About the programme

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Decent Homes is a Government target that aims to bring all council homes up to a decent standard.

Decent Homes Standard
Surveys
Internal programme
External programme
Non-traditional external programme
Sheltered housing schemes
High-rise

Decent Homes Standard

The Decent Homes Standard for a property means a home must:

meet the minimum standard for housing
be in a reasonable state of repair
have reasonably modern facilities and services
have a degree of thermal comfort (heating, insulation, etc.)

As well as the Government's Decent Homes Standard, we have also set our own South Tyneside Standard for the programme of works. Our standards exceed those set by the Government in certain areas.

Surveys

Before any work begins we will survey your home to identify the work that needs to be carried out.

Only parts of your home that fail to meet the Decent Homes Standard will be improved. This means that not everyone will receive a new kitchen and bathroom.

Once the survey is complete we will tell you what work will be carried out in your home.

Internal programme

Improvements may include:

Rewiring
Heating systems
Kitchens
Bathrooms
Insulation upgrades

External programme

Improvements may include:

Roofing replacement and repairs
Soffits
Fascias
Rain water goods (guttering, down pipes, etc.)
External wall repairs
Installation of new composite security doors
Single to double glazing upgrades

Non-traditional external programme

We manage and maintain over 1,800 non-traditional homes in the borough. These are homes that were built using non-traditional methods of construction, such as pre-fabrication.

To bring these homes up to the Government's Standard we may need to carry out additional external works including:

Structural repair work to floors, walls, ceilings and frames
External insulation upgrades
Roofing renewals, repairs and repairs to guttering
Replacement doors and windows

Sheltered housing schemes

We will make all internal and external improvements to sheltered housing schemes at the same time. This will be more economical and cause less disruption to you and your home.