The Decent Homes Standard: why we need one and what it might look like
Thousands of social homes fall short of 'decent'. 10% of UK private rented homes have serious mould issues, and 20% are in generally poor condition - both of which are causing serious consequences. What can be done about this? Well, introducing a Decent Homes Standard might just be the way to go.
We’re a positive lot at Just Move In. But it was hard to feel anything other than despair when we heard about poor Awaab Ishak, the toddler who died after inhaling mould spores in Rochdale last month. His family’s complaints about their housing association home were ignored and the advice they’d received to remedy the problems proved fatally inadequate. The only good to come out of the tragedy is that it’s put the Decent Homes Standard firmly in the spotlight again. Let’s hope action is taken to prevent similar calamities in the future.
What’s so depressing is that an incident like this was probably inevitable. As those who follow housing campaigner Kwajo Tweneboa know only too well, thousands of social homes fall well short of ‘decent’. Damp, mould, poor insulation, inadequate heating, rats, and cockroaches are common problems. There have also been reports of corridors flooded with boiling water - unbelievable but true - when really it’s housing authorities that should be in hot water.
Learning lessons
Although the incidents above occurred in social housing, letting agents and private landlords can’t afford to simply shrug their shoulders. After all, last year’s English Housing Survey revealed that 10% of private rented homes also have serious mould issues. The survey also showed that 20% of England’s 4.4 million privately rented homes were generally in poor condition. Not good.
Consequently, it’s about time that the government and the sector pulled together to solve this critical problem. And introducing a Decent Homes Standard is probably the way to go. In fact, it might be on its way regardless thanks to a little thing called the Renters Reform Bill. You may have heard of it.
The Decent Homes Standard in the Renters Reform Bill
Although some of the reforms proposed in the government’s A Fairer Private Rented Sector White Paper are slightly divisive - the abolition of Section 21 in particular is legislative marmite - the proposal to introduce a legally binding Decent Homes Standard in the PRS was largely welcomed, especially after the government revealed that 12% of homes actually pose an imminent risk to tenants’ health. Yikes.
But what, exactly, will the standards that private landlords need to follow be? The Decent Homes Standard for social housing should give us a guide. This dictates that homes should “bring health benefits to tenants” and “reduce health inequalities”. In practice, this means that homes should:
meet the current statutory minimum standard for housing
remain in a reasonable state of repair
have reasonably modern facilities and services
provides a reasonable degree of thermal comfort
Although we don’t yet know for sure, it’s likely that a Decent Homes Standard in the PRS would be very similar. The white paper proposes that privately rented homes should be “decent” - that word again - and “free from the most serious health and safety hazards, such as fall risks, fire risks, or carbon monoxide poisoning”.
The Renters Reform Bill also suggests that kitchens and bathrooms should be located correctly - no toilets off the kitchen, please - and be replaced if they’re older than 20 years and 30 years respectively. Landlords should also update their tenant’s facilities "before they reach the end of their lives", and keep them warm, dry, and clean. Student landlords might find the latter a tad challenging if their tenants have just finished exams. Ahem.
Potential spanners in the works
Although the above all sounds well and good, some of the guidelines are somewhat open to interpretation. We’ve been promised that standards will be explained in full on the upcoming Property Portal, the central hub that will tell landlords and tenants exactly what’s acceptable, but it’s hard to know what the concrete regulations will be and who, exactly, will report rogue landlords. Will there be official inspections, for example?
What we do know, however, is that a PRS Decent Homes Standard will make it a legal requirement to meet minimum standards on things like efficient heating, suitable facilities, and limiting fire and damp risks. Non-compliance will therefore be a criminal offence, and it could even lead to banning orders or other measures. It’s been suggested, for example, that landlords might have to repay rent for periods when their properties weren’t up to scratch. Now that’s gonna hurt.
The perennial problem, however, is that upgrading properties costs money - a prodigious pot of it. And landlords are already up against it for a number of reasons, not least tax measures introduced in the recent autumn statement. Many landlords are also facing big bills to upgrade EPC ratings to C by 2025 (for new tenancies) or 2028 (for existing ones). So where’s this money going to come from?
Whilst the white paper glibly predicts that “most landlords should be able to meet these costs", and a “cost cap” might be introduced to protect them, it’s unclear whether (a) the government has accurately assessed how much it might cost to upgrade the average home, and (b) what the cap might be. This lack of detail isn’t particularly reassuring.
What’s more, it’s also unclear how the authorities will actually track compliance. Although the white paper talks hopefully about introducing a Landlords Register (so all PRS homes can be identified), implementing this won’t be easy. And what about homes that can’t be upgraded because they’re either listed or restricted by planning constraints? The Decent Homes Standard might come with more holes than a block of Emmental.
The waiting game
With energy bills soaring, the climate emergency worsening, and the cost of living crisis biting hard, it’s as plain as a pikestaff that something needs to be done about the UK’s cold, damp and expensive-to-heat homes. The demise of little Awaab Ishak also feels like a Grenfell-type moment - a high-profile tragedy that should finally lead to change.
However, although a Decent Homes Standard for the PRS sounds promising on paper - it’s reduced the number of poor social homes by a third over the last decade - there’s still some fleshing out to be done. We also hope that media horror stories don’t tarnish the reputation of decent private landlords who take their responsibilities seriously. Most landlords deserve empathy too. Upgrading homes can cost thousands and landlords aren’t immune from the cost of living crisis themselves.
All we can do, therefore, is keep our collective fingers crossed and watch this space. In the meantime, we’d suggest that agents and landlords inspect their properties regularly, listen carefully to tenants’ concerns, and perhaps introduce checklists so that the upcoming Property Portal won’t come as a culture shock. And if a tenant complains about mould, especially if children are living in the property, break the mould by sorting it pronto.