Decent Homes Standard
The 'decent homes standard'
Every Southway home must meet the government's 'decent homes' standard.
This says that all homes must be: fit to live in, be in a reasonable state of repair, have reasonably modern facilities and services, and be comfortably warm.
73% of our homes meet this standard. If yours doesn't you will get all the repairs and improvements it needs to reach the standard - on top of the main improvements coming to every home.
So what are the standards a home must reach?
Fit to live in
A property fails the decent homes standard if it has a serious problem like being structurally unstable, unhealthy water, health-threatening damp, no suitable toilet, bath or shower. These were problems many years ago, but nowadays very few Southway homes would fail to meet the standard for one of these reasons.
Reasonable state of repair
A home fails the decent homes standard if it is not in a 'reasonable' state of repair. This happens for example if the roof or electrics are old and in poor condition.
Reasonably modern facilities
A property fails the decent homes standard if it does not have 'reasonably modern facilities'. This happens if three or more conditions from a specific list apply: for example if the kitchen and bathroom both lack modern facilities, and the kitchen also has an inadequate layout.
Warm and weatherproof
A property fails the decent homes standard if it has an inefficient heating system or ineffective insulation.
Much higher standards for Southway homes
Remember, the Southway improvements go
much further than these 'decent homes' standards. For example you'll be offered a new kitchen
and bathroom if you haven't had a high quality replacement since 1999 - the 'decent homes' standard would only offer one or the other. And
all homes will get new uPVC double-glazed windows. Find out more about Southway's home improvement standards by clicking on this link:
Southway-Decent-Homes-Standard.