COMPLAINTS by private sector tenants in Fenland about the condition of their homes are running at record levels.

In the past year Fenland District Council says it has received 158 private sector house condition complaints.

“Many of these requests relate to poorly maintained houses occupied by the most vulnerable tenants in our society” says Dan Horn, head of housing and community support.

His report forms part of a report to April’s meeting of the overview and scrutiny committee.

Mr Horn says: “Interventions to date have resulted in both formal and informal action by the council to alleviate these conditions and reduce the hazards to health of the occupants.”

Other initiatives have included partnering with Roddons Housing Association to help tackle statutory overcrowding by families who rent in the private sector. Roddons has been able to help families “to move to more suitable spacious homes and enabled the privately rented properties to be made available for letting once more.”

Mr Horn says elsewhere in the private sector, 163 homes have been improved through the �1.1 million inward investment scheme secured two years ago.

Mr Horn will tell councillors that Fenland is working on a new homelessness prevention policy to help single people under the age of 35 to find affordable, private rental housing by assisting them with a deposit.

Since the project began in January five people have been given money to help with deposits under funding provided by the Government’s homelessness prevention grant.

The committee will also hear of the success of the Ferry Project’s migrant night shelter in Wisbech where 72 clients have found jobs and 25 moved onto education courses. From this month the centre will be available for both the indigenous and migrant single homeless following fresh external funding.

At Octavia View, also run by the Ferry Project, 150 single homeless people have been moved into independent living, and 160 gone onto further education, volunteering placements or full time work.