Decent Homes

Updated: 09 May 2011

Improving your home

As your landlord, we must carry out regular major work to your home. This could include, for example, replacing
your kitchen or bathroom or your central-heating boiler.

We also carry out major repairs to our buildings. This includes cyclical redecorations to the outside of your building and the shared areas. This is normally carried out every seven years.

External cyclical redecorations

We aim to:

• redecorate external areas every seven years;
• publicise the annual cyclical redecoration programme in Open Door;
• before the work begins consult you where possible and confirm any choices, for example, which tiles or flooring you prefer;
• let you know the scope of works and the contractor’s details by letter before work begins;
• ensure our contractors notify you of the start date and
• ask you to fill in a satisfaction survey when the works are completed.

We ask that you:

• clear the area where the work is taking place;
• allow the contractor access to do the work;
• are tolerant of any disruption that the works cause and
• fill in the satisfaction survey within one week.

External decorations 2010/11 (18 KB)

Decent Homes Standard

The Decent Homes Standard says 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".

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