Keeping a house or flat in good condition is the responsibility of the owner. It is in their interest to make sure that necessary repairs and improvements are carried out, to keep the home in good condition and maintain its value.
The government also has an interest in making sure that private homes are in good condition. The government recognises that some people cannot afford to pay for the work needed to keep their home in good condition, so grants may be available to help.
The Private Housing Advice Service and the Scheme of Assistance
The Housing (Scotland) Act, 2006 was introduced to tackle issues relating to the quality and condition of housing in the private sector. It requires authorities to publish their 'Scheme of Assistance'. This is based on the principle that owners should be responsible for maintaining their home but that help should be made available, where necessary.
On 1 April 2010 we published our Scheme of Assistance to help homeowners and private tenants repair, maintain and improve their homes. This scheme also helps disabled people to adapt their home to meet their assessed needs.
The Scheme of Assistance is delivered by the Private Housing Advice Service.
The Scheme of Assistance will:
- Provide information, advice and practical help to encourage all owners to take responsibility for their homes. This is available to all homeowners and private tenants in West Dunbartonshire.
- Continue to help disabled and elderly people live in their own home.
- Aim to provide basic levels of financial help to encourage owners to deal with major problems when their homes do not meet the Tolerable Standard (a legal standard housing must meet).
- Encourage flat owners who have responsibility for shared areas to take part in 'common works' carried out as part of investment programmes in council housing, and help us and other social landlords, such as housing associations, achieve the 'Scottish Housing Quality Standard' by 2015.
- Help to prevent privately owned homes falling into serious disrepair by highlighting the benefits of early action towards repairing and maintaining homes.
Repairs, maintenance and improvements to private housing
The Scheme of Assistance replaced the previous grants scheme from 1 April 2010 as a result of changes introduced by the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006.
It aims to help more home owners to meet their repair and maintenance obligations and to improve energy efficiency standards. It places a greater emphasis on preventing disrepair than the former grants scheme, to help bring about a sustainable improvement to housing quality over time.
Home owners and private landlords can request information, advice or practical assistance with any of these issues by contacting the Private Housing Advice Section using the details listed in the "Contact Us" section.
Grants for repairs and improvements
Local Authorities are no longer obliged to provide grants to home owners for repairs or improvements. In the West Dunbartonshire Council area, grants will still be available in limited circumstances, resource permitting.
For more information about grant funding, please contact the Private Housing Team using the details listed in the "Contact Us" section, as limited resources may restrict the range of work for which grant is available.
More details about the Scheme of Assistance for repairs and improvements are available in Part 2.
For further information on the Council's scheme of grants for housing improvement or repair contact 01389 738671 and 738662.
