Fears over standards of council homes
Just five per cent of council homes will meet standards considered to be 'decent' if extra funding is not found.
Dacorum Borough Council has admitted that without further investment its housing stock will drop below the government's Decent Homes Standard.
At a meeting of the council's Housing Advisory Panel, accountant Simon Smith said: "There is a shortfall in terms of what we can afford to do and what we would like to do to maintain that standard."
Currently 95 per cent of the council's homes make the grade and are kept up to scratch with a rolling programme of repairs.
Housing officer Brian Trainor said: "If things carry on as they are, we won't meet the standard.
"Current projections are that the stock will deteriorate so that in five years time we would fall from 95 per cent to 50 per cent.
"More worryingly, if it carries on until 2020 just five per cent would meet the minimum standard."
The government's Decent Homes benchmark aims to ensure communities do not fall apart because of poor housing and requires homes to be warm and weatherproof with 'reasonably modern facilities'.
Council spokesman Sarah Dobbs said: "Things that could stop homes meeting the standard include leaks in roofs, or boilers failing.
"Obviously we don't want to fail so we are looking for further investment."
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Wednesday 08 February 2012
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