Questions and Answers for Private Owner Occupiers
These Questions and Answers are to help private owner/occupiers of Trusteel homes.
If you rent your Trusteel home from the council through Rykneld Homes Ltd please see our Questions and Answers for Council Tenants.
Where are Trusteel properties?
The council has three estates constructed using the Trusteel method, built after the Second World War. They are at:
- Holmgate in Clay Cross, where about two thirds of the estate are Trusteels
- Adlington estate at Wingerworth
- Grassmoor (a small group of houses)
Of the 416 Trusteel houses, nearly half are now privately owned, having been bought through the Right-to-Buy scheme, and the remainder are still council houses.
What is the issue?
Trusteel homes look like normal brick houses from the outside, but inside they have steel frames instead of brickwork.
This causes two problems:
- They are very hard to heat, because they only have one brick skin instead of the normal two, and little wall insulation
- The steel frames are prone to rust, especially where the columns meet the foundations.
What is being done about it?
The council and Rykneld Homes have been looking at how to tackle these problems to make sure the homes we own are of a high quality and are fit to house our tenants for generations to come.
Over the last few months we have been carrying out technical investigations into a sample of council-owned Trusteel homes to assess what works are needed.
This has involved making holes in the external walls to assess the condition of the steel frame. A visual inspection of the roof space has also been carried out.
We are currently analysing the full results of the technical investigation and we are thinking about what the long-term options for these properties are, including how we can insulate the homes to make them both warmer and cheaper to heat.
Please note that the works we are now planning will be for council-owned properties only, not for those which are now privately-owned.
You are advised to arrange for a survey of your home to be carried out by a structural engineer as soon as possible so that you can find out what work may be needed to your property, and how soon.
How serious are the problems with the Trusteel type of home?
Based on the surveys carried out on council-owned Trusteels, structural problems will develop over time if work is not done.
It is likely that your property will need structural repairs within the next 18 months.
Is my house safe?
We have not undertaken structural surveys of any privately owned Trusteel homes, so we are not in a position to answer this question.
However, based on our surveys of similar homes owned by the council it is very likely that structural works are now, or soon will be needed. You are strongly advised to seek a structural survey of your home – and organise any necessary repairs – as a matter of urgency.
As a homeowner, what do I need to do?
You are strongly advised to arrange for a survey of your home to be carried out by a structural engineer as soon as possible so that you can find out what work may be needed to your property, and how soon.
The only way to be sure if work is needed is to have a survey carried out of the structural steelwork behind the brickwork that would involve removing some of the bricks.
The urgency and extent of the work will depend on the exposure of the house to the weather and its state of repair during its life.
What can the council and / or Rykneld Homes do to help owner occupiers?
As your Trusteel is privately owned the responsibility for organising and paying for any works is yours. However, North East Derbyshire District Council may be able to signpost assistance so you can find a surveyor and arrange for any works to be carried out.
Will the council or Rykneld Homes meet the cost of surveys and any works needed for privately owned Trusteel homes?
The council and Rykneld Homes have been looking at the Trusteel homes we own to decide how best to tackle the problems.
The works we are now planning will be for council-owned properties only.
We have not carried out any surveys of privately owned homes.
Although we are under no obligation to inform owner occupiers about the results of our surveys, we are sharing this information now because we feel it is important for Trusteel owners to understand the sorts of problems that their home may have now, or may develop soon.
The council does not have any responsibility to organise or pay for works to privately owned homes.
When the homes were bought from the council under 'Right to Buy' legislation the buyers were informed that their home was of non-traditional construction.
In some cases homes have been subsequently sold on, in which case the buyer's survey should have identified the issue.
Although we can't pay for any works to privately owned homes we do want to help where we can by alerting owners to the possible problems and by signposting them to advice so they can organise their own survey and think about how to meet the cost of any works that are needed.
We are advising people who own their home to arrange for a survey to be carried out by a structural engineer as soon as possible, so they can find out what work may be needed to the property, and how soon.
If you own a Trusteel home please let us know if you would like our advice to help you organise your survey and consider the options open to you to fund the works.
How much are improvements likely to cost?
The cost will differ for each individual property depending on its specific problems, but could cover structural and thermal insulation works.
We strongly advise you to arrange a survey for your own home to understand the specific problems – and estimated cost – for your property.
What are my options?
If you don’t have the money available to pay for the repairs needed to your home, there are a number of options available, which include:
1. Equity release schemes
These are schemes that allow you to release the capital available in your home to pay for things such as home improvements.
