Hill Head council house being sold off because it will cost too much money to bring up to scratch

A three-bedroom semi-detached house in Hill Head, owned by Fareham Borough Council, is empty following a long tenancy, said meeting documents.

The council first looked at turning the rented house at 29 Cottes Way into a shared tenancy, approving plans in November 2024. But at an executive meeting on April 1, members approved selling it instead.

Executive member for housing Councillor Fred Birkett (Con, Fareham Park) said upon investigation, the amount of work needed to bring the rented house up to shared ownership standards would have cost a lot of money.

He said the council needed modern homes with low running costs for tenants so it will be sold on the open market.

Cllr Birkett said the costs were “a considerable amount more” than council officers first anticipated, and had been laid out in confidential documents.

The officer’s report said it would be a costly modernisation and the council housing allocations team found it to be a poor match for the needs of those on the housing register.

However, the house is located in a desirable area, which would pose an attractive opportunity for a prospective purchaser. The council’s asset management team said it believed the house had the potential to achieve a good price and sell quickly, said the report.

Councillor Malcolm Daniells said at the meeting: “It is a complex case but selling it seems like the best outcome.”

Money from the sale will be retained within the housing revenue account (HRA) and spent on affordable housing, regeneration or the paying off of HRA debt.

The executive members agreed for the house to be sold on the open market instead of being kept and renovated for tenure.