Notice Board

Decent Homes

The policy statement confirms that the new DHS will apply to both social rented and private rented sectors from 2035. This extended implementation timeframe is intended to allow landlords sufficient time to plan for and manage implementation effectively. In addition, the government is keen to ensure social landlords have the resources to support both improvements to their existing stock and continued delivery of new supply.

The new DHS will focus on condition as the primary factor for compliance, rather than the age of a property/ component.  See box for overview of the new DHS

The new DHS will also apply to supported housing and temporary accommodation; however, the government has recognised that there may be instances where it is not appropriate for landlords to meet certain elements of the DHS and further guidance on this will be available later this year. Additional guidance will also be published covering rented homes where the landlord is a leaseholder, as well as mixed‑tenure blocks containing both rented and owner‑occupied leasehold properties.

The new DHS will not include a mandatory requirement to provide floor coverings, although this was part of the consultation. Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook, in a parliamentary written statement, indicated that this decision reflects careful consideration of feedback received and the significant challenges that would be involved in implementing this as a mandatory requirement. However, the government recognises that many residents struggle to provide basic floor coverings and will look to identify cost-effective ways landlords can support tenants in need.

Other measures included as part of the consultation that have not been carried through to the new DHS include proposed enhanced home security measures and obligations to meet enhanced standards within the public realm (boundary walls, curtilage, pathways and steps, signage, external lighting, bin stores).

MEES (Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards)

The consultation response on MEES  confirms the requirement for social rented properties to achieve EPC C or equivalent by 1 April 2030.

The ‘dual metric’ approach set out in the consultation requiring providers to meet EPC C in two metrics, is retained. However, in response to concerns about deliverability and affordability, the timescale for full implementation has been extended. Social landlords will only be required to meet one metric by the 2030 deadline; the second metric must be achieved by 2039.

In addition, the ‘Fabric First’ principle will no longer be mandatory, allowing landlords to select which metric (smart, heat, or fabric) is best suited to their stock and tenant needs allowing flexibility where other metrics may deliver greater benefits.

A new, time‑limited ‘Spend Exemption’ will apply from 1 April 2030, capping required energy‑efficiency investment at £10,000 for a 10‑year period. Also, homes that are already compliant with EPC C with a valid certificate issued before the new EPC format is introduced will be able to rely on this certificate until it expires.

Two new research reports  have been published addressing growing concerns amongst social landlords around difficult ‘no access’ cases  within the context of tightening legal duties, such as those introduced under Awaab’s Law.

There are two complimentary reports based on research undertaken by HQN:

1. Opening the Door – the first systematic examination of the causes of ‘no access’, exploring why access is becoming more challenging and the solutions emerging across the sector.
2. Preparing for Awaab’s Law: Progress by social housing providers – an assessment of how councils and ALMOs have readied themselves for Phase 1 of Awaab’s Law, introduced in October 2025, and the pressures they anticipate as further phases come into force.

The research was commissioned by 5 partners in the council housing sector – the Local Government Association, the National Federation of ALMOs, the Councils with ALMOs Group, the Association of Retained Council Housing, and the Chartered Institute of Housing.

The final version of Savills updated analysis of the impact of different convergence options has now been published. The analysis was commissioned by CIH in partnership with the NHF, LGA,NFA, ARCH and CWAG.

The updated analysis models the potential impact of three convergence scenarios – £1, £2, and £3 per week and will inform responses to the governments consultation – How to implement social rent convergence.

Resume – Rent convergence analysis update

Annex – slide deck setting out detailed modelling assumptions

The government has set out its longer term plans for social and affordable housing, including five key steps which will underpin ‘the biggest increase in supply in a generation alongside a transformational and lasting change in the safety and quality of homes’.

The five steps are:

1. Deliver the biggest boost to grant funding in a generation
2. Rebuild the sector’s capacity to borrow and invest in new and existing supply
3. Establish an effective and stable regulatory regime
4. Reinvigorate housebuilding
5. Forge a new relationship with the sector to build at scale

The plan published to coincide with fiscal announcements in the Comprehensive Spending Review including:

• A 10-year £39 billion Social and Affordable Homes Programme (SAHP) to deliver around 300,000, at least 60% of which will be for social rent.
• A rental settlement based on CPI+1% for 10 years with the potential to include a convergence mechanism.
• £2.5 billion of low-interest loans over the Spending Review period to support the delivery of new social and affordable housing.

