Decent Homes Standard and Renters Rights Bill

Shocking data reveals one in seven buy-to-let homes are unlikely to pass the new decent homes standard set out under the Renters Rights Bill.

One in five (21 per cent) private rented homes in England will fail to meet the basic decent standard.

Should the Renters Rights BIll pass into law with the proposed decent homes reforms listed, a total of 1.027 million private rented properties will need refurbishment to be legally let to tenants.

The Decent Homes Standard is a government minimum level of housing conditions for social housing, renters living in council houses or homes provided by housing associations.

The Renter Rights BIll currently navigating Parliament includes a trigger that will extend the standard to cover the private rented sector.

Double standards

The government has suggested that any changes to the standard would not be implemented until 2035 at the earliest.

Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook has said the long lead time will give private landlords time to ensure their housing meets the standard. Improving the standard runs parallel with improvements to boost energy efficiency in private rented homes, with Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards set to become mandatory by 2030.

The decent homes standard has applied to social housing since 2006, but 10 per cent or an estimated 428,000 homes fail to meet the standard a decade later.

In many cases, the homes that fail the standard are managed by the same councils prosecuting private landlords for letting unsafe or unlicensed properties.

What is the decent homes standard?

The Decent Homes Standard is a set of criteria that social housing properties must meet to ensure they are safe, comfortable, and in good repair.

The standard focuses on five key areas:

• State of repair - This includes assessing the condition of key building components like roofs, walls, inside and out.
• Modern facilities - Properties should have reasonably modern kitchens and bathrooms
• Thermal comfort - This category looks at heating systems and insulation
• Tenant safety - Properties and common areas should be free of health and safety serious hazards
• Noise insulation - Homes should be insulted against external noise

Download a decent homes standard checklist (social housing)

Pennycook added: "Everyone deserves the security and comfort of a safe, warm and decent home.

"The standard in its current form no longer reflects the present-day needs of tenants or landlords and it is falling short when it comes to addressing fundamental problems with our social housing stock. For these reasons and more, it needs to be modernised.

"It also needs to be expanded because when it comes to quality and safety, transformational and lasting change cannot be confined only to those in social rented homes.

"Regardless of who your landlord is, there should be a universally accepted and understood minimum standard of safe and decent housing for all tenants and landlords across the country. That is why our Renters' Rights Bill extends the DHS to the PRS for the first time."

A consultation to benchmark minimum standards finishes on September 10.