IVC Commercial has published its outlook on vinyl flooring for social housing projects.
For over a decade, IVC Commercial has focused on vinyl flooring solutions that respond to the needs of all people in social housing.By supporting well-being through comfort, design and practicality; our affordable felt-backed, acoustic, compact and safety floors continue to rise to the challenge of modern social and affordable housing.
Today, without legal or regulatory requirements for flooring (England and Scotland only) many social homes continue to suffer from bare concrete or floorboards. Only guidance in England stating that flooring in kitchens and bathrooms should be capable of ‘being readily cleansed and maintained in a hygienic condition’[1], stops many social landlords and providers leaving tenants without floorcoverings at all.
Yet, the situation may be changing. Published in April 2024, the Welsh Housing Quality Standard 2023 requires that all habitable rooms, staircases and landings should have suitable floor coverings at change of tenancy[2]. The Housing Ombudsman Service’s report published in May, Repairing Trust, has also revealed that since 2020 there has been a 474% increase in complaints concerning substandard living conditions in social housing. Richard Blakeway, Housing Ombudsman goes so far as to suggest we are at a tipping point, that a lack of change “also risks the simmering anger at poor housing conditions becoming social disquiet”.
In response, this document - ‘Vinyl Floors for Social Housing Projects’ - provides flooring contractors, housing associations and social housing landlords with an immediate reference on how to respond to changes in industry regulations, and how to overcome the challenge of the inadequate provision of flooring. It deep-dives into the flooring solutions that can be used to provide tenants with a comfortable home that supports wellbeing, while also delivering on the essential need for value and durability.
Jake Parks, national sales manager commercial, IVC, explains, “Our outlook examines how our vinyl floors can raise standards within social housing by providing comfortable and home-like floor finishes in every room that are also affordable, easy to install and maintain, and durable in use. It focuses on the Zenura ranges of textile-backed cushion vinyl floors that are excellent for general use in private areas, as well as the extra performance of our 0.70mm wear layer products for public areas.”
In print and digital formats, ‘Vinyl Floors for Social Housing Projects’ is available by contacting ivc.service.uk@unilin.com.
For further information, please visit www.ivc-commercial.com
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hhsrs-o...
[2] Section 6b; ‘The Welsh Housing Quality Standard 2023’, April 2024; ISBN 978-1-83577-843-2
