Private Sector Housing Policies

Compliance with Housing Standards

Private Sector Housing Enforcement Policy 2022

The condition of the house we live in has a significant impact on our health and wellbeing. As a Council we need to ensure that correct actions are taken where landlords are reluctant to maintain properties.

A public consultation exercise was undertaken and the Policy revised to include new and amended legalisation. The updated policy sets out the Council's approach to enforcement and is designed to be both fair to responsible landlords but to also deal effectively with non-compliant or rogue landlords, to maintain and improve housing conditions within East Cambridgeshire.

Housing Adaptation and Repairs Policy 2019

This Housing Adaptations & Repairs Policy applies to those living in Cambridgeshire (not including Peterborough), and highlights the importance that housing can play in promoting physical and mental health and wellbeing. 
 
This policy outlines the interventions which the 5 district councils in Cambridgeshire have agreed may be funded through the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) Capital Allocation paid to them through the Department of Health’s Better Care Fund, and aims to provide a consistent approach across the county.
 
The key objectives of the Policy are:
• To support healthy, safe and independent living;
• To help prevent hospital, care home or residential school admission;
• To facilitate a patient being discharged from hospital and enabling them to live safely and independently at home, including making it easier for carers to provide support;
• To prevent the need for higher expenditure elsewhere in the health and/or social care system;
• To improve housing conditions and remove hazards in the home (i.e. Category 1 hazards under the Health & Safety Rating System).

Private Sector Housing Model Report 2021 and 2015

East Cambridgeshire District Council commissioned the Building Research Establishment (BRE) to undertake a series of modelling exercises on their housing stock. The detailed housing stock information provided in these reports will facilitate the delivery of East Cambridgeshire's housing strategies and enable a targeted intervention approach to improve housing.

Health Impact Assessment (HIA)

The Council also commissioned a Health Impact Assessment (HIA) which is provided in a separate report. This draws on evidence of the health impacts of hazards identified using the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS). The report shows the link between poor health and poor housing along with the estimated costs of poor housing to the NHS and society as a whole.

Private Sector Housing Renewal Policy 2015

How to get involved

The existing and the new draft policy can be found here:

Please answer the questions and provide any further comments you may wish to make via the survey link: housing enforcement survey.