The private rental sector’s most vocal activist critics have slammed the government over part of its reforms.
Housing minister Matthew Pennycook this week announced that landlords will have until 2035 to implement a new Decent Homes Standard (DHS) in their properties.
He said landlords – social as well as private – required an appropriate lead-in time to meet “robust standards” to combat disrepair, damp and energy inefficiency.
But Shelter’s new chief executive Sarah Elliott says: “Renters simply can’t wait this long for decent homes. It is outrageous that millions of renters are stuck paying hand over fist for often shoddy homes that pose a real danger to their health.
“Now, to add insult to injury, renters are being asked to wait almost an entire decade for the basic protection of a decent home.”
Paula Barker, the left wing Labour MP for Liverpool Wavertree, comments: “This means families, individuals and children will remain stuck in dangerous, substandard housing, that very well may be having long-term impacts on their health, for close to another decade.
“This decision is shameful and completely unacceptable.”
Green Party MP Carla Denyer adds: “Why is this government content to leave private renters stuck in homes not fit for habitation for another DECADE? The state of private rented homes is appalling.
“Renters deserve better than this disappointment from Labour.”
Perhaps most predictably Ben Twomey, the chief executive of Generation Rent, is also upset, saying: “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.”
In the social rented sector, a Decent Homes Standard was introduced in 2001 with an enforcement deadline of 2010, although some councils applied for extensions. As of 2023, 10% of social rented homes failed to meet the DHS, which has not been updated since 2006 and ministers argue it is out of date.
This sector, too, has a 2035 deadline for housing providers to meet the tougher standards.
The government’s announcement this week suggests that it is abandoning an existing rule that states all kitchens and bathrooms must be replaced once they reach a certain age, even if they are in good condition.
Ben Beadle, chief executive of the National Association of Residential Landlords, says the deadline gives landlords much-needed clarity.
He says: “Providing a decent, safe place to live should be the top priority for any landlord.
“Whilst we will study the detail carefully, we broadly welcome the government’s plans, which provide much-needed clarity for both landlords and tenants about the standards that should be expected of homes to rent.”
