Providing good quality homes

We are committed to making sure all our homes meet the Decent Homes Standard and are fit for human inhabitation.  

Decent Homes Standard 

The Decent Homes Standard sets the minimum standards that social homes are required to meet. 

A decent home meets the following four criteria:  

1. It meets the current statutory minimum standard for housing 
2. It is in a reasonable state of repair  
3. It has reasonably modern facilities and services 
4. It provides a reasonable degree of thermal comfort  

Find out more in the Governments A Decent Home: Definition and guidance for implementation document.

Right to a home fit for human habitation 

The Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 states that all housing providers must provide homes that are ‘fit for human habitation’, which means that they are safe, healthy and free from things that could cause serious harm. 

Whether a property is fit for human habitation or not will be decided by the courts. They will consider whether: 

• the building has been neglected and is in a bad condition 
• the building is unstable 
• there’s a serious problem with damp 
• it has an unsafe layout 
• there’s not enough natural light 
• there’s not enough ventilation 
• there is a problem with the supply of hot and cold water 
• there are problems with the drainage or the lavatories 
• it’s difficult to prepare and cook food or wash up 
• or any of the 29 hazards set out in the Housing Health and Safety (England) Regulations 2005 

Find out more on the Governments website

Monitoring and improving the condition of our homes 

We are confident that most of our homes meet the decent homes standard and are fit for human habitation.  We have a planned maintenance program to improve and replace components like roofs, boilers and kitchens to help make sure we keep our homes in good condition. 

We hold information on all the properties we manage. We employee an independent company to carry out stock condition surveys to monitor the condition, and update and verify the information we hold on all properties we manage.  

Find out more about stock condition surveys

If we identify any homes that do not meet these standards, we will put plans in place to rectify the issues.