The social housing sector has a responsibility to provide decent housing to tenants, and has a deadline of 2010 to get the job done. A decent home is described as a home that is warm, weatherproof, and healthy and part of thriving, sustainable community. The British government has agreed to help landlords in the social housing sector pay for the necessary improvements, and since 2001 the number of non-decent homes has been reduced by 50%.
As the global economy has suffered in recent months, the government has faced difficulty in funding many programs and it seems that some homes that badly need repairs have been pushed to the back of the queue. Some of these homes pose the greatest health risk to the occupants and many contain asbestos. There were approximately 70,000 homes that needed to have asbestos-containing insulation removed at an estimated ,250 each, setting councils back by over 6 million.
Since asbestos is difficult and expensive to remove, these unimproved homes have continued to remain a health risk for those who live in them.
Homes built between 1945 and 1964 of a “non-traditional” type are the ones are at the greatest risk of containing the deadly asbestos insulation. Asbestos has been directly linked to many deadly lung illnesses including asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma. Asbestos becomes a health risk when the material containing it begins to break down and fibers are released into the air. Since the fibers are microscopic and symptoms of illnesses may not appear for decades, people living in these homes may not even know their health is at risk until it is to late.
The decent homes bill requires that all non-decent homes be up to standard by 2010, a deadline that is fast approaching. It is estimated that 10% of asbestos-containing homes are still untreated. Earlier this year, Treasury officials told housing officials that they may have to decide between boosting the economy and funding new housing construction and continuing the decent homes project. Many people still living in homes that have not received needed improvements feel frustrated that the deadline is approaching and they may not get the improvements they were promised. If the program does not receive an additional .2 billion by the 2010 deadline, the job may never be finished, and some homes may be demolished rather than improved.
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