The contract will start from April with an option to extend it for a further 10 years. Its value over the full 15 years will be in the region of £90m.

The contract includes repairs and planned maintenance works as well as the management of empty properties and Council-owned garages.

MSPS will also provide an out-of-hours emergency response service to deal with major incidents such as a flood.

Council officers began a review of the service 18 months ago and decided to opt for an innovative price-per-property contract.

This means that the council will no longer be charged a fee for each time a repair is carried out.

Instead, it will pay a fixed price for each property every year, giving the council certainty over the cost of repair bills, making it easier to plan ahead.

Around 12,000 repairs are carried out every year at individual properties and communal areas.

Councillor Brian Ellis, Portfolio Holder for Housing and Inclusion, says:  “This is a multi-million pound contract, one of the biggest and most important that the Council awards.

“Tenants will see a marked improvement in the service. For example, they will be able to report any concerns immediately on their mobile phone and choose the date of a visit. We will also be able to look ahead and make decisions while knowing exactly what our budget for repair and maintenance needs to be.”