ALMOST a quarter of a district's private sector houses are in poor condition and could need nearly £38m spending to bring them up to scratch, says a new report.

A survey carried out on behalf of Richmondshire District Council has shown 23 per cent of homes in the area are in substantial disrepair.

The study, undertaken by the independent Cambridge housing and environmental consultants, also says the rate of unfitness is 4.4 per cent and the cost of bringing private sector dwellings up to a reasonable standard has been estimated at almost £38m.

The survey was commissioned by the council to be included in its latest housing strategy statement. The authority is now planning to review its policies on giving private sector grants for repair work.

Housing unit manager Colin Dales said the sizeable figures should not be seen as a worry.

He said: "The costs in some ways don't tell us anything. They indicate to us how much investment we have to be making on an annual basis. These overall costs are handy for setting targets, but it is a case of working out how long we want to take to set the private sector stock right. The overall figure of £38m is helpful in planning our investment for a number of years ahead."

The percentage of unfit housing in the private rented sector is ten per cent, far lower than the national figure of 19.3 per cent.

However, the total cost of bringing this sector up to a reasonable standard is still estimated to be £8.4m.

The survey outlined a series of recommendations to improve the situation in Richmondshire. A review of the council's private sector grants policy should be carried out to target resources towards houses that are unfit. The authority should also consider an agency service to aid residents' access to grant funding, maintenance advice, energy advice and security advice.

Mr Dales said a home improvement agency was one of the authority's priorities. He also stressed the council would be rethinking where its grant expenditure was targeted.