Decent Homes

A home is probably the biggest purchase anybody makes in their life. Regrettably, having made that purchase not everybody maintains that home, which can fall into disrepair and need investment and modernisation.

Imagine buying a car. Whether it is a new car or second hand, you expect it to be roadworthy. In fact, it HAS to be so that it can travel on public roads.

It needs tyres with sufficient tread, seatbelts, effective brakes and steering, lights and indicators, a windscreen which is not chipped or cracked, an annual tax disc and INSURANCE. On reaching a certain age, it requires an MOT certificate. Apply that idea to owning a house.

Do you wait until something breaks, to fix it?

• or insure against damage to avoid nasty and expensive surprises (most mortgages require insurance, do you have enough cover)?
• or maintain and modernise your home by checking the roof, windows and doors, damp proof course, electrics, wooden floors, heating system etc. from time to time?
• or hope nothing wears out or breaks, ignore it if it does, look to others for help or sell and move elsewhere?

You cannot predict everything which might break or wear out, but you can take reasonable precautions to check for the early signs of damage or wear, and make a less expensive repair rather than wait for more expensive consequences. If you are not very aware of the signs of damage, you may want to ask a friend, family member, or professional. Builders may give you some ideas about problems (but bear in mind they may want work to earn money), and surveyors can be expensive. Consider asking your local Home Improvement Agency or Council for a free opinion. All it costs is a telephone call!

Beyond the minimum 'fitness standard' for housing, the Government wants Councils to meet a stricter Decent Homes Standard for its own housing stock and to "increase the proportion of vulnerable households living in decent housing in the private sector" in stages, with interim targets set for 2006, 2010 and 2020.

A decent home is one which meets the four following criteria;

• achieves the current fitness (or minimum safety) standard,
• is in a reasonable state of repair,
• has reasonably modern facilities, and
• provides a reasonable degree of thermal comfort.

(a lot of technical guidance describes what is reasonable and what is modern, etc.)

A vulnerable household is ... "in receipt of at least one of the principal means tested or disability related benefits".

The first major problem for Councils is going to be accurately estimating where non decent homes are, and where they are occupied by vulnerable households, and then finding them. Having found them, Councils have to consider what powers and resources are available to them to make the non-decent homes decent.

This work is at a very early stage in most Councils, including North Warwickshire, and a policy on how progress might be made should be considered by Councillors during 2005.

If YOU think you meet the criteria of vulnerable, and live in a home which fails the above standard of decency, please
LET US KNOW so that any help we are able to give can be delivered without delay. This also applies if you represent another household, and can speak on their behalf.