Two extra people will join a committee that oversees East Devon District Council’s social housing in response to a budget overspend.

The council revealed in July that it would need to borrow nearly £12 million extra after spending too much of its social housing fund.

While work is almost complete on a ‘stock condition’ survey, which will outline improvement work needed on the properties it owns, councillors say more scrutiny is needed.

This week a full council meeting voted to increase the number of councillors on its housing review board (HRB), which oversees the housing department – from five to seven, bringing it in line with other scrutiny committees.

The board will continue to have five tenant members and two independent community representatives.

Cllr Mike Goodman (Conservative, Sidmouth Sidford), supported the move. “It’s essential that we enhance the housing review board as we’ve had a lot of issues with housing and increasing the membership can only help that committee which is overstretched,” he said.

Cllr Dan Ledger (Independent, Seaton), portfolio holder for sustainable homes and communities, has previously encouraged more members to attend HRB meetings, “as historically it has been a neglected committee by the wider membership with not enough attendance or focus on it”.

Conservative councillors had also submitted a motion demanding a report be presented within the next three months “to establish what the cost is to bring housing stock under the council stewardship to decent home standard, along with potential liabilities including legal action by tenants on failure to do this”.

But Cllr Henry Riddell (Conservative, Budleigh and Raleigh), wanted to defer the motion until December. “Since the motion was proposed, I have received communication about when the housing stock survey will be available,” he said.

“The suspension [of the motion] does not detract from the enormous challenges the housing service faces in tackling damp and mould, and improving the condition of much of our housing stock.”

The need for extra cash came after what Cllr Ledger and leader Cllr Paul Arnott (Liberal Democrat, Coly Valley) have both previously called persistent under-investment in housing stock.

East Devon is not alone in facing financial challenges in social housing.

In July, Cllr Ledger told the council that around 20 councils had written to the government about issues with shortfalls.

“There are things that we should do to protect our residents, and we are not sitting on our hands, but have identified the issues and are responding with an emergency budget so officers can act and deliver for residents,” he told members in July.

At this week’s full council meeting, the authority also confirmed Catrin Stark as the director of housing and health. Ms Stark had been in the role on an interim basis since May.