The government has launched a fresh consultation on a new Decent Homes Standard for the private and social rented sectors.
The plans will seek to ‘modernise the standard, with proposals that hold tenant safety at their core but remain proportionate and affordable for providers to deliver’, according to a statement released yesterday.
The consultation document has been published today as part of the government’s long-term plan to deliver 300,000 social and affordable homes through the new £39bn Social and Affordable Homes Programme, announced in last month’s Spending Review.
Responding, Ben Beadle, chief executive of the National Residential Landlords Association, said: “Decent and safe housing should be the bedrock of the rental market. Any landlord failing to provide this should have no place in the private rented sector.
“79% of private rented homes already meet the existing Decent Homes Standard, despite it not being legally binding on the sector. We want to ensure every rented home is of a decent quality.
“We welcome publication of the government’s proposals and will engage positively as they consult on them. Landlords, letting agents, tenants and councils need a clear, coherent and workable set of standards to meet.
“However, setting this standard is only part of the solution. Without effective and properly resourced enforcement by councils, the minority of rogue and criminal landlords will continue to undermine tenants’ confidence and damage the reputation of the wider sector. It is time to find and root out poor practice for good.”
