The Decent Homes Standard is Coming to Private Rentals: What Private Tenants Get

In short

The Decent Homes Standard has set the minimum condition for social housing in England since 2006. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 creates the power to extend it, for the first time, to private rented homes.

For private renting, the standard arrives on a longer timetable the government is still confirming. It is not in force for private renters yet. Meanwhile, councils already police private rental conditions through the Housing Health and Safety Rating System, and private tenants already have rights under Section 11 and the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018.

What "decent" actually means

The standard tests four things. A home counts as decent only if it passes all four.

1. It meets the current statutory minimum standard for housing. This means the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS). A home with a Category 1 hazard, a serious risk to health, fails automatically. Category 1 hazards include damp and mould, excess cold, fire risk, electrical hazards, falls, food safety, sanitation and structural collapse, among others.

2. It is in a reasonable state of repair. The standard checks "key" parts (external walls, structure, roof, doors, windows, chimneys, central heating) and "other" parts (kitchen, bathroom, internal doors, electrics). A home fails if one key part is old and in poor condition, or two or more other parts are. "Old" has a set age threshold for each part.

3. It has reasonably modern facilities and services. The kitchen must be 20 years old or less, with decent space and layout. The bathroom must be 30 years old or less, in a sensible location. There must be adequate noise insulation, and properly sized common entrances in blocks of flats.

4. It provides a reasonable degree of thermal comfort. The home must have effective insulation and efficient heating, against set energy-efficiency criteria.

These are the same four tests social housing has faced for two decades. The Renters' Rights Act opens the door to applying them to millions of private renters in England, once the government confirms the start date.

How enforcement works

Enforcement runs through council environmental-health teams. The usual sequence:

1. Tenant complains, or a complaint comes from another source. Most cases start with a tenant complaining to the council's environmental-health team. A neighbour, a doctor or a charity can also raise it.

2. Environmental Health inspects. The inspector uses the HHSRS to identify hazards.

3. The council decides on enforcement. For Category 1 hazards the council has a legal duty to act. Its options: an improvement notice, a prohibition order (banning use of part of the property), a hazard awareness notice (the lowest level), emergency remedial action (the council does the works and bills the landlord), or, rarely, a demolition order.

4. The landlord complies, or faces consequences. Ignoring an improvement notice is a criminal offence under the Housing Act 2004. Fines can reach £30,000 per offence, with a banning order in serious or repeat cases.

The Renters' Rights Act gives councils extra powers against private landlords, including a private renting database that records compliance history.

What private tenants can do today

The underlying HHSRS has applied to private rentals for years. What is new: the explicit Decent Homes wrapper, and the higher priority enforcement now gets.

If your private home has any of the following, complain to your local council's environmental-health team.

• Damp or mould affecting any habitable room
• No working heating, or heating too costly to run
• Electrical hazards: sparks, exposed wires, no working RCD
• Structural cracking
• Pest infestations the landlord refuses to deal with
• A kitchen or bathroom past the Decent Homes age threshold and in poor condition
• A boiler over 15 years old with no service record
• Inadequate ventilation in kitchens or bathrooms
• Old single-glazed windows in a home with nothing else keeping it warm

The council has a duty to inspect for Category 1 hazards. Complain by email or the council's online form, and keep dated copies of everything.

How this fits with Section 11 and Awaab's Law

Three legal layers now stack up for private tenants:

• Section 11 LTA 1985 has covered assured shorthold tenancies for nearly 40 years: structure, exterior, water, gas, electrics, sanitation, heating. A breach gives the tenant a county court claim.
• The Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 added a fitness duty. A private tenant can sue if the home is unfit at any point in the tenancy.
• The Decent Homes Standard will add a part-by-part condition test for private renting, and give councils more teeth, once the start date is confirmed.

Awaab's Law covers social housing only for now. The government has said it intends to extend it to private tenancies, on a timetable still to be confirmed.

For private tenants today, the most reliable route is the council's environmental-health team, plus a Section 11 claim where the damage justifies it.

Where Support for Tenants fits

In England, we check whether a private tenant may have a claim under section 11 or the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018. In Wales, we check the separate repair and fitness duties under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016. If you may have a claim, we refer you to an SRA-regulated panel solicitor who gives legal advice and runs the case. 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. If another route appears more suitable, we will tell you during the claim check.

Read the Renters' Rights Act 2025 in-force day one report | Free call: 0800 030 4669

Sources: Renters' reform in England: what's happening and when, House of Commons Library; GOV.UK, Renters' Rights Act guidance.

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