Housing strategies and policies

Housing Strategy

The Housing Strategy contains a series of 'key messages' which explain our and our partners' delivery priorities and approach to addressing housing issues. The main aims are to put people first and to focus on the housing needs of our residents. We want to:

• raise standards across the private rented sector through seeking greater licensing powers in order to tackle poor landlords, as well as continuous engagement with landlords and the extension of the Accredited Landlord Scheme for responsible landlords
• deliver homes to meet the needs of older people within our communities and supporting people to live independently for as long as possible
• work with those communities most affected by long term empty properties - this will include working with property owners and landlords with the aim of bringing empty properties back into use wherever possible
• maximise the delivery of affordable homes, both by securing developer contributions as part of new housing development and through close partnership working with Registered Providers and Homes England

Housing strategy for County Durham. (PDF, 14 MB) 

The development of the new housing strategy was informed by the following documents:

• Housing Strategy Equalities Impact Assessment (PDF, 236 KB) 
• Housing Strategy Health Impact Assessment (PDF, 531 KB) 
• Housing Strategy Rural Proofing Report (PDF, 389 KB) 
• Housing Strategy Statement of Consultation (PDF, 567 KB) 

Local Investment Plan (LIP)

The Local investment plan (PDF, 2 MB) sets out the County's strategic objectives for housing and regeneration to inform and prioritise investment. The plan has been agreed with the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), the national regeneration agency for England and Wales.

Tenancy Strategy

• Tenancy Strategy 2022 to 2027 (PDF, 322 KB)