‘Absurd’: decent homes standard for England’s private renters will not be enforced until 2035 | Renting property
Labour’s promise to make private rented homes in England habitable will not be implemented for almost a decade, with campaigners describing the decision as “absurd”.
The timeline means homeowners will have until 2035 to implement a new affordable housing standard (DHS) that will include “robust standards” to tackle disrepair, damp and energy inefficiency in their properties.
On Wednesday the government published plans for the first time for a reformed DHS for social rented homes as well as a DHS for the private rented sector, confirming that both should be implemented by 2035 at the latest.
Housing minister Matthew Pennycook said the timetable would give “social landlords in particular the time and certainty they need to increase housing supply as well as improve the quality of the homes they manage”.
Ben Twomey, chief executive of Generation Rent, said: “It is absurd to allow landlords to drag their feet for a decade, depriving us of the most basic standards in our homes. This will mean millions of renters, including children, will be stuck in poor quality homes with nowhere to go.”
The campaign group had pressed for a deadline of 2030 to implement the new standard promised under the Tenants’ Rights Act.
Paula Barker, Labor MP for Liverpool Wavertree, said the decision was a “disgrace”, adding: “It means another decade or so of families, individuals and children being trapped in dangerous, substandard housing, which could have long-term effects on their health. This decision is disgraceful and completely unacceptable.”
The 2020-21 British Housing Survey found that 21% of privately rented homes do not meet DHS, while 12% have a category 1 hazard, meaning they pose a significant safety risk.
According to the Health Foundation, one in five private rented homes are classed as ‘unsuitable’; This means it poses a health hazard or immediate threat, is in disrepair, or is not effectively insulated or heated.
In the social rented sector, a DHS was introduced in 2001 with an effective date of 2010, although some municipalities applied for an extension. Ministers argue that social rented homes, which have not met the DHS, which has not been updated since 2006, by 10 percent by 2023, are out of date.
Pennycook has previously said the 2035 timetable for the new DHS is “broadly consistent with the nine-year implementation period that accompanied the original introduction of DHS in the social rented sector”.
The new DHS will force homeowners to ensure homes are in a reasonable state of repair, free of hazards, moisture and mold, and equipped with amenities such as soundproofing and child-resistant window restrictors.
Sarah Elliott, managing director of Shelter, said: “Tenants can’t wait this long for decent homes. It’s outrageous that millions of tenants have to pay punch for shoddy homes that pose a real danger to their health. Now, to add insult to injury, tenants are being asked to wait almost a full decade for the basic protection of a decent home.”
“The government must ensure tenants are safe to live in now, not in 2035, and support councils to punish those who break the rules by properly funding local authority enforcement teams.”
Paul Shanks of the Tenants Reform Coalition said the government’s “lack of urgency has given landlords the green light to continue profiting from rotten homes, with real consequences for the health and wellbeing of millions of tenants”.
“We are asking the government to bring forward the timeline – tenants cannot afford to wait a decade for these basic protections,” he said.
Gavin Smart, chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Housing, the professional body for the housing profession in the UK, welcomed the new DHS, saying it would “update minimum standards for the first time in 20 years” and was “vital in improving tenants’ quality of life and reducing the cost of living”.
A Department for Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesman said: “Landlords must continue to address existing issues while the new decent homes standard is implemented.
“Some measures, such as the minimum energy efficiency standard, will also be introduced earlier, and the changes announced today will result in cheaper energy bills and warmer homes for tenants, while giving homeowners time to meet the new standard.”
