House Condition Survey

We regularly carry out surveys to assess the condition of the housing stock in the South Somerset district.

How do we assess the housing stock ?

We carry out surveys on a regular basis. The latest survey was in 2007, when the Building Research Establishment (BRE) was commissioned.

The BRE Housing Stock Projections are a response to a need for private sector housing information by local authorities attempting to deliver their part of the Government's policy to provide everyone with the opportunity of a "decent home" they can afford.

What does the survey involve?

The main objective is to provide estimates of local private sector housing conditions at the level of the authority, statistical ward and census output area. The estimates are based on models developed by Building Research Establishment, which combine local and national data to produce estimates of conditions that would not otherwise be available at the local level.

What are the key findings?

A key result is the estimate of 18,239 dwellings predicted to have a Category 1 Hazard under the new Housing Health and Safety Rating System.

This accounts for 32 per cent of the stock compared to the 4 per cent which would have been expected to fail the Housing Fitness Standard (which the Rating System replaces). The main reason for this is the large number of dwellings expected to fail due to the hazard from excess cold.

The total cost of making the estimated 24,275 non decent homes decent is estimated to be £268.1 million. In most cases these costs are not expected to be borne by the authority.

Assistance may be required in some of the estimated 4,529 vulnerable households in non decent homes although most of these should be entitled to government funded schemes such as Warm Front. The estimated total for these dwellings is £50 million.