91Èȱ¬

Monday 19 March at 6.03pm
(repeated Sunday 25 March at 6.31am)

Will the rising cost of repairs and improvements see the end of the council house in Wales?

Council housing has given millions of Welsh people a secure and affordable roof over their heads. But decades of neglect have taken its toll on those homes, and it's estimated that it will cost £4 billion to bring local authorities' stock up to the Welsh Housing Quality Standard by the 2012 deadline set by the Welsh Assembly Government.

Now thousands of council tenants are facing a stark choice: stick with the local authority which can't afford to improve your homes, or take the chance on a new social landlord who can.

So far only one council - Bridgend - has transferred its housing stock. Now Swansea tenants are being asked to vote on whether they go down the same road. They're the sixth Welsh local authority to go to ballot on transfer.

On the eve of the closure of Swansea's ballot, this week's Eye on Wales explores the options facing thousands of council tenants and what the future might hold for them.