City homes group owed £10m in rent arrears

The findings were published in an independent report released by the Audit Commission, which graded the Arms Length Management Organisation (ALMO) "excellent" overall, with "excellent" prospects for improvement.

Inspectors said Sheffield Homes had "a good understanding of its customers' needs" and gave it the maximum three-star rating.

Improvement works to bring all council houses up to the Decent Homes standard were found to be "well planned and managed", while repairs were carried out promptly and housing management services were said to be "performing well."

Some areas were identified for improvement, however. Vacant properties were found to be empty for an average of 39 days before being re-let, resulting in loss of rent.

And 10m was also found to be owed to Sheffield Homes by tenants, while complaints were said to be "not all responded to quickly".

As a result, inspectors made a number of recommendations such as reducing the turnaround time of vacant properties, taking action to reduce the level of rent arrears and also improving the complaints system.

The Audit Commission's head of housing and economic development for the north, Yvonne Davies, said: "Sheffield Homes has maintained the high standards of housing services it set in 2005.

"Services are generally strong across the board. It has introduced new ways of involving and empowering tenants in deciding how to deliver its services.

"The vast majority of customers are satisfied with the standard of services provided. The company has strong and effective leadership with a positive track record of improving services by learning from customers and other high performing organisations."