Council approves almost £8million to support private housing repairs in Glasgow

Almost £8million funding for the financial year 2018/19 is being allocated for the repair of the private sector housing stock  and adaptation works for disabled people in Glasgow following a council committee decision today (29 November). 

Under the council's Private Sector Housing Grant (PSHG) programme funding will be allocated to  disabled adaptations, statutory repairs, 'missing share' support, tackling issues with pre-1919 tenements and in areas with private letting or property management concerns such as Calton, Govanhill and Priesthill.

The council will work with partners, such as local housing associations and the Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership (CHSCP), to deliver these schemes.

Around 65% of homes in Glasgow are in private ownership, and this stock has the highest level of disrepair in the city.  Examples of this repair can be found across in Glasgow, but specific locations where concentrations are higher include Govanhill, Strathbungo, Ibrox/Cessnock, East Pollokshields and Haghill/Dennistoun.

As a key priority of the Glasgow Housing Strategy is to maintain and improve housing stock in order to ensure neighbourhoods continue to thrive, the council will support private housing in the city in a number of ways.

One of these is the investment in pre-1919 tenement stock has helped prevent their decline and in some cases prevent demolition - preventative maintenance will in the long-term reduce costs for this vital part of the city's stock, with an estimated 70,000 pre-1919 flats in Glasgow.

Another is the provision of grants for essential adaptation works to the meet the needs of disabled people.  The council also provides funding for the Care and Repair service for disabled owners and those aged 65 and and over, offering advice and organising repairs on the owners' behalf.

The 'Missing Share' programme supports owners where they are in the majority and wish to carry out common repairs or maintenance. The council will underwrite the costs of the minority who are unwilling or unable to pay their share of costs.  These owners are pursued for full recovery of costs when work is completed - with the vast majority of minority owners paying.

Areas in Glasgow with private letting or property management concerns such as Calton, Govanhill and Priesthill will continue to be supported through the council's PSHG programme - £1million from the budget for 2018/19 will go the area as part of the 'Govanhill Strategy: Going Forward' project.  In Calton and Priesthill, there are private housing developments with a very high concentration of private lets with common repair issues in the buildings and a need to tackle external property problems. The council has been working with local housing associations and owners to deliver programmes of work.