Private landlords will have to meet a new Decent Homes Standard in 2035, the government has announced.

It was thought that the criteria would apply to the PRS in 2030 under the Renters’ Rights Act, but the sector – along with the social sector - has now been given another five years to make sure rental properties are safe, warm, and functional. Requirements will likely include ensuring they have adequate insulation, are of sufficient size, and meet decency standards.

It follows the announcement last week that landlords will have until 2030 to get their properties up to an EPC C or face a hefty fine.

The NRLA says that it broadly welcomes the government’s plans, which provide much-needed clarity for both landlords and tenants about the standards that should be expected of homes to rent.

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“That said, all the standards in the world will mean nothing without robust enforcement to back them up,” adds chief executive Ben Beadle (pictured right). “At present, too many councils lack the staff and resources needed to find and root out rogue landlords. Our research also shows many councils are failing to collect civil penalties issued against landlords even where they have been issued.”

However, tenant groups were quick to criticise the timeline, with Ben Twomey, chief executive of Generation Rent (pictured left), saying it let “landlords drag their feet for an entire decade”.

“It will mean millions of renters, including children, trapped living in poor-quality homes with nowhere to turn,” he adds. “Millions of renters are living in homes that are falling apart and dangerous to our health.”

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Green MP Carla Denyer asks: “Why is this government content to leave private renters stuck in homes not fit for habitation for another decade? The state of private rented homes is appalling.”

The English Housing Survey in 2020-21 found that 21% of privately rented homes did not meet the standard, with 12% having a category 1 hazard, meaning they posed a significant safety risk.

The housing minister, Matthew Pennycook, has previously said a 2035 timeline for the new standards, “broadly aligns with the nine-year implementation period that accompanied the original introduction of the DHS in the social rented sector”.

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