Ambitious plans to improve council homes owned by Portsmouth City Council will be outlined early next month.
In the Buildings Project 2030 – Cabinet Report that will be presented at the decision meeting for Housing and Tackling Homelessness on Friday 7 November, Portsmouth Homes, the name of the council’s social housing provision, has provided an update to the work that has been undertaken since receiving a C3 regulatory judgement from the government’s housing regulator in January.
As previously reported, in April 2024 the regulator introduced new consumer standards for social housing landlords, which confirmed government expectations and introduced new regular inspections for local authorities.
This means landlords need to be able to show data and evidence that proves they are compliant with the new standards and that they are delivering good services to tenants.
Following the judgement, the council put an Improvement Plan into place to upgrade homes as required and create better understanding of all homes in the stock. As part of this work the council is speeding up planned maintenance to the 22 high rises across the city.
What was to be a seven-year plan building safety remediation plan has been adjusted to five years, so that by 2030 the council plans to have completed, or be in the process of completing, improvements in the majority of high rises in the city, investing a total of £110m.
This means that over the next five years residents in the tower blocks will have their homes upgraded with some residents needing to relocate temporarily while work takes place. They will be given plenty of warning ahead of time and fully supported by council teams in doing this.
Residents of Ladywood House have already been told they will be the first to receive improvements with work starting onsite late 2026.
The council will contact affected residents well ahead of time to discuss arrangements for the works. In the meantime staff are regularly inspecting blocks to maintain safety standards.
Another part of the improvement plan involves Portsmouth Homes looking at improving how residents are communicated with, how easy it is to ask for help or log a repair, and how often they see housing officers. Residents are currently being consulted with about how they use services in some areas of the city.
Cllr Darren Sanders, Cabinet Member for Housing and Tackling homelessness said: “It’s fair to say the government requirements for social housing in recent years have created an opportunity to invest in our stock and speed up planned maintenance to make sure our tenants live in safe, decent homes. I’m impressed with the amount of work that has already been completed and am sure our tenants appreciate the meaningful improvements we are making that will benefit every one of them.”