The Government has announced plans to apply a Decent Homes Standard to the private rental sector as part of the Renters’ Reform Bill.

For a house to be considered “decent”, it must meet the minimum statutory standard for housing as assessed using the Housing Health and Safety Rating System. This is to ensure properties are free from hazards such as mould, asbestos or water supply problems.

Category 1 hazards are those that could cause serious harm such as death or loss of limb. But since it was introduced in 2001, the Decent Homes Standard has only applied to the social rented sector.

Despite proposals to extend it to the private sector, for years there has been no legal minimum quality standard to protect tenants, resulting in more people living in poor-quality homes. In 2022-23, 3.5 million households lived in a home that failed to meet the Decent Homes Standard, up 100,000 on the year before.  

MPs wanted at the beginning of this year that improving home quality in the private rental sector was urgently needed to prevent early death and ease pressure on the NHS.