We’re investing £13 million in building, fire and other health and safety measures in council homes to get ahead of new national regulations expected to come in next spring.
A report going to the Housing & New Homes Committee on 21 June outlines the ongoing review building health and safety to check what new measures we need to put in place around fire safety, asbestos management, gas and electrical safety, lifts and water safety.
This investment is to make sure we continue to provide safe, good quality council homes.
On top of our extensive programme of fire risk assessments and the ongoing flat entrance door replacement programme, we will be carrying out detailed building surveys on our blocks to make sure we have the most up to date information.
We hold data on asbestos across council housing and have a process in place to manage asbestos risk when work is carried out
While the asbestos risk is low in our properties, we need to improve how we store the information so it’s held within a single system.
We are in the process of setting up new systems to manage repairs and our data on buildings. This will link to our existing Housing Management System and allow us to hold all key information in one place.
We are also expanding our programme of regular electrical compliance tests of all council homes in line with the expected new legislation. Currently, these are mainly done in response to repair requests, home improvements and when tenancies change.
We are aiming to complete these checks within 3 years, then continue the programme of testing every 5 years.
We are also in the process of installing carbon monoxide and smoke detection in individual homes, with around 4,500 carbon monoxide detectors installed so far.
Our gas safety inspections will continue. Currently, 98.98% of council homes have a valid gas safety certificate.
Councillor Gill Williams, chair of the Housing & New Homes Committee, said: “I'm very pleased to see the positive progress made to get ahead of the expected new regulations on safety in council homes.
“Residents’ safety is our key priority and we're making every effort to make sure the highest safety standards are achieved in the city’s council homes.
“We're expecting there to be extra requirements for local authorities under the new regulations and we have identified a few areas we want to improve.
“It’s good news to see the substantial investment being made to ensure we continue to provide safe, good quality council homes. We will keep residents updated as the work develops.”