“Everyone deserves a home that is safe, warm, and affordable. That is why we are making upgrades to council homes.”

Councillor Louise Brett, Ealing Council’s deputy leader and cabinet member for safe and genuinely affordable homes, continued: “It will make a real improvement to our tenants’ lives, and is a key part of the wider work we are doing to build a fairer housing system for our borough.”

The council is spending £425million to improve council homes across the borough: including new kitchens, bathrooms, electrics, lifts, roofs, fences, windows, and safety features. This will be done over a 5-year period.

Decent homes

A recent in-depth condition survey of the council’s homes showed that, although 93% already meet the national Decent Homes Standard, this new work will see the council reach 100% by 2028.   

Trusted contractors have been appointed to complete the work on the council’s behalf. The council estimates that the project will see approximately 600 new kitchens and 400 new bathrooms fitted each year.

Affected tenants will get the change to choose their new kitchens and bathrooms from a suite of options. The council will write to let them know when any related works are due in their buildings. A dedicated resident liaison officer will act as the first point of contact for tenants who have any questions about the process.  

Improved services

Late last year, the national Regulator of Social Housing gave the council a positive assessment, recognising the progress being made and the improvements residents asked for.

Having set itself ambitious targets since 2022, the council is on track to have achieved or exceeded them by the end of April next year, with:

• 1,207 local homes have been retrofitted to make them more energy efficient. Improvements have included better insulation, ventilation, and modern heating systems
• stronger protections for private renters, including expanded private sector renting licensing and a change in planning rules to curb overcrowded HMO conversions
• new, genuinely affordable homes, with the borough ranked second in London for starting and completing affordable housing and a further 290 homes under construction bought to let to council tenants
• improved support for people who are homeless or at risk of it, including 100 new high‑quality temporary accommodation units and 315 people helped away from rough sleeping