There are a number of schemes available. The council supports a government-backed equity release scheme, called Houseproud.
This is run by a not-for-profit organisation called, the Home Improvement Trust. However, this may only be a suitable option for people aged over 60, or people with a disability.
To find out more contact us, details below.
2. Derbyshire Older Persons Housing Options service
This service is currently run by Age UK – it is a free, confidential and independent scheme to help people over 50 with housing issues. The scheme can help both owner occupiers and tenants with support including:
- Equity release and self finance
- Benefits and income maximisation
For more information call (01246) 345731
3. Borrowing
If you are not eligible for an equity release scheme you would need to look at other options to borrow the money.
This could be a bank loan, an overdraft or borrowing from family and friends if possible. Whatever type of borrowing you choose, it is important to make sure you'll be able to afford the repayments.
I bought my house from the council under the Right To Buy scheme – why wasn’t I informed of these problems at the time?
Around half of the Trusteel properties are now privately owned, having been bought through the ‘Right-to-Buy’ scheme from the council. Many may have also been sold on since being initially bought from the council.
When the home was purchased from the council under ‘Right to Buy’ the purchaser was made aware that the property was of non-traditional construction.
Where homes have been sold on by the initial buyer, the house-buyers’ surveys should highlight the non-traditional construction of the Trusteel houses and the issues that this could create.
How can you be sure the Trusteel houses can be repaired?
Trusteel homes elsewhere in the country have been successfully repaired, and we fully expect the report to confirm that our Trusteels can be repaired too.
I have recently received a letter and a questionnaire to fill in and send back to the council – what is this about?
During the early part of 2012 we will be writing to everyone who lives in a Trusteel property – both council tenants and people who own their home.
We will be contacting our tenants to advise them about what work is likely to be needed for their home and when this work might be carried out.
We will also be writing to all Trusteel owner-occupiers to make sure they are aware that there may be problems with their homes, so they can start to think about what to do.
Although the council and Rykneld Homes will not pay for, nor organise repairs for private owners, we want to provide help and advice so that householders are aware of the sorts of issues and how they might address them.
So we can target our advice and support more effectively for home owners, it would be helpful to understand more about householders’ individual circumstances – for example how many people live in your home, the home owners’ age and whether they are currently working, unemployed or are retired.
You don’t have to give us this information if you would rather not, but if you don’t we may not be able to provide the full range of advice that we could if we understood more about your circumstances.
Any information provided will be handled by us in line with the Data Protection Act. For example, this means we will not share it with third parties and your information will be securely held and only used to help provide information related to surveys and repairs of Trusteel properties.
Can I see the investigation report about the Trusteel homes?
A summary of the report is available.
However, please be aware that it does not go into detail about each Trusteel home – the investigation covered a sample of homes.
So, the information gives a broad view about the condition of the homes and the sorts of problems they are experiencing, but should not be used to provide detailed information about any particular property.
The summary report can be viewed here or you can contact us to request a copy, details below.
If I arrange to have the work carried out how disruptive would it be?
In council-owned homes we would expect to be able to do the work without having to ask people to move, although it will inevitably be disruptive.
If you have works done to your own home, you would need to discuss this in detail with your own contractor, to assess the situation for your individual property.
How will this affect the value of my home?
Your property is of non-traditional construction, and the current value of your home will reflect this fact.
Undertaking a survey and any necessary works – as you are strongly advised to do - would represent an investment in the future value and saleability of your property.
Which contractor is the council using to repairs its properties?
The council will be selecting a contractor early in 2012 and we should know who this is by spring 2012.
We are happy to share this information on request with owners of Trusteel homes. However this will be for information only - we will not be able to recommend any company nor organise for surveys or works on behalf of owners.
The Council says it’s up to me to organise for a survey and repairs of my home – but I have no money to pay for them and am very worried about this.
If the Trusteel home is privately owned, the responsibility for organising and paying for any works rests with the home owner. The council’s responsibility is to maintain its own homes.
When the homes were originally bought from the council under ‘Right to Buy’, buyers were advised the property was of non-traditional construction.
We understand that people will be worried about meeting the costs of any works. However, the council has no funding to support home owners and any national Government schemes that in the past may have helped with these kinds of works, are no longer available.
Were the problems caused by shoddy construction? Who built them? Why can’t they pay for the works?
The homes were built using non-traditional construction methods and people who bought the homes from the council were made aware of this.
