Why this is important
Access to decent quality, affordable housing is fundamental. It is key to people’s wellbeing. A place to live should be a basic human right.
Housing supply in our city is limited and housing is expensive. We need to ensure that best use is made of our land and properties because we don’t have enough homes for all those who want to live here.
We know that some people who grew up here leave because they can’t afford to rent or buy in the city. Standards in some private rented homes are unacceptably low and more people than ever are at risk of homelessness.
It is important for us to understand what life is really like for the people we support and identify and address the complex barriers faced by our diverse communities.
What we will do
Improve housing quality
We will:
- improve the condition of houses in multiple occupation and enforce minimum energy standards in the private rented sector
- complete consultation on selective and additional private sector licensing and if appropriate implement selective licensing
- invest in building and fire safety to meet new duties under the Building Safety Act
- ensure the council complies with anticipated new social housing regulations
- complete post pandemic recovery including reducing backlog of housing repairs and the number of empty properties
- improve the energy performance of council homes through our capital works programme
- improve the sustainability of our housing stock
Increase housing supply
We will:
- work with partners to ensure that there are new homes that meet the needs of residents
- increase the number of new affordable homes delivered by the council and other registered providers
- buy back council homes lost through the right to buy
- review the housing allocations policy
- develop a new housing strategy
- explore options to reduce short-term lets
Improve housing support for residents
We will:
- optimise the local benefits and social value of our inhouse repairs and maintenance service
- reduce the number of households in temporary accommodation
- increase our effectiveness in preventing homelessness
- deliver an improved homelessness service
How we will measure progress
We will measure the:
- percentage of new homes delivered against the number of homes required
- percentage of routine housing repairs completed on time
- energy efficiency rating of local authority owned homes
- percentage of the council’s homes that meet the government’s Decent Homes Standard
- proportion of homelessness prevention cases closed with suitable accommodation being secured for at least 6 months
- number of households in Temporary Accommodation
- percentage of HMOs where all special conditions have been met
