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Private Sector Stock Condition Survey

Published: 10/03/2017

Flintshire County Council’s Cabinet members will be presented with a report on a private sector stock condition survey which was undertaken in 2016 by Opinion Research Services on behalf of the Council when they meet next week. The survey sampled 1,223 private sector dwellings. The key findings from the survey are summarised below. The private rented sector has grown significantly in Flintshire (20% of dwellings compared to 14% in 2011) although is still smaller than many other areas (24% England Housing Survey). The sector has some areas of concern: Almost 40% of tenants have lived at the address for less than 2 years - with a consequent impact on the stability of households and for community cohesion; Private rented homes are more likely to be in a poor condition - 25.4% as compared with 18.1% for Flintshire as a whole; Private rented homes are likely to be less energy efficient when compared with the whole of the County, although energy efficiency for dwellings across Flintshire has improved. Despite this, there has been a significant decrease in the number of unfit dwellings in Flintshire since the last survey in 2010. The number of dwellings with category 1 hazards has dropped from 23.5% to 8.4%. Flintshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Housing, Councillor Helen Brown, said: “The Council is pleased to see that the level of unfit houses has reduced significantly since the last survey. However, we are not complacent and the Council is continuing to work hard to find opportunities to bring in external funding to address energy efficiency and home improvements for the most deprived areas of the County.”