They were built in the 1950s, around 20 years before North East Derbyshire District Council even existed – this means that the council has no record of who built the homes.
It is possible that the firms that built them are no longer in existence, and they would have been constructed at a time when there were no national house builder guarantee schemes like the ones that exist today.
Why wasn’t I warned about this when I bought the house from the council? What were people told about the construction when they bought the house?
In all cases where the Trusteel home was bought from the council under ‘Right to Buy’, the purchaser was informed by us that the home was of a non-traditional construction, and they were advised to seek a survey.
In a number of cases, the homes may have been subsequently sold a number of times. In these cases the council would not have any role in, or be aware of private sales. As with any house purchase, the person buying the home should make sure they have access to a survey that identifies any potential problems.
Your information was scaremongering – why did you send this information to me?
The council had no responsibility to provide any information to home owners about this issue.
However, we felt that we had a duty to let owners know that there is a likelihood that their homes will require works at some point.
The information we sent to homes was strongly worded – but we felt that this was very important as we wanted to make sure that people were alerted to the potential problems and could consider their options.
Other councils have given a grant for these sorts of works – why can’t you do the same?
The council has no funding to support home owners, and any national Government schemes that in the past may have helped with these kinds of works are no longer available.
The council / Rykneld Homes have been awarded £55M funding, surely a small part of this could be used?
This funding we received is specifically for the ‘Decent Homes’ programme which will improve council-owned homes. There are very strict regulations and guidelines about how this funding should be spent, and we are not able to use any of it pay for works to privately owned homes.
Why didn’t you survey all private homes when the council homes were surveyed?
The council has no responsibility, nor funding, to survey owners’ homes.
You have known about this for years - why not warn us before?
Everyone who bought a Trusteel home from the council was informed that it was built using non-traditional construction methods.
It would have been wrong to speculate and cause unnecessary concern about the sorts of works that might be needed, until we had carried out our recent survey of the council-owned Trusteel homes. With this in mind, we wrote to homeowners once we had the results of our survey – until we had this detailed information it would have been wrong to speculate about the possible implications for home owners.
The aesthetics of the estates will be compromised if the works take place to the council homes only
This is a possibility – it is unfortunate but is something that we need to accept may happen.
What are the Insurance implications for home owners – could my buildings insurance be declined because it is a Trusteel property?
Our strong advice is to make sure you declare to your insurance company that your home is a Trusteel-type property of non-traditional construction if you have not already done so.
Declaring this information would not necessarily mean your buildings insurance would be refused, but it may cause a difficulty if you do not declare the information and subsequently need to make a claim.
My home adjoins a council owned property – how will the work on my neighbour’s house affect mine?
The work will not need the use of big machinery – it will be a case of removing some of the bricks to access and strengthen the internal steel frame. Inevitably there may be some noise and dust but disruption will be kept to a minimum.
Will the council buy my house back?
Under general Right to Buy legislation, anybody who wishes to sell their property within 10 years of purchase has to ask the council if they want to buy it back. The Council has a policy of not buying back those properties.
The price the council is paying for the repair work is much higher than I have been quoted for work to my own house. Why is this – is the council not getting the best value?
The process of buying in work to carry out repairs to the council’s 200 plus homes is very different to arranging work to a single property, and this is reflected in the price. Our package of work will include a tenant liaison service and a 30 year guarantee, for example. We will also be carrying out other improvements to our council homes – to the fascias and soffits, for instance - to ensure we get the best value while contractors are on site.
I’ve heard about plans to build around 150 homes on land at the back of the Adlington Estate in Wingerworth – the rumour is that these will replace the Trusteel homes, and these will then be knocked down?
A planning application has been submitted to the council to build new houses on land at the back of this estate, but this is an entirely separate scheme and it is merely coincidental that it has come at a time of discussion around the nearby Trusteel homes. There is no truth whatsoever in the rumour that these houses are a replacement for the Trusteel homes.
What if my home is damaged during repair work to my neighbour’s council house?
In the highly unlikely event that any damage should be caused to a neighbouring property this would be covered by insurance
If you have any questions, please contact:
Private Sector Housing Team
North East Derbyshire District Council
Phone: 01246 217247/ 217246 / 217245/ 217249
Downloads
This summary describes work commissioned by Rykneld Homes. The survey was carried out by Michael Dyson Associates Limited over the period 6th September to 10th November 2011. (665 KB)
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