Decent homes standard for UK private renters delayed by government till 2035

The government’s promise to make private rented homes fit for habitation will not be enforced for almost a decade, a decision described as “absurd” by campaigners.The timeline means landlords will have until 2035 to implement a decent homes standard (DHS) in their properties, despite ministers promising to deliver “robust standards” to combat disrepair, damp and energy inefficiency.On Wednesday, the government reiterated its commitment to a new DHS but renters’ rights groups have reacted with anger at the delay.Ben Twomey, the chief executive of Generation Rent, said: “It is absurd to let landlords drag their feet for an entire decade, denying renters the most basic standards in our homes. It will mean millions of renters, including children, trapped living in poor-quality homes with nowhere to turn.“Homes are the foundations of our lives, but millions of renters are living in homes that are falling apart and dangerous to our health. This is terrible value for money as the rents we pay every month continue to soar.”The campaign group had pushed for a deadline of 2030 for implementation.The English Housing Survey in 2020-21 found that 21% of privately rented homes did not meet the DHS, with 12% having a category 1 hazard, meaning they posed a significant safety risk.According to the Health Foundation, one in five private rented homes are classed as “non-decent”, meaning they contain a hazard or immediate threat to a person’s health, are in state of disrepair, or are not effectively insulated or heated.While there is no DHS for the private rented sector, a standard for the social rented sector was first introduced in 2001 with an enforcement deadline of 2010, although some councils applied for extensions.The housing minister, Matthew Pennycook, has previously said a 2035 timeline for the new DHS, which is part of the Renters’ Rights Act, “broadly aligns with the nine-year implementation period that accompanied the original introduction of the DHS in the social rented sector”.