Kingston Council is looking for consultants to check out the state of its 6,000 council houses as part of its long term plans to sell off the homes.

The successful company will be expected to work out the life expectancy of the homes, find out what repairs are needed and estimate the costs over the next 40 years.

Mike England, head of housing, said: "It is a matter of good practice for every local housing authority to do a survey like this every few years to get a comprehensive update on the condition of its housing stock; the last we did dates back to 2001/2.

"The information will feed into the work the council is doing at the moment on the future of its housing stock and will form important background information for when a decision is taken on the way forward."

Interviews will take place on September 3.