More than 1,000 council homes in Dudley do not meet basic standards.

Bosses expect five per cent of its 23,000 properties – around 1,150 homes – to miss the Government’s Decent Homes Standard.

They have announced a £136million programme of works to improve the entire housing stock, but cabinet member for housing Councillor David Simms has confirmed urgent repairs are needed on hundreds of homes over the next year.

They are required to ensure they meet Government guidelines, set out in a council report, which state properties must be in a “reasonable state of repair,” have “reasonably modern facilities” and provide a “reasonable degree of thermal comfort.”

Councillor Simms expects all homes to be up to scratch by December.

He said: “As with any scheme there has to be a start point and an end point, so there is going to be a delay between the first houses getting done and the last houses getting done.

“We are trying to get it done as quickly as possible. We have set a target of December to complete the work and we expect to meet that.”

The figure of five per cent of homes expected to miss the benchmark at the end of this financial year is quoted in the council’s annual review and performance plan 2009/10, published on its website.