Making homes decent

Updated: 18 August 2010

Over the past few years we have been working hard to upgrade all our homes to meet the Decent Homes Standards. Decent Homes means that "all homes must be fit to live in, be in a reasonable state of repair, have reasonably modern facilities and services, and be comfortably warm".

We only have 95 properties still to upgrade and we hope to do this by the deadline of 31 December 2010, or very close.

When we carry out work, we look beyond 'Decent Homes' and survey the whole property so all the necessary works can be be done at one time.

What are the standards a home must reach?

All homes must be:

Fit to live in - homes that fail this standard have a serious problem (for example, structurally unstable, health-threatening damp, no suitaqble toilet, bath or shower).

In reasonable state of repair - homes that fail this standard might have old roofs, electrics or windows and are not able to be repaired. (Please note single-glazed windwos do not fail the Decent Homes Standard).

Reasonably modern - a home will fail this standard if three or more conditions from a specific list apply. For instance, if the kitchen or bathroom both lack modern facilities (kitchen 20 years old, bathroom 30 years old) and the kitchen also has an inadequate layout.

Warm and weatherproof - a home will fail this standard if it has insufficient heating or ineffective installations.

Download the full Decent Homes Standard here or call the Asset Management team on 020 8709 4317 for a copy.

Printable version