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Do your rental properties meet the criteria to be classed as ‘decent’ homes? Most landlords would like to think so! However, a government consultation on the private rented sector (PRS) found that 21% of properties currently do not meet the Government’s Decent Homes Standard.
Once the Labour Party’s Renters Rights Bill becomes law, landlords in the private rented sector will be legally obliged to comply with the Decent Homes Standard or risk facing fines, prosecution, or a rent repayment order.
With the Renters Rights Bill due to come into effect in the first half of this year, it’s crucial that landlords familiarise themselves with these standards and urgently make improvements to their rental properties if they find them to fall short of the mark.
In this article, we’ll explain more about what the Decent Homes Standard is and what landlords can do to ensure that their rental properties comply.
What is the Decent Homes Standard?
The Decent Homes Standard has been around since 2001, when the Labour Government introduced it as part of its housing policy. When it was first introduced, the Decent Homes Standard aimed to improve the quality of social housing in the UK.
The Decent Homes Standard sets out criteria that a property must meet in order for it to be deemed “decent”. In 2004, the government set a target for all social housing to meet the Decent Homes Standard by 2010. Thousands of homes were refurbished, and the social housing sector met its target in 2010. The Decent Homes Standard is still used today to ensure that a decent standard of living is maintained for those living in social housing.
The Decent Homes Standard and the Private Rented Sector
Up until this point, the Decent Homes Standard has only ever been applied to social housing. However, the Renters Rights Bill is set to change this. Once the bill becomes law, the Decent Homes Standard and Awaab’s Law will be applied to privately rented homes for the first time. This move aims to improve living conditions for tenants by ensuring that all privately rented homes are safe and decent.
What is Awaab’s Law?
Awaab’s Law was introduced for social housing through the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023. It is named after a two-year-old boy who tragically died due to prolonged exposure to mould in social housing. Awaab’s Law makes it compulsory for landlords to address potential health hazards like damp and mould within a strict timeframe. The Renters Rights Bill will extend Awaab’s Law to also apply to the private rented sector.
When must landlords comply with the Decent Homes Standard by?
We do not yet have a deadline for when landlords must comply with the Decent Homes Standard, as the Renters Rights Bill is currently still under parliamentary consideration. However, it is expected to become law before summer 2025. The government has also stated that it will consult on a reformed Decent Homes Standard that will apply to both the social and private rented sectors.
However, it is safe to assume that private landlords should make sure that their properties comply with the existing Decent Homes Standard and Awaab’s Law as a minimum.
What are the criteria for meeting the Decent Homes Standard?
The Renters Rights Bill aims to raise the quality of privately rented homes to the same minimum standard as social housing.
No tenant should pay to live in a house that is hazardous to their health, in a state of disrepair, or lacking modern facilities. The Decent Homes Standard aims to make landlords more accountable for the condition of their rental properties and eliminate poor-quality properties from the rental market, improving living standards for all renters.
Currently, to meet the Decent Homes Standard, housing must meet the following four criteria:
- Statutory Minimum Standard for Housing
The property must be free from serious health and safety hazards like damp, mould, fire and electrical hazards, and structural instability. Measures must be in place to ensure the safety of tenants, including secure staircases and safe electrical installations.
- Reasonable state of repair
The property must be in good condition, with no serious disrepair. Major components like the roof, walls, windows, doors, and plumbing must be functional and not nearing the end of their life. Heating and electrical systems must also be well maintained and working effectively.
- Reasonably modern facilities and services
The property must have modern and functional amenities, including a kitchen that is less than 20 years old, a bathroom that is less than 30 years old, and adequate noise insulation. All amenities should be in an appropriate place and have a safe and user-friendly layout.
- Reasonable degree of thermal comfort
The property must provide adequate heating and insulation to keep tenants warm during the winter months. This should include an effective and efficient heating system, proper insulation like cavity wall and loft insulation, and energy efficiency measures.
If you are renting out a property that does not meet these requirements, it could be time to start making improvements!
What steps should PRS landlords take to ensure compliance with the Decent Homes Standard and Awaab’s Law?
As a landlord, you are responsible for providing your tenants with safe, secure, and healthy homes. By taking this responsibility seriously, you can improve your relationship with your tenants, increase tenant satisfaction, and improve your reputation and retention rates – all of which are beneficial to your property rental business.