Delivering a decade of renewal for social and affordable housing

This report sets out in stark detail the scale of the homelessness crisis with councils facing unsustainable financial pressures as a result.

The report is calling for a more effective response at a national policy level and identifies  seven specific areas with identified recommendations for action by government.

Read a copy of the report here

Summary of Conclusions and Recommendations

1. Local authorities need more resources to focus on preventing homelessness.

In 2023/24 local authorities spent around £3.1 billion on homelessness of which £2.1 billion was used to provide temporary accommodation. Homelessness Prevention Grant funding amounted to about £440 million. In practice, the high numbers of people already in the homelessness system mean that local authorities use a significant portion of it to fund the provision of temporary accommodation, particularly in areas of poor affordability, rather than spending it on prevention work.

Recommendation: MHCLG needs to set out plans to incentivise and work with local authorities to improve homelessness prevention.

 2. It is unacceptable that B&B accommodation is being used routinely to house people rather than as a last resort.

As at June 2024 almost 6,000 homeless families with children were being housed in B&Bs, and almost 4,000 of these families had been there for longer than the statutory maximum period of six weeks.

Recommendation: MHCLG should strengthen its use of HAST advisers in supporting local authorities to reduce their use of B&B accommodation and provide support to local authorities with high rates of temporary accommodation to plan how to reduce their reliance on it.

3. Too many people are being placed in temporary accommodation outside of their local area.

The homelessness legislation and code of guidance state that local authorities should, as far as possible, avoid placing households out of area, however, over the period 2018–19 to 2023–24, the number of households placed out of area increased by 42%. There is a lack of data around how far away from their local areas people are being placed and the wider consequences resulting from this.

 Recommendation: MHCLG should improve its data on out of area placements as a matter of urgency and use the data to encourage better coordination between local authorities, to minimise the number of households placed out of area incentivise councils to use local providers.

 4. The government is not considering the impact on homelessness when setting Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates.

Capping and freezing LHA rates have reduced the income households can derive from benefits in real terms and 45% of households now face a shortfall between the LHA they receive and the rent they pay. Also, local authority temporary accommodation funding is essentially based on the 2011 LHA rate and has not kept up with rising temporary accommodation costs.

 Recommendation: DWP should write to the Committee setting out, in detail, its justification for the levels of LHA it has set, both for individuals and for local authorities with regard to the temporary accommodation subsidy.

 5. Tackling homelessness has long been hampered by the absence of a joined up, cross-government approach.

 Examples

• There are multiple funding streams that can be used to tackle homelessness, which can be challenging for local authorities to administer.
• There are cases of the Home Office outbidding local authorities when seeking to accommodate asylum seekers in their area.

Recommendation: MHCLG should provide the Committee with further details of how its proposed cross-government homelessness strategy will generate practical improvements,

 6. The homelessness problem is being exacerbated by a severe shortage in housing supply, and especially affordable housing.

 A significant ramping up of the affordable housing supply is required to achieve a substantial impact on homelessness levels, particularly in areas where homelessness pressures are acute.

 Recommendation: MHCLG should provide the Committee with an update on how its proposed new housing strategy will achieve practical improvements in the delivery of new homes.

7. Despite legislation designed to tackle well-established problems and gaps in regulation, MHCLG has made no progress in improving the oversight of the supported housing sector.

 The Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act came into force in August 2023. This brought forward national standards for support and looked to give local authorities power to tackle poor quality supported housing in their area, yet by the end of 2024 the Act had not been implemented. Ongoing gaps in regulation mean landlords can provide costly, sub-standard housing with little support, supervision or care.

Recommendation: MHCLG should implement the provisions of the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act as quickly as possible.

Reform of the planning system is a central priority for the new government as it offers the potential to address the current housing crisis whilst also delivering wider economic growth.

A consultation covering changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) has been issued setting out the government’s plans including:

• A new methodology for calculating local authority housing targets designed to support delivery of the Government’s manifesto commitment of 1.5 million new homes in this Parliament.
• A broader definition of brownfield land and an assumption that applications to develop brownfield land will be approved.
• Recognition that to achieve housebuilding targets, councils will need to consider development on parts of the Green Belt that are of low environmental quality, referred to as the ‘grey belt’.
• Clarifications around the ‘presumption in favour of sustainable development’ including new safeguards against poor quality development.
• Raising building densities in urban areas.
• Measures to improve the delivery of affordable and social housing with an increased priority and focus on social rent.

The consultation runs from 30^th August 2024 to 24^th September 2024