ABOUT 14,000 private homes in Worcester are failing to meet decent standards, it has emerged – a 58 per cent increase in just over a decade.

Some are owner-occupied, but others are rented out and there are fears that tenants in sub-standard accommodation are getting a raw deal.

The city council asked outside consultants to survey the standard of private properties. They found:

- About 14,000 properties fail basic, national guidelines such as being excessively cold due to a lack of heating, leaving occupiers vulnerable to falls, dodgy access or poor energy efficiency lThe figure is 5,150 more than the last time it was examined in 2004, with the recession blamed as the big factor for the serious lack of investment.

- Some 3,556 people classed as vulnerable are believed to be stuck in sub-standard homes.

- There are 14 private property owners currently under council investigation, with bosses refusing to rule out prosecution as a “last resort”.

In a bid to shine a light on private homes, including owner-occupied ones and those rented to third-party tenants, the city council asked consultants to undertake a ‘private sector stock condition survey’.

They found that the national decent homes standard, as set by the Government, is only met by 68 per cent of private Worcester homes, 11 per cent down on 2004 and six per cent below the rest of the UK.

The 14,000 homes surveyed are from a total city stock of about 45,000.

Although the council cannot normally prosecute anyone for not meeting miniumum standards it can, in certain circumstances (such as when a home’s poor condition begins to affect neighbouring properties) take action. It says 14 cases are currently being looked at by enforcement officers.

A new report on the findings was debated by the city council’s scrutiny committee last night.

Councillor Roger Berry said: “It’s a ticking time bomb. The number of homes at a ‘decent’ standard has been in decline over recent years, which is exactly the opposite direction in which we should be going.”

Sally Kelsall, the council’s strategy and partnership team manager, told them the recent recession has taken a toll.

“Decent homes compliance is a lesser figure than in previous years, which means we have fewer decent homes,” she said.

“There is a feeling that because of the past recession, people haven’t paid as much attention to the properties.”

Nina Warrington, who leads the housing work at the city council, said: “We’re a lot more proactive now in terms of our enforcement, we’ve currently got 14 active cases.

“It’s not necessarily the case that we’ll prosecute them, taking them to court is the last resort, but it is about working with them to get action.

“If we do prosecute, and that message gets out maybe it will make landlords take notice that we are working differently.”

Ms Kelsall was asked “what would success look like” and insisted it was about reducing the headline figures down, adding that the council’s aim was about “trying to get resources from other places and targeting that the best we can”.

One factor is elderly people who fail to move out, leaving their home to fall into disrepair, and some owners of some rented houses of multiple occupation (HMOs).

Councillor Andy Stafford said: “We all know of elderly people who live on their own in properties which need modernising, which probably do fail decent standards – if we could encourage them to move, that could lead to investment.”

The survey was done by making visits to 102 homes, as well as using other sources such as census data, the Office for National Statistics, Government findings and further intelligence to come up with a figure.

For the purposes of the survey, the city council classed vulnerable householders as people receiving at least two different forms of benefits.

In 2004, some 8,850 homes across the city were believed to be failing to meet the national decent standard. In recent months the council, which says it has a good relationship with landlords, decided to extend its licensing for HMOs to keep better tabs on the market place and fund fresh waves of inspections, which is just kicking into force. It has also, as your Worcester News revealed last week, produced a new strategy for attempting to encourage and cajole property owners into improving what they have, which will last until 2020.

* Do you live in a private home which is in a poor condition? Call 01905 742248 or email te@worcesternews.co.uk.