MORE than a third of privately owned houses in Darlington do not meet a decent standard of healthy and safe living, a new report has shown.

The concern over the town’s private housing stock comes as Darlington Borough Council prepares a new five-year housing strategy, which also looks at the challenges facing the housing market, changes to the housing benefit system and the upkeep of council-owned housing stock.

A report, to be presented to the adults and housing scrutiny committee on Tuesday, notes that although all council housing stock in the borough offers a good standard of living for tenants, a high number of privately-owned properties do not meet basic standards.

A survey carried out on behalf of the council showed that 34 per cent of private properties do not meet the Decent Homes Standard, which states that houses should be free from mould, properly heated and in a good state of repair.

In contrast, 16 per cent of properties in Stockton failed to reach the standard.

The state of private property in the town is a concern for the council because the private sector is increasingly the only option for a large section of society who can’t afford to buy a house or access social housing.

David Burrell, private sector housing manager for the council, said the authority was looking at a number of ways to provide support to private owners.

He said: “We can provide loans to people who might need help to improve their heating or insulation, and we are taking part in the new Warm Up North scheme, which should provide funding to make a real difference to homes in the town.

“What we have identified is that Darlington has a large proportion of older terraced homes, some 35 per cent, and the older a house is, the more problems it will have.

“A lot of the time where we see problems it’s because the owner is on a low income, or is a pensioner, who simply can’t afford to make improvements.”

Public consultation on the draft housing strategy will begin on April 11. The draft will also be presented to the tenants board and the landlords forum for feedback.