The refurbishment project, which includes upgrading kitchens, bathrooms, windows, and insulation, aims to improve living conditions for thousands of residents and accelerate necessary repairs in the borough.
Newham Council has committed to investing £18 million to improve its social housing stock, with plans to refurbish over 3,000 homes in a bid to bring 20% of its council-managed properties up to the Decent Homes Standard. The initiative was approved by the Cabinet on 4 February and is designed to address a long-standing issue highlighted in the recent Regulator of Social Housing’s report.
The programme will be carried out through four separate contracts that will span the borough, with an external tender process allowing suppliers to bid for the work. The aim is to refurbish more than 3,400 properties, bringing them up to the required standard, which includes significant upgrades to kitchens, bathrooms, windows, and doors, as well as improvements to domestic electrical installations, insulation, and ventilation.
Councillor Blossom Young, the Cabinet Member for Housing Landlord and Tenant Experience, emphasised the importance of the initiative, saying: “Everyone deserves to live in safe, secure and warm homes. As a landlord, the Council takes its commitments to provide residents with decent homes seriously. We have an obligation to maintain around 16,000 Council homes, and we must ensure these meet Decent Homes Standards. Our ongoing programme of works will continue to improve the quality of these homes.”
The procurement process will speed up the delivery of this much-needed work, with the four contracts aimed at bringing 20% of the borough’s council homes up to the Decent Homes Standard within the next three years. The programme will also allow the Housing service to focus on other improvement works while ensuring residents’ homes are brought up to the necessary safety and quality standards.
The Decent Homes Standard, which was established by the government in 2006, outlines a set of criteria that homes should meet, including being free from hazards, in a good state of repair, and providing a reasonable level of comfort. According to the Regulator of Social Housing’s recent report, 20% of council homes in Newham do not meet these requirements, a gap that this new programme aims to address.
The works are scheduled to begin in the summer of 2025 and are expected to take three years to complete. This extensive refurbishment initiative is a key part of Newham’s efforts to improve the living conditions for thousands of residents and bring the borough’s housing stock in line with the required standards.
Councillor Young added: “In response to the Regulator of Social Housing’s judgement, we need to accelerate our planned programme of works to bring more properties up to Decent Homes Standard. Bringing in external contractors to assist with this will help speed up delivery, benefiting thousands of residents while allowing us to focus on other aspects of our housing improvement efforts.”
This £18 million investment highlights Newham’s commitment to providing safe, secure, and well-maintained homes for its residents, and marks an important step forward in the ongoing improvement of the borough’s social housing stock.
