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Decent Homes Standard (DHS)

A government standard for minimum housing quality. The reformed standard has five criteria: free of the most dangerous hazards, in a reasonable state of repair, providing core facilities and services, providing thermal comfort, and free of damp and mould. It currently applies to social housing. The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 provides the power to extend it to the private rented sector, and the Government’s January 2026 policy statement sets 2035 for both tenures, but the regulations have not been made, so it is not a duty on private landlords today. Energy has a separate, earlier planned date: EPC C by 1 October 2030, also not law yet.

Reviewed by Erdem VolkanLast reviewed 16 September 2026How we check facts

PRS extension
Power in the RRA 2025 - not in force; policy statement sets 2035
Five criteria
No Cat 1 hazards, reasonable repair, modern facilities, thermal comfort, free of damp and mould
Enforcement
Local housing authority + HHSRS inspection

Why it matters

What Decent Homes Standard (DHS) means for a landlord

The Decent Homes Standard was a social-housing benchmark for 20 years and extending it to the PRS is one of the biggest structural changes set up by the Renters’ Rights Act 2025. Property that passed a lettable standard a decade ago (single-glazed, tired bathroom, Category 2 damp) can already trigger enforcement on hazard grounds today. But there is no Decent Homes duty on a private landlord yet: the Act carries the power and the GOV.UK policy statement of January 2026 sets 2035 for both tenures, while the regulations that would bite have not been made. HHSRS is what is live, and it is the evidence base councils would carry into DHS cases once it lands.

Worked example

How it plays out

Mark lets a 1930s semi in Stoke. It has single glazing in two bedrooms, a 25-year-old kitchen and some damp in the back bedroom. No Decent Homes duty applies to him today, but the damp is already a hazard a council can assess under HHSRS, and repairs to the window frames fall within his repairing duty. Rather than wait for regulations, he fixes the cause of the damp now and plans the kitchen and glazing alongside the work needed for EPC band C by 1 October 2030, so one programme covers both.
An illustrative example. Names, places and figures are made up.

Common mistakes

Where landlords go wrong

  1. 01Treating the Decent Homes Standard as law for private landlords today: the power exists, but regulations have not been made.
  2. 02Ignoring hazards because the standard is years away, when HHSRS enforcement already applies.
  3. 03Planning condition and energy works separately and paying twice for access, scaffolding and redecoration.

What to do

A short checklist

  • List the age of each property’s kitchen, bathroom, heating and windows.
  • Fix any damp, mould or disrepair now, since those are enforceable today.
  • Combine condition upgrades with your plan for EPC band C.

Sources

Checked against these sources on 16 September 2026. A guide to the rules in England, not legal advice: for a dispute or a possession claim, speak to a solicitor.

All glossary termsRenters’ Rights Act 2025UK regulationsLandlord guides