While the Decent Homes Standard and Awaab’s Law do not yet apply to the private rented sector, now is a great time to be proactive and begin making improvements to the properties in your portfolio to bring them up to standard ahead of the Renters Rights Bill becoming law.
Unsure where to start? We’ve put together a list of steps that landlords should take to ensure their properties meet minimum quality standards.
Understand the legal requirements
To ensure compliance with the new quality standards, you must research and understand them inside out. Bear in mind that while the existing standards are a good starting point, you will need to stay up-to-date and informed about any changes to these before the Renters Rights Bill becomes law.
Conduct a thorough property inspection
Once you’ve familiarised yourself with the Decent Homes Standard’s criteria, conduct a thorough property inspection to identify any potential issues. Look out for signs of structural damage, damp, and mould. Consider the age, quality, and functionality of kitchens, bathrooms, and electrical and heating systems. If your property falls short of the minimum standards, create a detailed plan for improving the property and bringing it up to standard.
Be proactive about repairs and maintenance
You should also schedule regular property inspections into your calendar to ensure that you always know what condition your property is in and to prevent issues from going unnoticed. Make sure you keep up with servicing property systems and use routine property inspections as an opportunity to carry out important maintenance tasks to stop the property from falling into disrepair.
Develop a complaints process
If a tenant complains about your property, informs you of a problem, or requests repairs or maintenance, you should have a process in place to ensure that this is responded to in a timely manner, especially if it is related to a potentially serious health or safety hazard.
Awaab’s Law states that landlords must adhere to strict timescales when responding to tenant complaints involving hazards. The timescales are as follows:
- 14 days to respond – Landlords should acknowledge the complaint and provide a clear plan of action within 14 calendar days of receiving the tenant’s report.
- 7 days to act – If a hazard is confirmed, landlords have a further seven calendars to begin necessary repairs or take action to address the problem.
Improve energy efficiency
If your property has a poor energy performance certificate (EPC) rating, now is a good time to take steps to boost energy efficiency and meet the Decent Homes Standard’s thermal comfort requirements. Effective upgrades may include installing loft and cavity wall insulation or replacing old heating systems with energy-efficient boilers or heat pumps.
The Labour government has announced that rental properties will need to meet a new Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard of an EPC C rating by the year 2030. So, making upgrades now will only help to future-proof your property against upcoming legislation, boost its value, reduce energy bills, and improve tenant comfort.
Communicate with tenants
Establish open communication with your tenants, encouraging them to report issues as soon as they notice them. Make sure they are clear on the process for reporting issues and provide several different ways to contact you (e.g. phone, email, or text message). Be clear about the timescale in which you will respond to their communications and what next steps you will take. Provide tenants with information about preventative measures they can take to help prevent damp and mould issues from arising. This could include advice on how to heat and ventilate the property properly to avoid condensation issues.
Keep accurate records
Maintain detailed records of all property inspections, reported issues, and repairs and maintenance undertaken. Save copies of all correspondence with tenants regarding property concerns or complaints and log timelines for responses and resolutions to demonstrate compliance with legal requirements.
Budget for compliance
Finally, ensure that you are budgeting for both the property improvements required to comply with the Decent Homes Standard and any additional emergency repairs that may be required.
What are the consequences of failing to comply with the Decent Homes Standard or Awaab’s Law?
These important laws and standards are in place to ensure that tenants have access to safe and comfortable housing. Once these standards come into effect for the private rented sector, landlords who do not comply could find themselves facing serious financial, legal, and reputational repercussions.
Depending on the severity of the offence, landlords could receive a fine of up to £7,000 and be forced to pay back up to two years of rent to the tenant. They could even face criminal prosecution for serious or repeated non-compliance or have their landlord’s licence revoked or suspended.
Introducing the Decent Homes Standard and Awaab’s Law to the private rented sector is a step in the right direction toward improving living conditions for tenants and making landlords more accountable. Taking proactive steps to ensure that your rental properties meet these standards should not be viewed as an inconvenience or mere compliance obligation. After all, as a landlord, it is your responsibility to provide safe, high-quality homes for your tenants. Improving your property to enhance living standards is not just a legal requirement – it’s an opportunity to improve the level of service you’re providing, boost your property’s value, and future-proof your investment.
