£99m plan allows Leicester to hit 2010 target and keep homes

Leicester Council will spend £99m OVER the next five years bringing its homes up to the decent homes standard, after tenants voted to keep the council as its landlord.

The council is the largest to announce that it is able to meet the decent homes standard without accessing the extra government funds available through three options: transferring properties to a housing association, setting up an arm’s-length management organisation or using the private finance initiative.

In the result of a ballot, which was announced on Monday, 92% of tenants opted for the council to remain the owner of its stock of 22,500 homes. The tenant turnout for the ballot was 22%.

The tenants were balloted following a 15-month consultation. A steering group, which consisted of tenants representatives, trade union representatives and councillors, produced an options appraisal report.

In all, £24m of the funding will come from major repairs allowance by 2006, government-approved borrowing and capital receipts from right to buy. The council is currently losing 600 properties a year through right to buy.

The council will need £99m to reach the government’s decent homes standard but will spend a further £55m bringing its homes up to its own self-imposed decent homes standard, which is higher than the norm.

Mike Forrester, Leicester council’s director of housing, attributed the council’s ability to fund improvements to the high standard of its repairs service as well as the disposal of poor quality stock – 2000 homes have been sold off or demolished in the past 10 years.

Forrester said: “We’ve got a fairly low backlog of repairs because we’ve disposed of high repair and hard-to-let homes – it’s been a case of effective pruning.”

In September 2002, Leicester’s repairs and maintenance service was the first in the country to win an “excellent” three-star rating from the Audit Commission.

The commission said: “Leicester has shown that the decent homes standard can be achieved by taking a sensible and thoughtful approach to maintenance services.

“The council has clear priorities for its repairs and maintenance service and investment has been well targeted.”

In September 2002, Leicester’s repairs and maintenance service became the first in the country to win an “excellent” three-star rating from the Audit Commission.

The commission said: "Leicester has shown that the decent homes standard can be achieved by taking a sensible and thoughtful approach to maintenance services. The council has clear priorities for its repairs and maintenance service and investment has been well targeted."