Decision details

The changes to the Policy are intended to improve support for Disabled Facilities Grants applicants, improve access to health related urgent repair grants, and encourage the use of low cost loans through Wessex Resolutions. The grants and loans are intended to promote health and independent living by helping with home adaptations, making homes safer and warmer and carrying out essential repairs. The Empty Property Loans are intended to support owners of Empty Properties by helping with bringing them back in to use.

The Cabinet Member agrees that the amended Decent Homes Policy be formally adopted.

The proposed changes to the Decent Homes policy will benefit a wide range of residents by helping to fund improvements to housing conditions and energy efficiency which might otherwise not go ahead. They will mean that the policy is more effective in helping a wider range of home owners and tenants to live independently in warm, safe and more energy efficient homes.  Improving the safety and suitability of homes can improve health and wellbeing and reduce costs to the health service in the long run.

The policy now enables homeowners and tenants to benefit from home energy improvements with no upfront costs and makes the Wessex Empty Property loan more attractive to empty property owners.  It provides in a single policy all housing related assistance under the Regulatory Reform Order 2012, including empty homes assistance.

The option of not updating the policy was rejected because this would limit the effectiveness of the policy.  Other options for further widening the eligibility for improvement loans were considered but rejected in favour of maintaining focus on lower income households.