Why ‘decent homes’ simply isn’t good enough

How did we end up with such a poorly resourced, fragmented and reactive system of rules around housing quality?

Unlike when you buy a car, there is no single comprehensive MOT for homes which would provide assurance to prospective tenants, buyers, landlords and developers that a newly built home is safe or even of a good standard. This article by the TPCA looks at the current system and why it needs comprehensive reform.

Overview

Over a decade ago, the former government changed the rules regarding what was required to convert a building, such as an office or shop, to residential use - through Permitted Development Rights (PDR). Their aim was to cut through planning ‘red tape’ to increase housing numbers, ignoring the fact that local authorities regularly consented over 300,000 units each year - in line with government targets.

The unintended consequence of these changes was the production of dire quality conversions you could barely call a home. In response to significant concerns about the slum-like conditions produced under PDR, the then government introduced minimum space standards and natural light requirements.

But they entirely ignored other concerns, such as the poor location of conversions without access to play space, schools and amenities; resident exposure to air pollution on active industrial sites and along major roads; poor building accessibility for young families, disabled and elderly residents; overcrowding; overheating; damp issues - the list goes on.

The rule changes also cut developer contributions towards affordable housing and undermined local planning policies that specifically aim to create healthy communities.

Households failing to meet the Decent Homes Standard by housing tenure – not including the conditions for people living in temporary accommodation (source: MCHLG, 2024)

Permitted development, housing and health: a review of national policy and regulations

Our review of the rules around PDR housing identified several regulatory gaps which shocked us. We found five Building Regulations do not comprehensively apply when existing buildings are converted into dwellings and flats:

• Structural safety (Part A)
• Resistance to moisture (Part C)
• Protection from Falling, Collision, and Impact (Part K)
• Access to and Use of Buildings (Part M), or
• Overheating (Part O)

Similarly, on fire safety, the rule changes in the Building Safety Act 2022 (written in response to the Grenfell Tower fire) only address ‘high-risk’ buildings over 18 meters or seven stories.

What about all those residential buildings that fall below that threshold? And what about the flats produced through PDR without full planning approvals?

It is unclear whether the Planning Gateway One requirements in the Act regarding fire safety statements and access for emergency vehicles apply.

Looking beyond planning deregulation, the Decent Homes Standard, developed in 2010, sets out 29 hazards (Housing Health and Safety Rating System - HHSRS) that social rented homes should avoid, scrutinised by the Housing Ombudsman.

The Housing Ombudsman powers were expanded in May 2024 – recognising the failure of some social homes to meet these minimum requirements. And the new government has announced plans to extend the Standard to the private rental sector and create a new Private Rental Sector Ombudsman.

If the experiences of the Housing Ombudsman and New Housing Ombudsman - as well as environmental health and building control sectors - are anything to go by, resourcing and enforcement of quality remains problematic.

And the recent tragic death of leasehold campaigner Amanda Walker only serves to reinforce the terrible toll placed on those who feel trapped inside unsafe housing.

The Building Research Establishment (BRE)

The Building Research Establishment (BRE), who conduct the English Housing Survey, has said the Decent Homes Standard is long overdue for reform.

The BRE recognises that too many new build schemes are failing to meet even these minimum requirements.

Furthermore, the standard monitors the worst housing ‘hazards’ - it does not aim to proactively promote good quality new homes and communities that will improve people’s health.

The Consumer Markets Authority (CMA)

We are concerned that the government’s expectations that the private sector will step up and deliver the good quality and genuinely affordable homes the country so urgently needs will not stack up.

The Consumer Markets Authority (CMA) reported that house builders lack incentives to deliver sufficient homes, as they do not want to build-out homes at a rate that undermines resale prices.

Delivery of new homes is also hampered by known gaps in construction skills and labour - the industry is estimated to require over 50,000 extra workers a year over the next five years.

The CMA report found a ‘substantial minority’ of developers delivered projects with serious structural problems, such as collapsing staircases and ceilings. The CMA has called for a single mandatory consumer code and mandatory activation of the New Homes Ombudsman Scheme.

The campaign for Healthy Homes

The campaign for Healthy Homes calls on the new government to reform English housing standards – through adopting the Healthy Homes Bill or incorporating the principles within the future Planning and Infrastructure Bill – setting in place mandatory and comprehensive standards in all housing tenures.

And improve accountability and enforcement by creating a national Housing Commissioner, to ensure future homes and communities are designed and built, not only to protect people from harm, but also positively benefit their health.

The Healthy Homes Pledge

Leading actors in the built environment sector agree that clearer well-resourced standards are needed - to create greater certainty and improve outcomes for people.

Key institutions, including the Chartered Institute for Housing, have endorsed twelve Healthy Homes Principles by signing up to the Healthy Homes Pledge:

Sign the pledge now