The Decent Homes Standard sets standards for the conditions of social homes.
This information applies to social and affordable homes. The standard does not cover shared owners, private renters or leaseholders.
We’ve committed to spending a total of £144m million on repairs and maintenance over the next 30 years to help ensure we're meeting the Decent Homes Standard.
The government is currently reviewing the Decent Homes Standard but the current detailed guidance can be found on their website.
Here are the four main areas of criteria and what it means for you:
1. Fitness for Habitation: Your home must meet legal housing standards, ensuring it is free from serious health and safety risks (known as 'category 1 hazards').
2. State of Repair: Your home should be in a reasonable state of repair. According to the Decent Homes Standard, essential building components like the roof, walls, windows, doors, chimneys, and heating systems should be functional and not require immediate repair.
3. Modern Facilities and Services: Your home should have reasonably modern facilities and services, including:
- A kitchen that is approximately 20 years old or less.
- A bathroom that is approximately 30 years old or less.
- Properly located bathroom and kitchen.
- Adequate insulation against external noise (if external noise is an issue).
- Sufficient size and layout of common areas in blocks of flats.
4. Thermal Comfort: Your home should provide a reasonable level of thermal comfort, which includes effective insulation and efficient heating systems (such as gas, oil, LPG, solid fuel central heating, electric storage heaters, warm air systems, or underfloor heating).
We use data from our home surveys and other inspections as well as information from customers to check if a home meets the Standard. If a home doesn't the Standard, we will prioritise fixing it, either through repairs or by planning further investments in the future.
Please get in touch with us immediately if you think your home doesn't meet the standard or needs a repair.