Introduction

Local authority grant aid for the repair, improvement and adaptation of private rented dwellings is governed by the 1996 Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act. While the worst housing conditions, in absolute terms, are still found in the private rented sector, local authority grant aid has not made a large-scale impact on conditions in the sector. This chapter focuses on the condition of the private rented sector, the provision for grant assistance, local authorities responses to their powers under the 1996 Act, based on a survey of local authorities in England in 1999, and the implication of the government’s further reform of private sector renewal.

House conditions in the private rented sector

People living in the private rented sector experience the worst housing conditions. This has been a consistent finding of recent English House Condition Surveys. While the largest proportion of poor housing is now in the owner occupied sector the worst conditions in absolute terms are found in the smaller private rented sector.

The English House Condition Survey 1996 (DETR, 1998a), published May 1998, showed that the private rented sector is very fluid. Only 65 per cent of the private rented sector in 1996 had also been privately rented at the time of the previous survey, in 1991.

The large turnover in dwellings in the sector accounted for the overall improvement in housing conditions between 1991 and 1996 far more than any action to improve individual properties. The dwellings moving into the private rented sector had lower levels of disrepair than dwellings already in the sector.

Despite a general improvement in conditions in the sector, people living in private rented accommodation are still more likely to experience poor housing conditions and lack important facilities and services to provide a safe and warm living environment, compared to people living in the owner occupied, local authority and registered social landlord sectors. This reflects the fact that the private rented sector stock is much older than the owner occupied sector, with over half being built more than 75 years ago.

According to the EHCS 1996, 31 per cent of private tenants are in poor housing. One of the most marked contrasts in conditions in the private rented sector compared to the others, is in terms of warmth and fuel efficiency.