Rochford District Council could be forced to sell off all its housing if it cannot afford to renovate them.
The Government has ordered local authorities to spend potentially hundreds of millions of pounds, bringing council properties up to what it deems an acceptable standard by 2010.
This means new bathrooms, kitchens, insulation, security.
Rochford has set up a group to assess how much it will cost to renovate the 1,763 houses, flats, bungalows and sheltered homes currently under council control.
The result will not be announced until later this year, but housing manager John Pritchard said: "I think it is reasonable to suppose the council may not have sufficient funds to cover the cost.
"We will make a decision early next year based on the results of the consultation."
If the council accepts it cannot afford the renovations it will have two options.
The first would be to sell the properties to an independent housing association.
The second option would be to establish an "arms length management organisation", effectively a board of four councillors, four tenants and four local experts in housing matters.
The board would manage the homes on an independent basis but the properties would remain under the council's ownership.
To find out more call free advice line 0800 9178909.
Published Tuesday August 17, 2004
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