Quality Housing

What does this mean?

• Balanced Housing Markets: Reducing the amount of private rented accommodation in Cliftonville.
• Housing for All: Ensuring that housing supply meets local demand, particularly affordable housing, helping to reduce levels of homelessness.
• Safe and Secure Homes: Improving the quality of homes across the district, ensuring they meet the needs of their households and reducing fuel poverty.
• A Quality Landlord: Delivering a quality service as landlord to council housing tenants.

Why is this important?

• The imbalance in Thanet’s housing markets is particularly bad in certain wards where in excess of 59% of properties are privately rented;

• There are over 4,500 people on the housing register, but under 800 lettings annually;

• 450 households applied to the council as homeless between April and September 2009;

• Around 43% of private homes in Thanet are failing to meet the decent homes standard. Many have poor heating and insulation, potentially leading to increased deaths over the winter;

• There is a huge demand for Disabled Facilities Grants in Thanet with approximately 240 referrals made each year;

• The council is responsible for the management of around 3,000 council homes, with the majority located in some of the most deprived wards in Thanet.

• There were 2,739 empty properties in the district as of march 2010 including 1550 that have been empty for more than 6 months.

What are we going to do?

Key projects

• Support the Margate Renewal Programme by developing a programme to change the nature of the housing market in Cliftonville, reducing the number of HMOs and increasing levels of home ownership. (Start: Apr 09 - Finish: Mar 12)
• Deliver 280 new affordable homes between 2008 and 2011. (Start: Apr 08 - Finish: Mar 11)
• Review the allocations policy to ensure priority is given to local people, discouraging the inward migration of vulnerable households into the area. (Start: Apr 09 - Finish: Mar 11)
• Establish a vehicle for the joint management of council housing in East Kent. (Start: Apr 08 - Finish: Apr 11)

Key commitments

• The Council is committed to the improvement of housing conditions and reduction of fuel poverty for vulnerable households and will continue to use enforcement and loans to improve poor quality accommodation.

Next page: Healthy Communities

Previous page: Beautiful Thanet

• Foreword  
• Thanet's Economy
• Safe Neighbourhoods
• Beautiful Thanet
• Quality Housing
• Healthy Communities
• Modern Council

Corporate Resources Manager

E-mail: sarah.carroll@thanet.gov.uk

Tel: 01843 577188