Private Sector Housing Policies

Housing Enforcement Policy 2019 

The condition of the house we live in has a severe impact on our health and wellbeing. As a Council, we need to ensure that where appropriate, enforcement action is taken where landlords are reluctant to maintain properties to a satisfactory standard.

The Policy has been revised to include new and amended legislation. It 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

Private Sector House Condition Survey 2009

The Council carried out a Private Sector House Condition Survey in the autumn of 2009. Information on the condition of the stock, its location and occupation is essential for the development of effective private sector renewal strategies. The House Condition Survey does not by itself deliver an effective strategy. But it can provide a basis for determining:

• the nature and extent of problems in the private sector stock
• the levels of investment required to tackle themt
• priorities for action and 
• the effectiveness of decisions already taken and expenditure already committed.
 

The full results of the Private Sector Stock Condition Survey 2009 are as follows. The results of the survey will be used to influence the Councils Housing Grants Policy and the Housing Strategy.