About Us
What is the Decent Homes Standard?


The Government has set a target to ensure that all council housing meets standards of decency by 2012. To be defined as ‘decent’, a home must meet each of the following criteria:
  • It must meet the current statutory minimum standard for housing
  • It must be in a reasonable state of repair
  • It must have reasonably modern facilities and services
  • It must have both effective insulation and efficient heating
What is the Sandwell standard?

Sandwell Homes is working towards making all council owned properties Decent in line with the Government’s standard as outlined above. Under Government guidelines there was scope for one or more of these items to fail and yet the home was still classified as Decent.

Under the Sandwell standard every element, including roofing, windows, doors, kitchen, bathroom, heating and wiring to each property is inspected to establish if it meets the following guidelines. If an element does not meet the standard or is in poor condition then this will generally be replaced.

Kitchen
  • Is the kitchen 20 years old or more?
  • Is there adequate space?
  • Does the layout create a risk to Health and Safety?
If the answer is yes then we will replace the kitchen and you will generally receive:
  • New base and wall units with a choice of door colours and handles
  • Stainless steel sink and taps
  • Worktops with a choice of colours
  • Ceramic tiled splash backs between the work surfaces and wall units with a choice of colours
  • Floor tiles will be fitted with a choice of colours
  • Redecoration
Your kitchen layout will take into consideration the number of appliances you have and will be designed to meet your needs where practicable.

Bathroom
  • Is the Bathroom 30 years old or more?
If the answer is yes we will replace the bathroom and you will generally receive:
  • A white bath, wash hand basin and toilet
  • Ceramic tiled splash backs with a choice of colours
  • Redecoration
If you already have a shower we will replace the tiling in this area and refit the existing unit. All bathrooms will have wiring installed to operate a shower unit in the future. If you find it difficult to access your bath because of mobility we can offer a standard cubicle, shower curtain and a thermostatically controlled shower unit. If however this does not meet your needs you will be referred to an Occupational Therapist.

Central heating
  • Do you have central heating?
  • Is the boiler 30 years old or more?
  • Is the system 40 years old or more?
If the answer is yes, and where gas is available, then we will replace/install the heating system and you will generally receive:
  • A modern, efficient boiler
  • New radiators sized to meet heating requirements and fitted with thermostatically controlled valves
If there is no gas to the property we will generally fit electric storage heaters or upgrade your existing system to a full system.

Wiring
  • Is your electrical system less than 30 years old?
  • Does it meet the current regulations?
If the answer is no then we will replace the wiring system and you will generally receive:
  • New wiring
  • Sockets
  • Switches
  • Smoke Alarm
  • Consumer Unit
  • Extract Fans
You will have a choice of either surface mounted wiring or flush wiring (dependant on the construction of the walls).

Windows
Your windows will be assessed to ensure that they are not in disrepair. Generally single glazed windows will not automatically upgraded to doubleglazed units. Where windows are constructed of timber or metal these will be replaced with PVCu units.

Doors
Your external front and rear doors will be assessed to ensure they are not in disrepair. Where replacement is required there will be a choice of front door styles and a choice of finish, varnish or paint in various colours.

Roofing
  • Is your roof 50 years old or more?
If the answer is yes then we will replace the roof and you will generally receive:
  • A modern tile or slate
  • New battens
  • Under felt
  • Lead flashings repairs to chimney
Where it is a flat roof checks will be made to ascertain the age of the roof and also a visible check on the number of repairs carried out.
A To Z

Interactive Map
Use the Interactive Map below to find our Company Offices, Neighbourhood Offices, Estate Offices, Housing Service Centres and Property Shops.

Company Offices
 ► Head Office
 ► Operations Centre
Neighbourhood Offices
 ► Tipton
 ► Smethwick
 ► Rowley Regis
Estate Offices
 ► Tipton
 ► West Bromwich
 ► Cradley Heath
 ► Smethwick
 ► Tividale
 ► Oldbury
Housing Service Centres
 ► Tipton
 ► West Bromwich
 ► Wednesbury
 ► Smethwick
 ► Rowley Regis
 ► Oldbury
Property Shops
 ► Wednesbury
 ► West Bromwich
 ► Blackheath