People living in the borough of Dacorum will benefit from a new council programme which aims to improve and build more houses.

Dacorum Borough Council agreed on a new build housing programme at a meeting on April 30, which includes plans to build 200 extra houses between 2021 and 2022 on top of 71 homes.

Councillors also decided rent on new homes it is building will stay at the same levels as existing homes - rather than accepting a grant from the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) which would require a higher rate.

For example, the rent on one of the council's new three bedroom houses will remain at around £465 a month, rather than increase to £800.

The council has also agreed that an extra £75,000 should be used to improve how housing estates look and the external appearance of blocks of flats each year for four years from 2013 and 2014 to 2016 and 2017.

These plans include:

• Over 450 new kitchens installed (around 200 the year before)

• Over 420 new bathrooms installed (around 200 the year before)

• Over 600 homes rewired (250 the year before)

• Nearly 2000 new front doors fitted (just over 500 the year before)

Councillor Margaret Griffiths, portfolio holder for housing, said: "We've been listening to tenants and leaseholders to understand what their priorities are and thinking about the wider community.

"Our new-build homes have a lower environmental impact, while transforming the appearance of existing estates makes the area more attractive for everyone.

"Being able to ‘do-it-ourselves’ and carry out all these improvements to homes is just what Dacorum’s housing service set out to achieve when we decided to move to self-financing."