Decent Homes - a Summary Guidance

In July 2000, in order to link increased spending to better outcomes, the Government established a target to “ensure that all social housing meets set standards of decency by 2010, by reducing the number of households living in social housing that does not meet these standards by a third between 2001 and 2004, with most of the improvement taking place in the most deprived local authority areas1”

The HIP documentation in 2001 consequently required information on the number of properties 'Not Decent' in addition to identifying the number of properties Unfit

Preliminary guidance was given by the DETR in Annex D of the Statistical Annex to the Business Plan. (Draft 12^th March 2001)

Final guidance was published in March 2002.

While the target relates to social housing i.e. that owned by Local Authorities and Registered Social Landlords (Housing Associations), the decent home standard can be applied to dwellings which are owner occupied or rented privately. As part of their strategic function, local authorities should be assessing the relative condition problems in each tenure, particularly where vulnerable occupiers are in need of support.

A Decent home has been defined as one which meets all the following four criteria:-

1: Is above the current statutory minimum standard for housing

Until April 2006 the current statutory minimum standard was the Fitness standard.

With the implementation of Part 1 of the Housing Act 2004 on 6 April 2006, HHSRS replaces the Housing Fitness Standard as the first criterion of the Decent Homes standard. HHSRS is a risk assessment procedure and does not set a standard.

To be decent, a dwelling should be free of category 1 hazards, and the existence of such hazards should be a trigger for remedial action unless practical steps cannot be taken without disproportionate expense or disruption.

2: Is in a reasonable state of repair

Dwellings that fail this second criterion are those where either:-

	1 or more key building components are old and, because of their condition need replacing or major repair, or
	2 or more other building components are old and, because of their condition need replacing or major repair

Building Components

Key Components are considered as those which, if in poor condition, could have an immediate impact on the integrity of the building or could have safety implications =

	Walls
	Roof Structure and covering
	Windows/doors
	Chimneys
	Central Heating Boilers
	Gas Fires
	Storage Radiators
	Electrics

Other components are all other elements that have a lesser impact on the occupants (e.g. Kitchens, Bathrooms and Heating distribution systems)

'Old'

A component is considered old if it is older than its expected or standard lifetime (as defined by the MRA lifetimes). A table of component lifetimes to be used is given below

'And In Poor Condition'

Components are defined as in poor condition if, at the time of inspection, they need to be replaced or need major repair, as defined in the table, below.

Component	Lifetimes to be used			Definition of ‘Poor Condition’
	Houses	Flats < 6 storey	Flats 6+ Storey
Wall Structure Finish Brickwork	80 60 30	80 60 30	80 60 30	Replace 10% or more or repair 30% or more Replace/repoint/renew 50% or more Replace/repoint/renew 50% or more
Lintels	60	60	60
Roof Structure Covering	50 50	30 30	30 30	Replace 10% or more or strengthen 30% or more Replace or isolated repairs to 50% or more
Chimney	50	50	N/a	1 chimney need partial rebuilding or more
Windows Doors Windows Doors	40 40	30 30	30 30	Replace at least one window or repair/replace sash or member to at least two Replace at least one
Heating - Boiler Distribution Storage	15 40 30	15 40 30	15 40 30	Replace or major repair Replace or major repair Replace or major repair
Kitchens	30	30	30	Major repair or replace 3 or more items out of the 6 (CW supply, HW, sink, cooking provision, cupboards, worktop)
Bathrooms	40	40	40	Major repair or replace 2 or more items (bath, WHB, WC)
Electrical	30	30	30	Replace or major repair to system

3: Has modern facilities and services

A dwelling is defined as 'non-decent' if it lacks three or more of the following:-

	A reasonably modern kitchen (<20 years old)
	A kitchen with adequate space and layout
	A reasonably modern bathroom (<30 years old)
	An appropriately located bathroom and WC
	Adequate noise insulation (where external noise is a problem)
	Adequate size and layout of common areas for blocks of flats

A dwelling which fails only one or two of these is still to be considered decent

These standards are used to calculate the national standard and have been measured in the English House Condition Survey (EHCS) for many years. For example, in the EHCS:

	A kitchen failing on adequate space and layout would be one that was too small to contain all the required items (sink, cupboards cooker space, worktops etc) appropriate to the size of the dwelling.
	An inappropriately located bathroom and WC is one where the main bathroom or WC is located in a bedroom or accessed through a bedroom (unless the bedroom is not used or the dwelling is for a single person). A dwelling would also fail if the main WC is external or located on a different floor to the nearest wash hand basin, or if a WC without a wash hand basin opens on to a kitchen in an inappropriate area, for example next to the food preparation area.
	Inadequate insulation from external airborne noise would be where there are problems with, for example, traffic (rail, road and aeroplanes) or factory noise. Landlords should ensure reasonable insulation from these problems through installation of double glazing.
	Inadequate size and layout of common entrance areas for blocks of flats would be one with insufficient room to manoeuvre easily for example where there are narrow access ways with awkward corners and turnings, steep staircases, inadequate landings, absence of handrails, low headroom etc.

Landlords may work to different detailed standards than those set out above. In some cases there may be limiting factors such as physical or planning restrictions that make improvements necessary to meet this criterion impossible. In these instances the dwelling should be assessed, so as to determine what ought to be done and then any limiting factors will need to be considered. Some improvements may be possible even if not all are. A dwelling would not fail this criterion where it is impossible to make the required improvements to components for planning reasons.

4: Provides a reasonable degree of thermal comfort

The requirement that a dwelling has both:

	Effective insulation; and
	Efficient heating

Efficient heating Efficient heating is defined as any gas or oil programmable central heating or electric storage heaters or programmable LPG/solid fuel central heating or similarly efficient heating systems which are developed in the future. Heating sources which provide less energy efficient options fail the decent home standard

Effective insulation : Because of the differences in efficiency between gas/oil heating systems and the other heating systems listed, the level of insulation that is appropriate also differs:

	For dwellings with gas/oil programmable heating, cavity wall insulation (if there are cavity walls that can be insulated effectively) or at least 50mm loft insulation (if there is loft space) is an effective package of insulation;
	For dwellings heated by electric storage heaters/LPG/programmable solid fuel central heating a higher specification of insulation is required: at least 200mm of loft insulation (if there is a loft) and cavity wall insulation (if there are cavity walls that can be insulated effectively).