A SURVEY of council tenants in Darlington has revealed 87.3 per cent are satisfied with the overall housing service they receive - an increase of more than two per cent on last year's figures.

The Status Questionnaire gathers tenants' views about their homes and the services provided.

The results show that 86.3 per cent of tenants believe their rent is good value for money - up almost two per cent on last year

Almost nine out of ten said they were very or fairly satisfied with their accommodation, an increase of 0.3 per cent

A total of 85.9 per cent said they thought the condition of their homes was good or fairly good, a rise of 3.7 per cent.

The number of tenants who thought it was easy to get hold of their landlord dipped slightly, falling 0.8 per cent to 73.6 per cent, while the proportion saying they found staff helpful also dropped 0.5 per cent to 85.3 per cent.

More than nine out of ten tenants thought the speed at which work was carried out at their homes was very or fairly good, a figure up 1.3 per cent on last year.

Nine out of ten also thought the standard of work was good or fairly good, an increase of 3.2 per cent.

A total of 83.8 per cent said the council was good at keeping them informed - down 0.6 per cent on last year's figures.

Almost two-thirds said they were very or fairly satisfied with opportunities for participating in management and decision-making, up almost one per cent.

Councillor Bill Dixon, the council's cabinet member for neighbourhood services and community safety, said: "We won't be resting on our laurels. We will use the information gathered to help us improve."