The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government opened a consultation on 2 July 2025 on a proposal to update the Decent Homes Standard (DHS) and to extend it to private rented sector dwellings1. The consultation ran to 10 September 20251. The standard currently sets a minimum housing quality standard for all registered providers of social housing1.
The department said the proposal reflects "the considerable challenges facing our existing, ageing housing stock, with the aim of driving significant quality improvements over time"1. It also stated that the update would benefit tenants and wider society through the links between housing quality and health, employment, crime, environmental and wellbeing outcomes1.
To inform the revised standard, MHCLG commissioned the Building Research Establishment to analyse English Housing Survey physical survey data from 2019, estimating whether dwellings would pass or fail the updated standard and the potential cost of bringing homes up to it1. The department also carried out further analysis of housing quality data in the EHS1. Those findings informed the Impact Assessment accompanying the consultation, which concluded the proposal "should deliver significant net benefits to tenants and wider society"1. The statistical publication applies to England and was first published on 2 July 2025, with minor corrections to Annex Table 1.9 made on 28 January 20261.
An industry account of the outcome reports that the consultation closed in September 2025 after thousands of responses, and that on 27 January 2026 the government published its response confirming a reformed standard, with housing providers given until 2035 to bring properties into compliance2. It describes the reformed standard as containing five criteria, adding a new Criterion E for damp and mould assessment, and moving assessment away from age thresholds for kitchens and bathrooms, which previously required kitchens under 20 years old and bathrooms under 30 years old2. It reports that properties fail Criterion E where damp and mould hazards are assessed at HHSRS bands A to H, with only bands I and J compatible with passing2.
The same account gives English Housing Survey modelling of failure rates and compliance costs2:
| Measure | Social rented sector | Private rented sector |
|---|---|---|
| Homes failing reformed standard (2019 data) | 40% | 47% |
| Homes failing old standard | 12% | 23% |
| Estimated additional compliance cost | £1.2bn to £1.3bn | £2.7bn to £2.8bn |
It states that in 2024 around 4 million rented homes in England failed the existing standard, with 10% of social sector homes non-decent and 21% of private rented sector homes failing2. It also reports estimated NHS costs from hazards in non-decent homes of £290 million a year in the private rented sector and £65 million a year in the social sector2. The government's own publication does not set out these figures.
Why it matters for households
The standard is the baseline against which rented homes in England are judged decent or non-decent, so a change to it alters what a landlord is expected to maintain and what a tenant can point to when a home falls short. Extending it to the private rented sector would, for the first time, apply the same minimum quality test to homes let by private landlords as to social housing1. The proposed thermal comfort and damp and mould criteria bear directly on how warm and dry a home is, and therefore on how much energy a household needs to keep it comfortable. The modelling reported suggests a substantially larger share of homes would fail the reformed standard than the current one, particularly in the private rented sector2.
What happens next
The consultation closed on 10 September 20251. An industry account reports that the government published its response on 27 January 2026, confirming the reformed standard and a 2035 enforcement date, with local authorities enforcing in both sectors from 2035 and detailed guidance on assessment methodology, enforcement and transitional arrangements still to be published2. The government's own publication records only the consultation period and a 28 January 2026 correction to its annex tables1.
Sources2 cited
- EHS Briefing: Modelling a revised Decent Homes Standard for consultation - GOV.UK, gov.uk
- Decent Homes Standard Consultation: Key Changes, chameleontechnology.co.uk