Private Sector Housing Renewal Strategy
This policy addresses:
- Regeneration of declining communities
- Reducing the incidence of unhealthy housing
- The return to use of long-term empty private sector houses
- The provision of adaptations for disabled persons
- Enabling vulnerable persons to remain at home in safety and comfort
- Improving standards within the private rented sector
In July 2002 the Government, by way of a Regulatory Reform Order, introduced significant changes in relation to Private Sector Housing Renewal by repealing much of the existing legislation governing the provision of housing grants and replacing it with a new, wide-ranging power allowing local authorities the ability to provide assistance for housing renewal in any form.
The Order gave local authorities a much greater degree of flexibility in devising a strategy to deal with poor conditions within the private sector; both in terms of the policy tools available to them and their ability to work in partnership with others. It was a condition that authorities had to produce and publish a policy explaining how the new powers would be utilized. In June 2003 the Caerphilly County Borough Council Private Sector Housing Renewal Policy was produced.
Our policy is subject to continuous review; the current version takes account of policy revisions and reflects a position that has come about as a result of changing needs and a reducing capital finance provision.