Decent Homes Standard Extended to Private Landlords: What It Means for You

Reviewed by Bradley Askew, Solicitor (non-practising), England & Wales. Reviewed 14 July 2026.

What changed, and what hasn't

The Decent Homes Standard (DHS) has applied to social housing since 2001. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 gives government the legal power to extend it to the private rented sector for the first time — but the government confirmed on 28 January 2026 that the standard won't actually be enforceable in the PRS until 2035. That's not a typo, and it isn't the same thing as "not real" — the power already exists in law, the detailed content of the standard has already been published, and one of its five elements (freedom from Category 1 hazards) is already a legal requirement today, under existing Housing Act 2004 law that predates the Renters' Rights Act entirely. What's missing is the regulations that switch the other four elements on. Read our Renters' Rights Act 2025 hub for how this fits with the wider reform, including the abolition of Section 21 from 1 May 2026.

At a glance

• Who this is for: private landlords and letting agents in England, planning ahead for a confirmed but not-yet-enforceable standard.
• Governing law: Renters' Rights Act 2025, Part 3 (section 100), which inserts new sections 2A and 2B into the Housing Act 2004.
• Current status: the power to regulate exists in law; the substantive standard has been published; enforcement in the private rented sector starts in 2035, per the government's 28 January 2026 policy statement.
• What already applies: freedom from Category 1 HHSRS hazards — but that's existing law under Part 1 of the Housing Act 2004, not a new Renters' Rights Act requirement.
• What's new since January 2026: the reformed standard has five criteria, not the four most guides still describe — a new damp and mould criterion has been added.

What the Decent Homes Standard is, and how it reaches private landlords

The Decent Homes Standard was introduced in 2001 and last substantively updated in 2006, in a document called A Decent Home: Definition and guidance for implementation. Until now, it has only ever applied to social housing — it's the tool the Regulator of Social Housing uses to hold housing associations and councils to account for the condition of their stock. It has never been a legal requirement for private landlords.

That changes under the Renters' Rights Act 2025. Section 100 of the Act amends section 1 of the Housing Act 2004 and inserts two new sections — 2A and 2B — into Part 1 of that Act. Section 2A gives the Secretary of State power to make regulations specifying requirements for "qualifying residential premises" covering: the state of repair of a property; things provided for occupiers' safety, security or comfort; and how the property is kept at a suitable temperature. Section 2B defines "qualifying residential premises" broadly enough to catch ordinary private tenancies (assured tenancies under the Housing Act 1988, and a small number of other tenancy types), while carving social housing out — social landlords stay under the Regulator of Social Housing's separate regime.

Crucially, this is an enabling power, not a standard that took effect the moment the Act received Royal Assent (27 October 2025) or commenced on 1 May 2026 alongside Section 21's abolition. The regulations that will actually impose the requirements have not been made. What the government has done instead is publish, following consultation, exactly what those regulations are expected to contain and when they'll bite — which is the substance of the rest of this page.

Is it in force yet? The honest answer

No — not as an enforceable standard for private landlords. Here's the precise position as at July 2026:

1. The legal power exists. Sections 2A and 2B of the Housing Act 2004 (inserted by the Renters' Rights Act 2025) are the framework the government will use, but they don't themselves impose any requirement on a landlord — they only allow regulations to be made.
2. The content has been decided, but not commenced. The government ran a consultation from 2 July to 12 September 2025, and published its response and a detailed policy statement on 28 January 2026, setting out exactly what the new standard will require (below).
3. The date is confirmed: 2035. The policy statement is explicit that "the new DHS will apply from 2035 ... to both the social and private rented sectors, at which point regulation and enforcement against these standards by the Regulator of Social Housing and local authority housing teams will begin." Landlords have no legal obligation to meet criteria B–E of the new standard before then.
4. One piece is already live — but it isn't new. Criterion A (freedom from Category 1 hazards) already applies to every private rented home today, because Part 1 of the Housing Act 2004 has required this since long before the Renters' Rights Act. See our Housing Act 2004 guide for how HHSRS hazard assessment and enforcement already works.
5. One enforcement power may arrive earlier. The government's policy statement says it intends a new immediate civil penalty of up to £7,000 for landlords who fail to take reasonably practicable steps against a Category 1 hazard to "come into force ahead of the full DHS," subject to secondary legislation. Ahead of full 2035 commencement doesn't mean immediately — check GOV.UK for the current position before assuming this applies in your area.

If you're reading advice elsewhere that treats the Decent Homes Standard as a current PRS requirement beyond Category 1 hazards, treat it with caution — as at July 2026, it is not.

The five criteria of the new Decent Homes Standard

The reformed standard published in January 2026 has five criteria — an addition to the four most people still associate with the Decent Homes Standard. All five must be met for a home to be "decent."

