The Decent Homes Standard: what your home must be like

Direct answer

The Decent Homes Standard is a government benchmark that sets out the minimum condition social housing should meet. It covers four areas: whether the home is free from serious hazards, whether the fabric of the building is in reasonable repair, whether the home has reasonably modern facilities, and whether the home is warm enough. If your social landlord's home does not meet this standard and they have not acted after being told, you may have grounds for a disrepair claim. Call us free on 0800 030 4669 to find out where you stand.

What the Decent Homes Standard is

The Decent Homes Standard was introduced by the government in 2000 to lift the condition of social housing across England. It defines the minimum quality a social home should reach. The standard has been updated since then, and it remains the key benchmark used by social landlords and their regulator.

A home is "decent" if it meets all four of the following criteria.

The four criteria

1. It meets the current statutory minimum standard for housing

This means the home must not contain any Category 1 hazard under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS). Category 1 hazards are serious risks to health and safety, such as severe damp and mould, dangerous electrical wiring, excess cold, unstable structures, or fall hazards on stairs.

2. It is in a reasonable state of repair

The building's key components must not be old and worn out together. The standard looks at things like the roof, windows, doors, walls, heating systems, and plumbing. If several of these fail at once, a property may be assessed as not in a reasonable state of repair.

3. It has reasonably modern facilities and services

This covers things like kitchens and bathrooms. A kitchen that is more than 30 years old and in poor condition, or a bathroom that is more than 40 years old and in poor condition, may fail this test. The home should also have adequate noise insulation between dwellings.

4. It provides a reasonable degree of thermal comfort

The home must have efficient heating and effective insulation. This is assessed by looking at the heating system and the insulation levels. A home that is very difficult to heat, or where heating systems have broken down and not been replaced, may fail this criterion.

Who the standard currently applies to

The Decent Homes Standard currently applies to social housing in England, meaning homes let by:

• Local councils
• Housing associations
• Arm's length management organisations (ALMOs)

It does not currently apply in law to private rented sector homes, though private landlords still have separate legal duties around repair and fitness under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 and the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018.

The extension to private renting

The Renters' Rights Act, which is progressing through Parliament in 2025 and 2026, is expected to enable the government to extend a version of the Decent Homes Standard to the private rented sector. The Act provides a power to do this, but the specific regulations that set out what it will require of private landlords have not yet been published. When they are, private tenants will have new rights to challenge conditions that fall below the standard.

You can check the current progress of the Act at legislation.gov.uk and the government's renting guidance at gov.uk/private-renting.

The Regulator of Social Housing

The Regulator of Social Housing oversees the standards that registered social landlords must meet in England. This includes the consumer standards, which require landlords to keep homes in good repair. If a social landlord is failing its tenants on a significant scale, the Regulator can investigate and take action. You can contact the Regulator at gov.uk/government/organisations/regulator-of-social-housing.

However, the Regulator deals with systemic failures rather than individual complaints. For your own home, you need to go through your landlord's complaints process first, and then to the Housing Ombudsman if you are a social tenant.

How to check if your home fails the standard

Look at the four criteria and compare them to your home:

• Is there a Category 1 hazard present, such as serious damp, mould, cold, or a structural risk?
• Are key parts of the building, such as the roof, windows, boiler, or plumbing, in a poor state?
• Are the kitchen or bathroom very old and in a bad condition?
• Is the home very difficult to heat or does the heating system not work properly?

If your home clearly fails on any of these, you have the right to report it and to expect action.

What to do

1. Report the problem to your landlord in writing, describing the specific issues and where they are.
2. Follow your landlord's formal complaints process if repairs are not carried out within a reasonable time.
3. Contact the Housing Ombudsman (for social tenants) if your complaint is not resolved. The Ombudsman can order the landlord to carry out repairs and pay compensation. Find them at housing-ombudsman.org.uk.
4. Contact your council's environmental health team for a HHSRS inspection if your home is unsafe.
5. Call us if you want to explore a disrepair claim alongside the complaints process.

Where we fit in

Support for Tenants helps with housing disrepair claims. Where a social landlord has let conditions fall below a decent standard and ignored reports over a period of time, there may be a claim for compensation as well as repairs. No upfront cost. You only pay if you win, and the fee comes out of the compensation, not your pocket. If you don't win, you pay nothing. Call us free on 0800 030 4669, send the short form, or message us on WhatsApp. See also what is the Housing Ombudsman and where to get other housing help.

Sources

• Decent Homes Standard review (GOV.UK)
• Housing Health and Safety Rating System (England) Regulations 2005 (legislation.gov.uk)
• Regulator of Social Housing (GOV.UK)
• Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 (legislation.gov.uk)