Like all other councils in England, Solihull Council must make sure the 10 722 homes we manage
reach the government's Decent Homes standard. An independent survey showed that the Council's homes
needed around £115 million spending on them to bring them up to the Decent Homes standard.
The Council only had £55 million to spend on repairs and improvements, £60 million less than the
sum needed. We consulted Solihull tenants and they told us they wanted more for their homes than
just the Decent Homes standard, which does not include environmental improvement works.
With tenants we looked at a number of ways to raise the money needed to address the £60 million
shortfall and agreed that establishing an arm's length management organisation (ALMO) was the best
option for us. The ALMO is called Solihull Community Housing.
When we achieved a two-star (good) rating for our services in November 2004, we were able to
access £63 million. This will enable us to meet the Decent Homes standard and have a further £3
million for environmental improvements.
In May 2008 we were the first ALMO in the West Midlands to achieve a 
three star rating
What does this mean for tenants?
The Council is still the landlord, which means that:
- the Council still sets the rent
- tenancy agreements remain unchanged
- your rights and entitlements as a tenant are the same.
The Council is still responsible for:
- rents and lettings policies
- housing advice
- Supporting People
- Housing Benefit administration
- ensuring housing needs are met.
We (Solihull Community Housing) are responsible for:
- managing the housing service
- bringing all homes up to the Decent Homes standard
- providing opportunities for tenants and leaseholders to have a say in how homes are
managed
- employing staff who transferred from the Council's housing service.
We are also responsible for the following: