Homeowners
The overall aim of Leicester’s Private Housing Renewal Strategy is to improve private sector housing and its environment in the city through the continuous development of housing renewal and other strategies and policies. The main sub-objectives are:
- To prevent and tackle unfitness and disrepair in low-income owner-occupier households.
- To create a neighbourhood environment that encourages people to live and stay there.
- Supporting vulnerable people to live independently in their own homes.
Primarily this aim is achieved by enabling owners to take action with their homes. There are three main areas of service provision:
- Renewal Areas
- Citywide Home Maintenance Service.
- Disabled Facilities Grants
These service areas are supported by the work of our in-house Home Improvement Agency Service, which seeks to ensure that grant aided improvement works are undertaken with the minimum of hassle to customers.
Leicester’s private housing renewal strategy has generally followed a broadly area-based programme offering substantial incentives to homeowners to carry out comprehensive home improvements in renewal areas.
Home Improvement Grants and Energy Efficiency Grants are made available in our active renewal areas to owner-occupiers whose homes are in need of improvement to meet basic standards. These grants are means tested.
As well as individual house improvement, Group Repair Schemes have been used on blocks of houses in strategic positions within a renewal area to achieve a major impact, benefiting both house condition and the overall street scene. In appropriate situations these schemes are extremely effective.
Complimentary to house improvement is our environmental improvement programme. This seeks to tackle environmental eyesores and other works not currently funded through individual grants.
Where renovation is not the most satisfactory course of action, clearance may be the appropriate solution. The Council has no current proposals for clearance of homes in any renewal areas. However should clearance be necessary owners could be assisted to buy a replacement property through an ‘Alternative Home Grant’.
Alongside our renewal area programme we have also got our Citywide Home Maintenance Service. The main thrust of our Home Maintenance Service is to provide advice and assistance to homeowners wanting to maintain or improve their homes.
Following an inspection visit we are able to provide:
- Advice on home maintenance, energy efficiency and home security
- A home maintenance inspection report outlining works required
- Details of builders on our authorised list
- The opportunity to participate in a ‘wind & watertight scheme’ that may attract discretionary Home Maintenance Grant assistance to qualifying low-income owner-occupiers.
- Information about the Council’s ‘Handyperson’ Service for qualifying residents
Is your home in a renewal area?
Currently we have five active renewal areas where we offer the full range of renewal services. Click on the links below for further details.
- Evington Valley Renewal Area, phase 1- declared June 1998
- Evington Valley Renewal Area, phase 2 - declared November 1999
- New Humberstone Renewal Area - declared January 2001
- St Saviours Renewal Area - declared March 2002
Please click here for full list of areas.
Information on renewal areas in the City can be obtained by contacting:
Belgrave Regeneration Office
111 Ross Walk, Leicester
Tel: (0116) 299 5395
Disabled Facilities Grants
Disabled Facilities Grants are available to disabled people who need essential adaptation work carried out to give them greater freedom of movement in and around their home.
The types of work that are covered by a Disabled Facilities Grant include:
- Making it easier to get in and out of the dwelling by, for example, widening doors and installing ramps.
- Ensuring the safety of the disabled person and other occupants by, for example, providing a specially adapted room in which it would be safe to leave a disabled person unattended or improved lighting to ensure better visibility.
- Making access to the living room easier.
- Providing or improving access to the bedroom, kitchen, toilet, washbasin and bath (and/or shower) facilities; for example, by installing a stair lift or providing a downstairs bathroom.
- Improving or providing a heating system in your home that’s suitable to the needs of the disabled person.
- Adapting heating or lighting controls to make them easier to use.
- Improving access and movement around the home to enable the disabled person to care for another person who lives in the property, such as a spouse, child or another person for whom the disabled person cares.
All Disabled Facilities Grants are subject to a means test.
You can obtain a Disabled Facilities Grant form from (0116) 299 5395.
Home Maintenance Service
The Citywide Home Maintenance Service is a two-year programme that will be offered to homeowners in different areas of the city by turn.
The main aim of the Home Maintenance Service is to provide advice and assistance to homeowners wanting to maintain or improve their homes. Following our inspection visit we are able to provide:
- Advice on home maintenance, energy efficiency and home security.
- A home maintenance inspection report outlining works required.
- Details of builders on our authorised list.
- The opportunity to participate in a wind/watertight scheme that may attract a Home Maintenance Grant to qualifying households.
- Information about the Council’s ‘Handyperson’ Service for qualifying residents.
- The opportunity to participate, where available, in the Health Action Zone (HAZ) Prescription for Healthy Homes Project.
Citywide Home Maintenance Service enquiry form is provided at the bottom of this page.
