The Housing Authority has a problem identifying the hundreds of residential units it is responsible for, running the risk of abuse when it comes to repair work, an audit report shows.

An investigation by the National Audit Office found that the authority has no electronic database listing all housing units under its responsibility.

“By not keeping such a compilation, the authority runs significant avoidable risks, especially insofar as abuse is concerned,” the NAO said.

It noted that the authority’s methods to determine whether a residential unit fell under its responsibility were “weak”.

The report tabled in Parliament last week identified a number of concerns flagged during the audit. It analysed systems and covered works which were completed or still in progress last year.

The lack of a database made the authority’s task of identifying housing more onerous. This diverted “precious time and resources” from other areas of attention, the NAO added.

But the authority had other electronic deficiencies, including the lack of a single adequate database to log tenant complaints.

The NAO found that two separate and incompatible databases were used to input complaints. This was cause for “serious concern” since neither had a complete compilation of data.

An old database was considered to be more user-friendly but did not allow users to create new fields if necessary. The new database was meant to correct this deficiency.

But the NAO noted that the introduction of the new database created two problems: data was stored on two different systems and the information was not compatible.

NAO is concerned about the mentality of tenants, who felt no obligation to carry out maintenance on their houses – rented to them by the Housing Authority

“Keeping in mind that the information logged in these tools is the foundation into which the authority roots its course of action for operations – insofar as repairs and maintenance are concerned – this office [NAO] opines that the authority cannot afford to have anything less than a consistently fully updated and comprehensive compilation at its disposal,” the audit report recommended.

The NAO also expressed concern at the way the authority bought services and commissioned works, noting that the bill of quantities – a document giving a detailed breakdown of what had to be purchased – were at times unsigned and undated.

Given that the bill of quantities was considered an integral part of the procurement process and a main benchmark against which contract performance was measured, the NAO said the shortcomings could shed doubt on the integrity of such documents.

“The NAO is also concerned about the instances in which the necessary approvals for the issuance of calls for quotations were not found in the respective procurement files,” the office noted in another entry in the report.

While acknowledging the difficulties authority officers faced during site visits to assess the quantity and type of works required to address defects, especially when damages were not immediately detectable, the NAO said it was concerned about the repercussions posed by these circumstances.

The NAO suggested that the authority explore the possibility of acquiring dedicated tools and other relevant equipment to better assess residents’ claims prior to compiling the relevant bill of quantity.

“The initial investment in such tools would be redeemed through increased operational efficiency,” the NAO said.

But the NAO was also concerned about the mentality of tenants, who felt no obligation to carry out maintenance on their houses – rented to them by the Housing Authority. It was a concern shared by the authority.

“Such an outlook on this issue is by far unacceptable as this is often the cause of the occurrence of significant damages to the residential structures due to the lack of simple, regular and largely inexpensive maintenance,” the NAO said.

It urged the authority to enforce the clause in its repairs policy that says tenants should fund any works needed to address damages occurring to the house as a result of negligence by the tenants.

kurt.sansone@timesofmalta.com