All property owned and managed by the council must meet the Decent Homes standard. To meet the standard, property must have reasonably modern facilities, be warm and weatherproof.

It meets the current statutory minimum for housing, which at present is means no category 1 hazards under the new Housing Health & Safety Rating System

It is in a reasonable state of repair - a home which fails to meet this criterion will have either one or more 'key' building component that are old and in poor condition or two or more 'other' building components that are old and in poor condition;

It has reasonably modern facilities and services - homes which fail to meet this criterion lack three or more of a specified list of facilities;

It provides a reasonable degree of thermal comfort, ie. it has effective insulation and efficient heating.

Improving standards

The government wants all social housing to be brought up to the Decent Homes standard by 2010.

To improve its housing stock, some councils may need further investment to assist with the financial cost. Three schemes designed to help local councils are:

• transferring stock to a non-profit housing association – which can borrow money from banks
• creating an Arm’s Length Management Organisation (ALMO); a company owned by a council
• entering into a Private Finance Initiative (PFI); a partnership between the private and public sector, with funding provided by the government

Contact your council or local housing office to find out which scheme operates in your area.

Further Information

• Decent homes standard (communities.gov.uk)
• Decent home standard summary (.pdf)

Frequently Asked Questions

A Decent home The definition and guidance for implementation (.pdf)