East Dunbartonshire Council house surveys bring good news

East Dunbartonshire CouncilEast Dunbartonshire Council has carried out its biggest ever survey of its houses to find out how many of the authority’s homes complied with Scottish Housing Quality Standards (SHQS).

The SHQS requires homes to be energy efficient, healthy, safe and secure, free from disrepair, of a tolerable standard and have modern facilities.

A total of 37 per cent of homes (1,338) were surveyed by an Independent Surveyor across different locations, property types and property ages with the initial outcome suggesting that the council’s stock is of a good overall standard.

East Dunbartonshire Council has spent £43 million over the last ten years in bringing its homes up to standard and plans to spend a further £81m over the next 30 years – an average of £22,124 per property.

The capital programme, which is one of the largest scale housing investments in the council’s history, included new kitchens, bathrooms, roofs, windows & doors, heating systems and undertaking electrical rewires.

Councillor Ashay Ghai, depute leader of the council and convenor of Neighbourhood Services, said: “We have spent more than £40m on our housing stock over the past ten years and this survey shows this investment has been spent in the right places.

“Ultimately this work is all about improving the lives of our tenants. Not only do our houses now look better, but more importantly our tenants are living in warm, dry and safe houses.

“But the work is not finished. We are committed to maintaining high quality housing standards in East Dunbartonshire and will be surveying a further 20% of our stock this year. The survey results will continue to inform where we spend money from our housing capital budget, ensuring it is effective, providing value for money and offering the highest possible benefit to our tenants.”

@EDCouncil

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