Private housing - Decent Homes Standard

Decent Homes Standard conditions

To be classed as a decent home, a property must meet the following criteria:

Meet the current legal minimum standard for housing

All houses should be free of what are termed 'category one' hazards - those which are most likely to cause an accident and result in serious harm.

Be in a reasonable state of repair

Key building components should be in good condition. If they are old and in need of repair or replacement then the property is not decent. Key components include:

• external walls
• the roof and/or chimney
• windows and doors
• central heating boilers, gas fires or storage heaters
• plumbing system
• electrics

Have reasonably modern facilities and services

A house is considered non - decent if it has three or more of the following:

• a kitchen which is 20 years old or more
• a kitchen with adequate space and layout
• a bathroom which is 30 years old or more
• an appropriately located bathroom and toilet
• adequate noise insulation
• adequate size and layout of common entrance areas if it is in a block of flats

Provide a reasonable degree of warmth

All houses should have efficient heating and effective insulation. It should have one of the following:

• gas or oil programmable central heating
• electric storage heaters
• warm air system
• under-floor system
• programmable LPG/solid fuel central heating
• similarly efficient heating system developed in the future