SLDC - Housing Standards
Westmorland and Furness
We are a Council Department which helps people to maintain a safe and healthy home environment whether they are in private rented, housing association or own their homes.
We inspect homes where tenants feel that repairs aren’t being carried out and that their health and safety is at risk. We can intervene where tenants are being illegally evicted or harassed.
We run a Handy Person Scheme which does jobs for people who are aged 65 or over, or who are vulnerable.
We facilitate disabled adaptations so that people can stay living independently in their homes longer.
We promote and facilitate home energy efficiency savings which lowers fuel bills and reduces carbon emissions.
Inspect homes to see that landlords are carrying out their legislative duties and undertaking repairs.
Inspect houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) where the tenants share facilities, to see that they are safe and have enough facilities for all the tenants. We also licence the larger HMOs and prosecute landlords who don’t obtain a licence.
We can order landlords to carry out improvements and prosecute them if they don’t comply.
We can prosecute landlords for illegal evictions or harassing their tenants.
We run a Handy Person Scheme to carry out simple but essential works for householders who are
• aged 65 and over or
• have a disability or are vulnerable or
• are being discharged or have recently been discharged from hospital or
• are at high risk of falling due to a medical condition or
• a potential victim of crime.
The Handy Person Scheme can fit minor security measures like; spy-holes, door and window locks, security lighting, key safes, door bells or telephone extension leads.
They can do jobs to make the house safer such as; installing grab rails and handles (inside or outside), fitting plugs/fuses or fixing down/making safe trailing or loose wires, fixing down or trimming loose or hazardous carpets, replacing toilet seats or sealant around baths/sinks, unblocking sinks and repairing minor leaks, replacing tap washers and ball valves or draining/bleeding radiators, resetting heating controls following hospital discharge.
They can address minor jobs for the home environment such as; changing light bulbs, replacing ordinary bulbs with up to 12 LED bulbs, putting up curtain rails, curtains or blinds, erecting shelves and curtain hooks, moving furniture within the home, minor repairs to gates, fences and paths, jetwash garden paths to eliminate tripping hazards or secure the property from intruders.
Works are limited to a maximum of 3 hours on site if 1 handy person visits or 1.5 hours if 2 visit. Gardening and decorating works are excluded from the scheme. Eligible households can have up to 6 visits in any 12 month period.
We award grants for disabled adaptations to people’s homes, arrange a contractor and facilitate works such as; installing stair lifts, through-floor lifts, level access showers, specialist toilets, access ramps, door widening and house extensions to make a bedroom downstairs. The applicant will need to have an assessment by an occupational therapist who will make the necessary recommendation. Contact Cumbria County Council for this.
We can also administer grants or signpost people to schemes which improve the energy efficiency of their homes. This can include installing loft insulation, replacement boilers, central heating and renewable energy measures. This is largely dependent on funding being available at the time of application.