- Over 3,000 homes to see refurbishment
- Contracts will accelerate our delivery to bring 20 per cent of council managed homes up to Decent Homes Standard
- Works will include replacement kitchens, bathrooms, windows and doors
Newham’s Cabinet agreed on 4 February a new procurement process to speed up the delivery of Decent Homes works to improve the quality of council managed homes, addressing a concern highlighted in the recent Regulator of Social Housing’s report.
The procurement will establish four separate contracts – covering the whole of the borough – which will be subject to an external tender process, inviting suppliers to bid for the contracts. These contracts will mean bringing 20% of homes, over 3,400 properties, up to Decent Homes Standard.
Councillor Blossom Young, Cabinet Member for Housing Landlord and Tenant Experience, said: “Everyone deserves to live in safe, secure and warm homes. As a landlord the Council takes its commitments to provide our residents with a decent home seriously. We have an obligation to maintain in the region of 16,000 Council homes, and we must ensure these meet Decent Homes Standard*. We have an ongoing programme of works to make improvements to the quality of these homes.
“As part of our response to the Regulator of Social Housing’s judgement, we need to accelerate our planned programme of delivery to bring more properties up to Decent Homes Standard. To make this happen we need an efficient and effective route to deliver the programme of outstanding works are bringing in external contractors to assist with this. This approach will not only help to speed up delivery for thousands of residents, but enable the Housing service to focus on other aspects of our improvement works”
The Decent Homes works proposed in the report include upgrades to:
- Kitchens
- Bathrooms
- Domestic electrical installations
- Insulation and ventilation
- Window replacements.
A key finding in the Regulator of Social Housing’s judgement report, issued against the Council on 16 October 2024, and part of the Quality and Safety Standard, highlighted that at least 20% of council homes do not meet the requirements of the Decent Homes Standard.
The programme of works will begin this summer and is expected to last for three years.
