Birmingham City Council has awarded new housing repair and maintenance contracts that promise a more flexible and responsive service for tenants and leaseholders.

From July 2026, three companies will handle day-to-day repairs, property improvements and the preparation of empty homes for new tenants, alongside planned maintenance such as kitchen and bathroom upgrades.

Following a detailed procurement exercise, Equans, Wates and Mears have secured 10-year agreements to look after around 60,000 council homes, with an option to extend for a further five years. Equans will cover the east of the city, Wates the north and south, and Mears the central and west areas.

The appointments follow extensive tenant feedback and are intended to deliver a modern, tenant-focused service that is more helpful, adaptable and responsive.

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The new set-up will make arranging repairs simpler and more convenient, including a digitised repairs journey aimed at boosting communication and tenant satisfaction. Residents will receive clearer updates on planned works, timeframes and any changes, and will have greater flexibility to reschedule appointments.

New technology and systems will track the condition of Birmingham’s council homes and help make properties warmer and more sustainable to heat.

The revised contract model is designed to offer better value for money and supports the council’s investment programme, which is putting more than £200m each year into improving council homes. The contracts are key to meeting the Government’s Decent Homes requirements across all Birmingham council properties by 2032.

Over the past year, 35,000 upgrades have been delivered across 6,000 council homes.

Cllr Nicky Brennan, Cabinet Member for Housing and Homelessness, said: "The new contracts give us an opportunity to overhaul how we monitor repairs and maintenance of council homes and to ensure tenants are getting the quality of service our tenants rightly expect and deserve. Tenants should expect a more flexible and responsive service, with better communication.

"We are investing more than £200m a year to bring more council properties up to a better standard. We are installing new kitchens and bathrooms, and cutting energy bills by making homes cheaper and easier to heat. These new contracts will ensure we keep the pace of that investment so all our tenants and leaseholders are living in warm, safe and sustainable homes."