Criterion A — Free of the most dangerous hazards

A home must be free of Category 1 hazards, assessed under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS). Since the 23 June 2026 HHSRS reform, these are labelled the "High" band rather than the old A–C bands, but the underlying test is unchanged: broadly, a hazard serious enough that an occupier is likely to need medical attention within 12 months if it isn't fixed. This is the one criterion that already applies to private rented homes today, independently of the Renters' Rights Act.

Criterion B — Reasonable state of repair

A home fails this criterion if one or more "key" building components (such as the roof structure, external walls, windows, external doors, kitchen, bathroom, electrical system or heating system) need replacing or major repair, or if two or more "other" components (such as guttering or handrails) do. The reformed standard extends the list of components that count, adding items like lifts and mechanical ventilation that weren't previously covered.

Criterion C — Core facilities and services

A flat must provide at least three of: an adequately sized kitchen, an appropriately located bathroom and WC, adequate external noise insulation, and adequate common entrance areas; a house must provide at least two of the first three. From 2035, every home must also have child-resistant window restrictors — overridable by an adult — fitted to any window that presents a fall risk to children.

Criterion D — Reasonable thermal comfort

A home's primary heating system must heat the whole property and be programmable by the tenant. On top of that, the property must meet Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES), assessed against new Energy Performance Certificate metrics once those are finalised. MEES has its own, earlier compliance date for the private rented sector — EPC C or equivalent by 1 October 2030 — enforced separately from the wider DHS, under the existing Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) Regulations 2015 framework rather than through Housing Act 2004 enforcement powers.

Criterion E — Free of damp and mould

This is the new addition. A home must be free of damp and mould assessed as anything more serious than the least severe HHSRS bands. Landlords will be expected both to respond when damp or mould is reported and to take a proactive, preventative approach, in line with government guidance on damp and mould in rented housing. This criterion works alongside, not instead of, Awaab's Law, which already gives social tenants fixed repair timeframes and which the government has said it will extend to the private rented sector, with a consultation still to come.

How it will be enforced in the private rented sector

Once the 2035 commencement date arrives, enforcement of the Decent Homes Standard in the PRS will sit with local authorities — not the Regulator of Social Housing, which handles the social rented sector separately. The government's policy statement sets out a two-tier approach:

• Criterion A failures (Category 1/High hazards) — local authorities will have a duty to take enforcement action, as they already do today under Part 1 of the Housing Act 2004, plus the ability to issue an on-the-spot civil penalty of up to £7,000 where a landlord failed to take reasonably practicable steps.
• Criteria B–E failures — local authorities will have a power, not a duty, to take enforcement action, giving them discretion to prioritise the most serious cases (for example, following a tenant complaint).

Where a local authority takes enforcement action — typically an improvement notice requiring specified remedial works — failing to comply is a criminal offence, and a landlord can be prosecuted or fined up to £40,000 (raised from £30,000 as part of the wider Renters' Rights Act 2025 civil penalty reforms). Enforcement can also be taken against a superior landlord — for example, a freeholder responsible for common parts of a building containing leasehold flats — where that's the appropriate target.

Guidance covering circumstances where a landlord genuinely can't or shouldn't be expected to meet a particular criterion — such as a tenant refusing access, or a physical or planning constraint that prevents compliance — is still to be published. Local authorities will use their discretion in these cases; there is no automatic exemption simply because a property is older housing stock.

What landlords should do now

• Don't panic about 2035, but don't ignore it either. Nothing in this page requires action before the standard is commenced, but repair and thermal comfort work is often the slowest and most expensive to plan for, and starting early spreads the cost.
• Fix Category 1/High hazards as a priority now. This is the one part of the standard already enforceable, and the £7,000 immediate civil penalty power may commence before the rest of the standard.
• Separate the MEES deadline in your mind. The energy-efficiency element of Criterion D has its own earlier compliance date of 1 October 2030 — plan for that on its own timeline, not the 2035 date.
• Audit your stock against all five criteria, not just the four most guidance still quotes — the damp and mould criterion is new and easy to miss if you're working from older material.
• Keep records of remedial work and inspections. As with existing HHSRS compliance, evidence of proactive maintenance is the best protection once enforcement begins.
• Watch for further guidance from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on exemptions and transitional arrangements, expected later in 2026.

Not legal advice

This page explains the current and proposed law as published by the UK government and in the Renters' Rights Act 2025 itself. It is general information for landlords in England, not legal advice on your specific circumstances, and reading it does not create a solicitor–client relationship. TenancyAgreementService.co.uk is a legal information and document publication, written from a non-practising solicitor's perspective, and is not a firm of solicitors regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. If you're facing enforcement action, a civil penalty notice, or need advice on a specific property, consult a regulated solicitor or your local authority's private rented sector team.