More than £3,000 in compensation has been paid out after housing complaints made to the local council, a freedom of information (FOI) request obtained by The News can reveal. 

Wokingham Borough Council has paid out a total of £3, 219 to complainants between April 2021 and April 2022 – nearly twice the amount of the previous year’s £1,711. 

Nine out of the 24 compensation amounts paid during that time were for residents going multiple days without heating and hot water – totaling £525. 

READ MORE: Fight for Finchampstead War Memorial site continues

The longest period a complainant went without heating and hot water was 21 days, for which the resident received a payout of £105. 

The data indicates that £5 per day was issued to those who did not have use of these utilities. 

Local authorities are required to have a right to repair scheme in place for tenants, however only certain repair works are covered by the measure – these are called qualifying repairs.  

A loss of heating or hot water is covered by the scheme which, according to Citizens Advice, requires a response time of three days between May 1 and October 31 and one day between October 31 and May 1. 

READ MORE: Wokingham Elections 2022: Bulmershe & Whitegates candidates

The largest single compensation amount paid was £800 to a resident who complained about damage inflicted to their floor after a visit from a contractor. 

A further £400 was paid to compensate a tenant for having to cover the costs of new carpets. 

Other reasons for the pay outs include a contractor clearing out and boarding up the wrong garage (£100), delays to roofing repairs (£75), a tenant losing income following cancelled appointments (£226) and a tenant who had to use a launderette due to a delay in repairing their washing machine (£59). 

Between April 2020 and April 2021, the highest compensation payout was £370 for a faulty heating system which resulted in heating and hot water issues, as well as high energy bills. 

READ MORE: Bracknell house left with hole in roof months after storm Eunice

In total there were 19 compensation payments made after complaints during this time, eight of which were due to a resident not having any heating and hot water. 

The longest period a complainant went without these utilities in the financial year ending April 2021 was 28 days, for which the resident received a payout of £36. 

A council spokesperson said: “We prioritise repairs when tenants are without hot water or heat and aim to have it fixed within 24 hours. When this is not possible, we will do a temporary fix for heat by offering portable heaters and looking for alternatives for hot water. 

“When it takes longer to complete a repair, we may offer a goodwill payment in addition to covering any running costs the tenant will incur due to the problem.

“One case involving a loss of hot water took 21 days to resolve. The delay was initially caused by a misdiagnosis at the first callout, which resulted in parts being ordered that were not necessary, and a revisit to diagnose again and repair the issue.

“This falls far below the standards we set ourselves and we have learned from this mistake. We have put a process in place to ensure it doesn’t happen again and have apologised to the tenant.”