A Home Repair Assistance Grant is available to owner-occupiers who qualify through the two-year citywide home maintenance service programme.
Grants of up to £2,000 per application are available, though it is possible in certain circumstances to apply for two grants simultaneously. One single grant of up to £5,000 may be given to owner-occupiers of homes that lack an inside WC.
Types of work that can be carried out under a Home Repair Assistance Grant include the installation of an inside WC, the replacing of dangerous electrical wiring or any work that assists in making the house wind and watertight.
All Home Repair Assistance Grant applicants must be either elderly or in receipt of one of the main means tested benefits.
A Home Repair Assistance Grant is available to owner-occupiers who qualify through the two-year citywide home maintenance service programme.
Grants of up to £2,000 per application are available, though it is possible in certain circumstances to apply for two grants simultaneously. One single grant of up to £5,000 may be given to owner-occupiers of homes that lack an inside WC.
Types of work that can be carried out under a Home Repair Assistance Grant include the installation of an inside WC, the replacing of dangerous electrical wiring or any work that assists in making the house wind and watertight.
All Home Repair Assistance Grant applicants must be either elderly or in receipt of one of the main means tested benefits.
Home Safety Schemes
The Leicester Accident Prevention and Safety Scheme is designed to reduce the risk of accidents in the home. The Scheme is open to:
- Single parents with a child or children under the age of Five.
- People over the age of 65.
- Disabled people over the age of 16.
- Low income families.
You qualify for the Leicester Accident Prevention and Safety Scheme if you are an owner-occupier, council house tenant, housing association tenant or privately rent your home.
You will also need to be receiving any of the following means tested benefits:
- Housing Benefit
- Council Tax Benefit (this must be more than single person allowance).
- Income Support or Pension Credit.
- Income based Job Seekers Allowance.
- Working Tax Credit - whether you receive the disabled element or not.
The maximum amount of money we will provide for each property is between £100 and £150, depending on your family circumstances.
Types of work that can be carried out under the Leicester Accident Prevention and Safety Scheme include:
Safety Measures:
- Stair gates.
- Barrier gates.
- Smoke detectors.
- Drawer and cupboard locks.
- Anti-scald plugs.
- Carbon monoxide detectors.
- Socket covers.
- Corner cushions.
- Jar / bottle openers.
- Grab rails.
- Anti-slip bath and shower mats.
- Tap turners.
Home Energy Measures:
- Letterbox covers.
- Low energy light bulbs.
- Insulation jacket for the hot water tank.
- Draught proofing to front and back doors.
For further information on the Leicester Accident Prevention and Safety Scheme, contact:
Leicester City Council
Renewal & Grants Service
Housing Regeneration Office
111 Ross Walk, Leicester. LE4 5HH
Tel: (0116) 299 5517
Area Maintenance Officer Service
The Area Maintenance Officer Service is a City-wide scheme that provides a service where:
- Small home maintenance jobs can be undertaken such as plumbing, woodwork, unblocking and cleaning gutters, repairing leaks, glazing, window and doors. repairs, minor brickwork and plastering.
- Security work such as fitting window and door locks, door chains and spy holes.
- Minor repairs to garden walls, fences and gates.
In order to qualify for the service you must be:
- Disabled.
- over 60 years old.
- a single parent.
- or a victim of crime.
If you are on means tested benefit the labour costs will be £9.11 per hour, £21.51 for a half day, or £43.00 for a full day (These prices include VAT).
If you are NOT on means tested benefit the labour costs will be £18.22 per hour, £43.00 for a half day, or £86.01 for a full day (These prices include VAT).
In addition to these labour costs you will also pay for the cost of any materials used for the job to be completed.
Call (0116) 299 5400 / 299 5388 for further information about the Area Maintenance Officer Service.
The Area Maintenance Officer Service is a City-wide scheme that provides a service where:
- Small home maintenance jobs can be undertaken such as plumbing, woodwork, unblocking and cleaning gutters, repairing leaks, glazing, window and doors. repairs, minor brickwork and plastering.
- Security work such as fitting window and door locks, door chains and spy holes.
- Minor repairs to garden walls, fences and gates.
In order to qualify for the service you must be:
- Disabled.
- over 60 years old.
- a single parent.
- or a victim of crime.
If you are on means tested benefit the labour costs will be £9.11 per hour, £21.51 for a half day, or £43.00 for a full day (These prices include VAT).
If you are NOT on means tested benefit the labour costs will be £18.22 per hour, £43.00 for a half day, or £86.01 for a full day (These prices include VAT).
In addition to these labour costs you will also pay for the cost of any materials used for the job to be completed.
Call (0116) 299 5400 / 299 5388 for further information about the Area Maintenance Officer Service.
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