MORE than half of Basildon’s council houses are sub-standard, worrying new figures have revealed.

Alarmingly, 94 per cent of council tenants in the Fryerns East estate will live in a home which does not meet basic national standards in five years unless urgent action is taken, a housing expert has warned.

St Georges Community Housing association, set up two years ago by Basildon Council to manage its housing stock, is in the process of trying to secure £142million of Government funding to tackle the problem.

But it won’t get anything unless it shows plans are in place to achieve the work and it can gain at least a two-star rating from the Audit Commission in October. Last year it missed out after only getting one star.

If it fails again it is unlikely to get near the Government’s target of having 95 per cent of its homes up to a decent standard by next year.

The standard dictates homes must be “warm, weatherproof and have reasonably modern facilities”.

But only 39 per cent of the district’s council homes currently meet this standard, and without investment and repairs, the figure is projected to fall to 14 per cent by 2013.

Presenting a gloomy report on the Decent Homes strategy, James Henderson, the association’s property services manager, admitted the district is lagging behind most other local authorities. Yet he was confident the association would secure the funding for a refurbishment programme this time.

He said a public consultation process will be launched on the proposed scheme, which will see areas with the most dilapidated homes addressed first.

He said: “The figures for the levels of non-decency for our council homes are quite shocking, but I am confident the programme we are proposing will tackle this problem over the next five years.”

Janet Payn, a Labour councillor, of Pendle Close on the Fryerns estate, said council tenants had long been overlooked for repairs to their homes, despite repeated complaints about the properties which were built in the early 1950s.

Tenants' rating doubles in year

BOSSES at St Georges Community Housing have claimed the association’s approval rating among tenants has doubled.

St Georges Community Housing said a new survey of tenants has found its approval rating soared by 100 per cent and complaints have dropped by 60 per cent in the past year.

Compliments for its services rose from 377 between April 2007 and March 2008, to 770 between April 2008 and March 2009.

For the same periods, complaints dropped from 1,241 to 524.

The news comes as the housing group is seeking to gain a two-star Government rating to secure £142million.

Steve Shynn, interim chief executive of the housing group, said staff would be working to improve their relationship with tenants even more.

He said: “This is fantastic news for us.

“The increase in positive feedback demonstrates the work we are doing is proving to be effective and appreciated by the wider community.”

The association manages 11,400 homes in the district.