and maintenance service and we are looking at what changes we need to make to ensure we can provide a high-quality service. We also want to make sure that repairs are done right the first time and that, through our proactive investment programme, we can fix common housing issues before they become a big problem – such as damp and mould.
“We are committed to improving people’s lives and making the city a healthier, wealthier and safer place for all.”
The decision to bring the repairs and maintenance service in-house follows the introduction of new government legislation in response to the 2017 Grenfell Tower tragedy.
