Home improvements lifting vulnerable properties

31st March, 2006

The living conditions inside some of Britain's poorest privately owned properties are improving, with tenants beginning to benefit from modernised facilities and better internal contents.

Earlier this week, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) released the findings of the 2004 English House Condition Survey, finding a strong improvement in the state of the nation's most 'vulnerable' private properties over the last decade.

The number of houses judged to be 'non-decent' fell from an estimated nine million in 1996 to 4.1 million, while the life conditions of the local neighbourhood had also risen, with the number of houses in poor quality environments down to 15 per cent.

Better internal features in the properties themselves were underlined as a key factor in the improvement, with the survey citing higher quality loft and wall insulations and heating systems as the cause behind a six point increase in the energy efficiency rating of poorer households.

The average cost of making a home 'decent' currently stands at £7,028, with a collective total of £47 billion for the nation's non-decent stock.

Tenants and homeowners in formerly vulnerable areas can check out a range of cheap home insurance deals suited to their circumstances, which can be examined online.

 

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