Note: Articles on the Renters (Reform) Bill will be continuously updated as details emerge
Last updated on 31 October 2023
Campaigners have been arguing for years that homes rented out privately should reach the same standards as those set for the social sector, namely council or housing association properties.
In 2022, the Government’s Fairer private rented sector white paper suggested that minimum housing standards would ‘require privately rented homes to meet the Decent Homes Standard’, and measures were expected to be included in the Renters (Reform) Bill.
However, this was not to be the case, as Sean Hooker, Head of Redress at the Property Redress Scheme, commented in his blog for LandlordZONE after the Bill was introduced to Parliament on 17 May:
“As suspected, the proposals do not contain any huge surprises and the direction of travel is broadly where most informed commentators believed it was going. Yes, there were some glaring omissions, for example there is absolutely no mention of Decent Home Standards, however I have been reassured that this will be introduced, but how and when is to be decided.
The Government has now confirmed that it will deliver further measures set out in the 2022 white paper, including bringing forward legislation at the earliest opportunity to apply the Decent Homes Standard to the private rented sector “to give renters safer, better value homes and remove the blight of poor-quality homes in local communities.
However, the Government has said that it needs to continue its ongoing consultation first and will set out next steps in due course. In a statement on the application of the Decent Homes Standard to the private rented sector, the Government commented, “This will help deliver the government’s Levelling Up mission to halve the number of non-decent rented homes by 2030. We will update this Decent Homes Standard in consultation with stakeholders over the coming months to ensure it is fit for purpose and proportionate.”
Although the Renters (Reform) Bill was introduced to Parliament on 17 May 2023, there was a significant delay before the second reading of the Bill, which finally took place on Monday 23 October 2023. It’s predicted that significant changes to the Bill are likely during its next stage as it progresses through Parliament. For a detailed update on likely changes to the Bill, head over to our Renters (Reform) Bill hub.
Following its omission from the Bill, Michael Gove confirmed the Government’s commitment to the Decent Homes Standard, albeit with an extended implementation period to avoid the cost of any improvements being passed on to tenants. In his blog for Goodlord, The Decent Homes Standard: the big questions that still need answers, published the day after the second reading, Sean Hooker shares his insights into what needs to happen before the standards can be implemented. The consultation on a Decent Homes Standard in the private rented sector closed on 2 September 2023.
The Decent Homes Standard has played a key role in setting the minimum standards that social homes must meet since the early 2000s, and in 2021 the Government committed via its then Levelling Up white paper, to upgrade this.
The most recent update before that was in 2006 when the definition of what is a ‘decent home’ changed to reflect the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) which replaced the Housing Fitness Standard that year.
The HHSRS is a risk-based evaluation tool to help local authorities identify and protect against potential risks and hazards to health and safety from any deficiencies identified in homes, including those in the private rented sector.
And there is also the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 which requires all landlords, whether social or private, to make sure their property is fit for human habitation at the beginning of the tenancy and throughout – although it’s hard to enforce and requires court action - something many tenants and councils are reluctant to get involved with.
However, if landlords do not make necessary repairs to their property, their tenant complains and the council subsequently issues the landlord with a notice requiring them to carry out those repairs, the landlord cannot evict the tenant via a Section 21 notice for the following six months, under ‘retaliatory eviction’ rules.
Although the original social Decent Homes Standard may sound technical and arcane, it’s important. The standards set for the social sector are now being used as a template for the measures that will be brought forward in legislation within the Renters (Reform) Bill for privately rented properties.
These have been included within the consultation on the private sector Decent Homes Standard conducted by the Government, which it now plans to continue.
To be ‘decent’ the 2006 standard said a home should be free of Category 1 (i.e. severe) hazards, and the “existence of such hazards should be a trigger for remedial action unless practical steps cannot be taken without disproportionate expense or disruption”.
Properties must also be ‘in a reasonable state of repair’, the details of which are pretty long-winded but can be read here.
Nevertheless, work is still needed, the Government said in its white paper on renting reform.
“Despite significant improvements over the past decade, over a fifth of privately rented homes are non-decent, and 12% have serious ‘Category 1’ hazards, which pose an imminent risk to renters’ health and safety.
To be ‘decent’ we will require that a home must be free from the most serious health and safety hazards, such as fall risks, fire risks, or carbon monoxide poisoning.
It is unacceptable that hazardous conditions should be present in people’s homes when they can be fixed with something as simple as providing a smoke detector or a handrail to a staircase. Landlords must make sure rented homes don’t fall into disrepair, addressing problems before they deteriorate and require more expensive work.
Kitchens and bathrooms should be adequate, located correctly and – where appropriate – not too old, and we’ll also require decent noise insulation.
Renters must have clean, appropriate, and useable facilities and landlords should update these facilities when they reach the end of their lives. We will also make sure that rented homes are warm and dry.
It is not acceptable that some renters are living in homes that are too cold in winter, too hot in summer, or damp and mouldy.”
This will all be policed, the Government has suggested, via greater investigative powers for local authorities, and the existing patchwork of selective licensing schemes rapidly spread across many urban areas of England. However, given that council resources are already stretched – as is evidenced by the lack of success with enforcing licensing to date, which itself has resulted in this new legislation– there is a serious question about how much difference these ‘greater powers’ will make in practice.
The consultation has already made it clear this Decent Homes Standard will include the following:
Watch this video of Sean Hooker, Head of Redress at the Property Redress Scheme, for his views on the proposed Decent Homes Standard for private rented homes in England.
Ahead of this new legislation coming into force, it’s worth landlords making sure they are already fully compliant with the existing laws around property condition and health and safety – see our guide, ‘Legislation for landlords: Everything you need to know’.
For more insights on the Renters (Reform) Bill, listen to a special episode of The Property Cast with Sean Hooker, Head of Redress at the Property Redress Scheme, and leading property expert Kate Faulkner OBE, who share their initial reactions to the Renters (Reform) Bill – will it deliver what tenants need and will it have unintended consequences? Tune in to find out what the experts think.
Our media partner, LandlordZONE, will be offering exclusive insights and breaking news as the details of the Bill emerge. Keep up to date with everything you need to know by subscribing to LandlordZONE, the UK’s largest online landlord property news website.
You can also visit Total Landlord's Renters (Reform) Bill hub which will be regularly updated as more details emerge.
