House Condition Survey

North Shropshire District Council has a legal responsibility to assess the condition of the houses in the area to help it make decisions such as how to allocate financial assistance and how to improve home energy efficiency.

With this in mind, the Council is about to start a House Condition Survey.

The survey is being carried out by CPC Ltd, who specialise in this type of survey for Councils across the country.  CPC Ltd will be sending letters to a random sample of 2000 households in the district, requesting their cooperation in allowing a surveyor to visit their property.  Each survey will take about 30 minutes and all information will be treated in the strictest confidence.

If you have any queries please contact the CPC Survey Office on 0800 783 1079.

Frequently Asked Questions

The Council is not alone in undertaking a house condition survey; indeed many local authorities have now carried out a survey in response to requests from Central Government to do so.  Here is a selection of answers to questions that are frequently asked about this type of survey.

Why have I been asked to take part in the survey?

To help give the Council a true picture of housing conditions in North Shropshire.

How was I chosen?

Purely by chance.  A computer generated random numbers to pick 2,000 house numbers and addresses from a list of all addresses in the District.

How does this help give a true picture of housing conditions?

By surveying a random selection of dwellings (houses, flats or bedsits) the condition of all other dwellings in the area can be predicted.

How will this help get funds for North Shropshire?

Each year the Council has to bid for housing funding from Central Government.  Without accurate information on housing conditions bids are likely to fail and funding might even be reduced.

Will I get any help by taking part?

The Council cannot always afford to give the full range of assistance it would like to. By taking part you can help the Council in its bid for Government funding to help people improve housing.  Some of assistance may then be available to you, your family and friends.

Even if you are never likely to need assistance, by helping make assistance generally available it stops areas declining and property prices falling and may help preserve the value of your property.

What if there is nothing wrong with my house?

To be accurate the survey needs everyone selected to take part.  Every dwelling that is missed makes the survey less convincing.

More modern dwellings in good condition can still be difficult to heat so the energy efficiency section of the survey becomes more important.

What does the survey involve?

They are usually in your home for approximately thirty minutes of your time (much less in smaller properties or where there are few problems).  You can also help by pointing out any known defects and answering a few questions for the social survey.

Why use an outside firm to assist with the survey?

They are specialists in this kind of survey and operate nation wide.  They use surveyors from all parts of the country including locally. 

How do I know if I can trust the surveyors?

The surveyors all carry a North Shropshire District Council identity card bearing their photograph, which they will show to you on their arrival.

Frequently Asked Questions

If you have any queries please contact the CPC Survey Office on 0800 783 1079.