The governments consultation for a new Decent Homes Standard for the private rented sector (PRS) is seen as one of the biggest disruptions in the property sector in decades. "A Fairer Private Rented Sector White Paper 2022" is the government's roadmap to pursue and legislate under the Renters' Reform Bill. The consultation seeks views on how it could introduce and enforce the standard in the PRS.

Industry Figures Express Disappointment

Industry Figures Express Disappointment

However, many leading industry figures, including the private rental body Safeagent and the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA), have expressed deep disappointment with the proposals in the White Paper. NRLA CEO Ben Beadle says lack of enforcement of the existing standards is the main problem in the privately rented housing sector. The Governments plans should focus on making it easier for private landlords, tenants, and councils to understand what is expected of them by simplifying the almost 170 laws already affecting the sector, he added.

Isobel Thomson, Safeagent CEO, has also rejected the new proposals. We wholeheartedly support the principle of improving standards in the private rented sector everyone has the right to live in a safe, secure home. But policy efforts need to be consistent and joined up. Thomas says that the Governments proposals for a PRS decent homes standard fall short.

They fail to recognise the standards set by existing regulations, such as for gas and electrical safety, energy efficiency and recent changes to smoke and carbon monoxide alarm requirements. The White Paper Proposals Landlords would be lawfully mandated to ensure their properties comply with the standard under the proposed Decent Homes for PRS. Similar measures are proposed in the social housing sector also.

According to the white paper, over half a million properties accounting for over 12 percent of UK households, are in bad shape and pose an imminent risk to the health and safety of the tenants. The government aims to apply minimum standards of safety and other proposals outlined in the bill to reduce the number of poor-quality rented homes by half. The new minimum standards require that a decent home must be free from the most serious health and safety standards, such as fire risks, carbon monoxide poisoning, and fall risks.

Landlords must make sure their properties dont fall into a state of serious damage. They must take immediate steps to stop and resolve the problems before their properties deteriorate, further forcing them to spend more on repairs.

Along with its plans for the new decent homes standard in the private rented sector, the government also has plans to upgrade the maximum number of homes in the private rented sector to an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) band B or C by 2030.

Enforcement Plans for New Standard

Enforcement Plans for New Standard

At present, local councils assist the authorities in identifying if there are any hazards in privately rented properties. They are also authorised to take enforcement action against the erring landlords. The White Paper suggests the introduction of "a legal duty on landlords to ensure their property meets the Decent Homes Standard." Any breach of the standard will be considered a criminal offence. Listed properties are exempted from such actions.

The White Paper also details how the councils propose to punish the landlords who do not comply with the new standards while ensuring that the reputation of responsible and compliant landlords is fully protected.

The White Paper consultation ran for six weeks, from 2 September 2022 to 14 October 2022, and sought views from landlords, tenants, and other significant stakeholders in the housing sector. At Ringley we wholeheartedly support the decent homes standard. Each and everyone of us deserves to feel safe and secure in their homes, both from the elements and reasonably protected from fire and other dangers. In addition repairs should be responded to quickly and effectively with life safety equipment maintained in good order.

The plethora of existing rental laws is a burden for the unwitting landlord to navigate - in some respects it is questionable whether we need more laws before enforcing those we have. That said, hefty fines 10,000 or 20,000 plus are becomming more commonplace and tenants are becoming more savvy, rightly so. There mere fact that tenants rights to decent homes is getting more and more publicity is great. And, I doubt anyone could argue there is anything wrong with bad landlords being driven out of the market.