England has some of the worst housing in the developed world

Social housing is not the private landlord's responsibility. Tories and the labour government need to spend more money planning a decent investment in line with its population growth and needs. Governments are more concerned with investments where they can make more money for themselves (such as financing "just wars", et cetera). Housing is a significant emergency here, much bigger than an environmental one, and those responsible for this crisis are politicians only.

It's pretty easy to fix:
1. Install two layers of Rockwool in the loft, one at right angles to the other and padlock the hatch shut
2. Fill the cavity with insulation (unless your house faces the ocean and has appalling brickwork pointing)
3. Install 5cm of Celotex on the inside of external walls and redecorate
4. Philips LED light bulbs in all fittings
5. Buy WindowSkin winter secondary glazing
6. Electrician to fit Dimplex Quantum electric heaters running on Octopus Energy's cheap midnight to 4 am tariff
7. Handyman to install Nuair Drimaster Heat PIV ventilation unit in the hallway with ON/OFF button in a lockable case from SSP Direct - totally eliminates condensation and mould and your washing & towels dry all year round
8. Get a draft predicted domestic EPC from a energy assessor, who is a professional member of PEPA, BEFORE the works and get them back AFTER the works to finalise the new, Lodged 10-year valid EPC.
Aim to get BOTH EPC Grades up to C, for the 'running cost' EPC Grade and the 'CO2 pollution' EPC Grade. Both Grades have been clearly shown on a domestic EPC for the past 15 years (despite what some folk write on this website!)
NOTE - I do not work for any of the above companies.
Its all common sense and will make our PRS and owner occupier housing stock - Fit for Purpose.

I await the responses as to why the above is totally impossible. They'll probably be the same reasons property owners used during the transition from outside privy to indoor bathroom, from fire risk to UK Fire Standards and from lethal asbestos to clean of asbestos.
Long term decisions for a brighter future.

I find it annoying that new houses are considered better than old houses. As a HMO landlord I deal with a lot of old and new properties, and there is nothing better than a Victorian built house. In a modern new house you can punch through the walls, you would not be able to do that with a Victorian property. The Victorian properties can be adapted easily, are over built in that you could take half the structure away, and it still stands.

As for conservation or energy efficiency in old houses, I pay the bills in my HMOs and I can find there is little difference between the energy used in an old and new house, if anything, new houses cost more to heat. As I pointed out before, there’s something seriously wrong with our current energy conservation measures.

Look in London, the houses that were built in the 60s, to replace the old Victorian terraced houses that were demolished, yet the Victorian houses in other parts of London which are still standing are considered highly desirable.
Jim Haliburton, The HMODaddy

Martin Gibbons I do hope someone in Social Housing reads your excellent technical advice above and acts on it!
From my 30 years experience as a landlord, providing good quality accommodation for tenants, I have been made aware that sadly a lot of tenants do not know how to look after properties.
Ventilation, cleaning and heating adequately help to keep a property mould free and habitable.
Unfortunately neglect can sometimes be blamed on the landlord, when clearly it is the person living in the property who needs to care for it on a daily basis. Domestic tasks should be learned during childhood, if not at school! This sounds very old fashioned, but it’s true. Learning to take individual responsibility would solve a lot of “social problems” 🙂

Want to improve the quality of property in the rental section? Allow private landlords 100% of the cost spent on work carried out to bring the property up to standard, against all future tax bills until the money is 100% recovered by the Landlord. Alternatively make 100% grants available to Landlords for the improvements that are required to bring the properties up to a required standard, these grants would only become repayable when the property is sold through Capital gains tax allowances. Of course safeguards would have to be in place to prevent unscrupulous Landlords from profiteering.

HBF supporting newly built houses, I wonder why. I will stick with my mid 1800's house, it will survive a nuclear strike from Putin

I'll stick with my Victotian houses stood for over 100yrs and 2 world wars, will these new builds still be standing in 30 yrs time doubtful, timber frames, OSB board and plaster board, we see them being built by cow boy builders.

Andrew, foreign plywood and OSB is very poor. Further they are a very good fire risk.

The Climate is warming up and the World going on fire, when we were freezing in the early 1960’s we had no Insulation or Central Heating just Esso Blue or Pink. People are now too soft & over weight thanks to Digital Technology. The same Technology that has caused the Housing Crisis without which many of problems wouldn’t exist because they are artificially invented everyone addicted.

The Internal Celotex Insulation or similar is very good when you don’t have Cavity Walls. I have done this complete and skimmed, it makes other works easier like complete re-wire but as Tricia said it has to be a gut out.
Regarding the loft hatch don’t get me started on that. Harrow required me to replace with fire door & frame, a specification on how she wanted it involving cutting down a real fire door glued & lipped all around, I could have 2 Fire Doors done while messing around with that, easy to know none of those people can do anything in practice, there is nothing other than Insulation up there.
Polly beads are much better for Cavity Walls than Fibre, easier to install and fills every nook & cranny, don’t absorb or transmit moisture could be an answer to driving rain problem, fibre sometimes get stuck on wall ties or other obstacles ends up with cold spots and voids especially under windows as I am acutely aware having changed windows and nothing there.
I must get on with my day.

Previous generations building on brick and brick or block was a marvellous investment. Are you going to say all the wonderful properties in ltaly are crap. Will they pull the doges palace down, Oxford university Litchfield cathedral?? Carnarvon castle ? Houses in Islington were regarded as slums and lots of properties were demolished and replaced with new property that didn't last.