Citizens Advice response to the Government's consultation on a reformed Decent Homes Standard for social and privately rented homes
Citizens Advice welcomes the opportunity to respond to this consultation on a reformed Decent Homes Standard in rented homes. In 2024 Citizens Advice helped nearly 35,000 people with issues related to disrepair in social and private rented homes, which represents a quarter of all issues for clients in those housing tenures. And in England, 75% of private renters have lived in a property with damp, mould or excessive cold. These issues can have severe effects on clients’ health and wellbeing, but the insecurity of the private rental market leaves many reluctant to push for improvements.
A reformed Decent Homes Standard could be a key tool in improving housing conditions in the rented sectors, if accompanied by robust enforcement. We support the Government's proposals to update the definition of disrepair, require landlords to provide suitable floor coverings, and introduce new requirements around thermal comfort and preventing damp and mould. These new requirements will help ensure tenants' homes are healthy and comfortable, while supporting related policies such as new minimum energy efficiency standards (MEES) and Awaab's Law.
We agree that the Decent Homes Standard should also be applied to temporary accommodation, backed up by wider housing reforms and improved resources to reduce the overall demand for temporary accommodation and drive up standards where it is used.
However, the Government must be much more ambitious in its implementation timeline. Waiting for over a decade to implement the DHS could leave hundreds of thousands of tenants needing support with disrepair while waiting for improved standards. Instead, an implementation date of 2030 will deliver healthy and decent homes to tenants while providing clarity to landlords.