The Housing Investment Plan reflects the investment priorities which tenants identified in the most recent tenant survey. Moray Council has also undertaken a stock condition survey to direct future investment in properties, including replacement of older/inefficient heating systems as well as windows and doors, and bathroom and kitchen replacements.

In addition to the routine repairs and maintenance of the council’s housing stock, the key focus of the Housing Investment Plan remains on meeting the Scottish Housing Quality Standard (SHQS) and Energy Efficiency Standard for Social Housing (EESSH).

The planned investment work includes a programme of electrical inspection and accelerated delivery of energy efficiency programmes, which will significantly improve Moray Council’s position in 2024/25, with the aspiration of bringing performance in line with the local authority benchmark by the end of the reporting year.

The budget for 2024/25 improvements has been set based on realistic output levels, however, work is occurring to optimise market capacity to bring forward a high portion of stock improvements, which would otherwise be allocated to 2025/26 and 2026/27.

Chair of Moray Council’s Housing and Community Safety Committee, Cllr Amber Dunbar, said: “We’ve seen significant improvements in our housing stock over the last year and I congratulate the housing service for bringing another ambitious plan for us to approve for the years ahead.

“We’ve listened to our tenants and the investment plan reflects the priorities they chose, so I’m pleased to see a plan that focuses on continued improvement in energy efficiency as well as internal upgrades that will make a huge difference to our tenants.”