Decent Homes Standard

As your landlord we have a responsibility to make sure your home is safe, warm and comfortable.

The government sets a quality standard that all social-rented homes must meet. This is called the Decent Homes Standard.

In summary the Decent Homes Standard says:

Your home must meet the current statutory minimum standard for housing

This means your home should not have any hazards which would be considered to be a serious and immediate risk to a person’s health and safety.  These are known as Category 1 Hazards under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS). 

There are 29 hazards which can be assessed under HHSRS such as damp and mould, electrical hazards, fire, lighting and noise.  Find more information from the government about HHSRS here.

Your home must have reasonably modern facilities and services

Your home would not meet the Decent Homes Standard if it does not meet three or more of the following:

  • A kitchen that is 20 years old or less
  • A kitchen with adequate space and layout
  • A bathroom that is 30 years old or less
  • An appropriately located bathroom and toilet
  • Adequate insulation from outside noise
  • Adequate size and layout of shared entrance areas for blocks of flats.

Your home must provide a reasonable degree of thermal comfort

This means that your home should have an efficient heating system and effective insulation to protect you from excess cold.  Programmable central heating, electric storage heaters and underfloor heating systems would all be classed as efficient heating.

More information including the criteria on Decent Homes Standard is set out on the Governments’ website, click here.

If you feel your home does not meet the Decent Homes Standard, please contact us on 0117 914 4257 or [email protected]

How do we check that your home is meeting these standards?

To make sure we are investing in, and improving, our properties at the right time, we collect data on our properties through condition surveys and energy efficiency surveys which produce energy performance certificates (EPCs).  We recently undertook a full stock condition survey on all of our properties between November 2025 and January 2026. The results of these surveys will be used to inform future planned maintenance programmes.

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