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Private Sector Housing Strategy

The Regulatory Reform (Housing Assistance) (England & Wales) Order 2002 replaced much of the legislation concerning the provision of renewal grants to home owners.  The Order introduced a new wider ranging power for local authorities to provide assistance for housing renewal.

Poor quality housing can have an adverse effect on the health, safety and wellbeing of the occupants.  While the primary responsibility to maintain a property lies with the home owner, some people, particularly the elderly and the vulnerable, do not have the resources to keep their homes in good repair.  Local uthorities have a role to provide assistance in such cases.  They already have a responsibility to review the condition of properties in their area and also have extensive powers to intervene where housing conditions are found to be unacceptable.

The Order gives local authorities the ability to provide a flexible strategy to deal with poor condition private sector housing, taking account of local circumstances.  Such a strategy will contribute towards other strategies linked to combating poverty, social exclusion, health inequalities and neighbourhood decline.

We introduced our first Financial Assistance Policy for Private Sector Housing in July 2003. This policy has now been updated to reflect a revised government agenda and the ‘Decent Homes’ standard. The assistance packages provided within the policy have been focused around three themes to help:

• people maintain their independence and ability to remain in their home
• residents achieve better housing
• private sector landlords provide better rented accommodation

House Condition Survey

A city-wide Private Sector House Condition Survey was carried out in 2003 and the details of it can be found in the strategy document below.  The survey looked at dwelling age and type of profiles, the condition of properties in terms of unfitness, disrepair, amenities, energy efficiency and compliance with the Housing, Health & Safety Rating System and the Decent Homes standard.  Generally, conditions in the private rented sector were found to be worse than those in the owner occupied sector.

Below you will find copies of the Private Sector Housing Strategy and the new Financial Assistance Policy for Private Sector Housing 2006.

Associated documents:

  Private Sector Housing Strategy 2003-2007  (0.37 MB)
Financial Assistance Policy for Private Sector Housing 2006  (0.09 MB)
Financial Assistance Policy 2006 Appendicies  (0.06 MB)