What is the Standard?

The Welsh Assembly has recognised that council housing across Wales is in poor condition and has introduced a new Welsh Housing Quality Standard (WHQS) to make sure it’s improved. The standard gives minimum criteria for facilities in the home and must be met by all Welsh local authorities by 2012.

Rhondda Cynon Taf Council's challenge is to ensure that every one of our homes meets this standard - but we do not have the money to carry out the work. A problem being faced by most Welsh councils.

Surveys have estimated the cost of improving homes in Rhondda Cynon Taf by 2012 is around £170 million. However, the Council has estimated it would only have around £50 million available. It is estimated that £780 million is needed to improve and maintain homes over the next 30 years.

Strict Government rules mean that the Council is unable to borrow the money needed to improve its homes to the standard.

Therefore, the Council needed to come up with a solution to find the money.

Since early 2005 the Council consulted with tenants, members of staff and other interested people for their views on the best way forward. The feedback confirmed that the best way forward was to set up a Community Mutual Housing Organisation for Rhondda Cynon Taf, which would own and manage the Council’s homes.

A Community Mutual Housing Organisation is a not-for-profit organisation that would remain local to Rhondda Cynon Taf. It would not be a private company but would provide social housing for those who need it.

As well as this, each secure tenant, as members, would have the right to vote at the Annual General Meeting. All tenants could become members of the organisation, which holds the housing assets for the benefit of the community.

The Council helped set-up a new Community Mutual called RCT Homes.

As RCT Homes would be govered by different rules it would be able to borrow money in the normal way using the value of the properties as an asset; funding would be available to improve all properties up to the standard, maintain them and improve services, without significantly affecting rent levels.

The organisation would be not-for-profit so all funding and income would have to be used to improve and develop the housing.

Importantly, rents would stay affordable, rights and entitlements would be protected and staff would keep their jobs.

In the end it was up to tenants to decide if they wanted the transfer to go ahead. In November 2006 an independent ballot of tenants resulted in a 'yes' to the transfer proposals.

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