Housing policies

Private Sector Housing Enforcement Policy


The condition of the house we live in has a significant impact on our health and wellbeing. As a council we need to ensure correct actions are taken where landlords are reluctant to maintain properties.

Our Private Sector Housing Policy is designed to maintain and improve housing conditions within East Cambridgeshire. It sets out our approach to enforcement and is designed to be fair to responsible landlords, and also to deal effectively with non-compliant or rogue landlords. 

Housing Adaptation and Repairs Policy


The Housing Adaptations and Repairs Policy highlights the importance that housing can play in promoting physical and mental health and wellbeing.  

The policy outlines the interventions that may be funded through the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) capital allocation paid to councils through the Department of Health’s Better Care Fund.

The key objectives of the policy are to:

  • support healthy, safe and independent living
  • help prevent hospital, care home or residential school admission
  • facilitate a patient being discharged from hospital and enabling them to live safely and independently at home, including making it easier for carers to provide support
  • prevent the need for higher expenditure elsewhere in the health and/or social care system
  • improve housing conditions and remove hazards in the home, such as Category 1 hazards under the Health and Safety Rating System 

The policy has been adopted by the 5 district councils in Cambridgeshire and aims to provide a consistent approach across the county. 

Private Sector Housing Model Report  

East Cambridgeshire District Council commissioned the Building Research Establishment (BRE) to undertake a series of modelling exercises on housing stock in the district. The detailed information provided in these reports is used to facilitate the delivery of our housing strategies and enable a targeted intervention approach to improve housing: 

Health Impact Assessment (HIA)  

The council also commissioned a Health Impact Assessment (HIA). This draws on evidence of the health impacts of hazards identified using the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS).  

The report shows the link between poor health and poor housing along with the estimated costs of poor housing to the NHS and society. 

Private Sector Housing Renewal Policy  

As a result of the update to the Private Sector Housing Model Report in 2021, our Private Sector Housing Renewal Policy has been updated: