Council Initiatives - housing improvements

All council housing has to achieve what the Government is calling "The Decent Homes Standard" by 2010.

To reach this standard, all homes must be in a reasonable state of repair, with reasonably modern facilities, effective insulation and efficient heating.

Nationally, more than 1.5 million homes fail to meet the standard. However, the standard of accommodation provided by the City Council has been rated as good.
During the later part of 2003, the Council commissioned surveyors David Adamson & Partners to carry out a Stock Condition Survey to assess how close the Council's stock was to meeting the Decent Homes standard.

Currently, approximately 900 properties (17.5% of all council homes) do not meet the standard and of these over 600 only need additional loft insulation to bring them up to standard.

The Council is confident that it can meet this standard by 2010 from existing resources. However, as houses get older, more money will be needed to carry out repairs and to replace kitchens and bathrooms and it is unlikely that the Council will be able to continue to fund this service much beyond 2010.

The Government has required all councils to consult with their tenants on the best way to ensure there is available funding to meet the Decent Homes Standard along with all other aspects of the Housing service.
This process which is is known as Options Appraisal is has recently finished, with the final recommendations having been approved by the Council and by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.