Improving the quality of England’s rental homes is an important societal objective. Poor-quality and cold housing is a major health risk, associated with accidents in the home, increased blood pressure and asthma. A key legislative mechanism to improve conditions for renters is the Decent Homes Standard. The standard specifies mandatory minimum conditions in the social rented sector, including that homes are in a reasonable state of repair, are free from serious health and safety hazards, and have effective insulation and heating. In 2025, the government committed to extending the standard to the private rented sector (PRS) – the tenure with the highest percentage of Decent Homes failures – by passing the Renters’ Rights Act. The government also has plans to update the standard as it was last updated in 2006. More stringent standards in relation to energy efficiency and the presence of damp and mould will come into effect, in both rental sectors, by 2035.

Read the full article from HQM here.