Decent Homes Standard in the private rented sector: 2035

What is the Decent Homes Standard?

The Decent Homes Standard is a government standard that sets the minimum condition a rented home must meet. The first version was introduced in 2001 and required social housing to reach it by 2010. It does not currently apply to private landlords as a whole.

On 28 January 2026 the government published its response to a consultation that ran from 2 July to 12 September 2025, together with a policy statement setting out a new Decent Homes Standard. The government says the new standard is designed to ensure that all rented homes in England are decent, safe and warm, and it will cover social and private renting alike.

This guide explains the new standard for private landlords in England. Housing standards in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are set separately.

Sources: GOV.UK: the new Decent Homes Standard, policy statement (28 January 2026) · GOV.UK: consultation on a reformed Decent Homes Standard for social and privately rented homes

The five criteria of the new Decent Homes Standard

The new standard has five criteria, lettered A to E. The table gives the heading of each one from the policy statement and what it means in practice.

Criterion B is the longest. The policy statement names key building components that are each assessed, including the wall structure, roof structure and covering, chimneys, windows, external doors, kitchen, bathroom, electrical system, heating system, fire alarm systems and, in blocks, lifts. Criterion D requires a primary heating system that heats the whole home and can be programmed by the tenant.

Criterion E deals with damp and mould directly. Under it, a damp and mould hazard is scored with the Housing Health and Safety Rating System, which produces a band from A (most dangerous) to J (safest). The policy statement says the criterion is failed if damp and mould is assessed anywhere from band A to band H.

Sources: GOV.UK: the new Decent Homes Standard, policy statement (28 January 2026)

Decent Homes Standard in the private rented sector: status and date

The new Decent Homes Standard will apply to the private rented sector from 2035. The policy statement says it will apply from 2035 to both the social and private rented sectors, at which point regulation and enforcement against it will begin. The government response puts it another way: all rented properties will be required to meet the new standard by 2035 at the latest.

The consultation had asked whether the date should be 2035 or 2037. The government chose 2035. For social housing the policy statement names 1 April 2035. For private renting we could find a year on GOV.UK but no day, so we have not given one.

It is not law for private landlords yet. The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 places a duty on private landlords to make sure their properties meet standards to be set out in regulations, and the government says it will bring forward the legislation to bring the standard into force by 2035. Those regulations have not been made. The policy statement also asks landlords not to delay all action until the end of the implementation period.

Sources: GOV.UK: the new Decent Homes Standard, policy statement (28 January 2026) · GOV.UK: reformed Decent Homes Standard consultation, government response · GOV.UK: implementing the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, roadmap

What already applies to private landlords today

Part of the standard is already the law. The policy statement points out that Part 1 of the Housing Act 2004 already requires private rented homes to meet criterion A, by being free of category 1 hazards. A council that finds a category 1 hazard has a duty to act.

The Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 and the duty to repair also continue to apply. The safety checks covered in our guides to gas safety certificate costs, EICR costs and smoke and carbon monoxide alarms are separate legal duties with their own deadlines, and all of them are in force now.

So the honest position for a private landlord in 2026 is this: there is no Decent Homes Standard inspection to pass yet, but a council can already act on serious hazards, a tenant can already go to court over an unfit home, and the standard shows where the bar will be set.

Sources: GOV.UK: the new Decent Homes Standard, policy statement (28 January 2026)

How the standard will be enforced against private landlords

Local councils will enforce the standard in private renting, using Part 1 of the Housing Act 2004. The policy statement describes two tiers. Where a home fails criterion A, the council will have a duty to take enforcement action. For every other requirement it will have a power to act, but not a legal duty.

Councils will also have a new power to issue an immediate civil penalty of up to £7,000 where a landlord has failed to take reasonably practicable steps to deal with the problem. Enforcement can include requiring the landlord to put the failure right, and not complying with a council notice or order will be a criminal offence. The policy statement says maximum fines increase from £30,000 to £40,000.

The policy statement allows for cases where a landlord cannot comply, including where tenants refuse access and where physical or planning factors prevent the work. Tenants will also be able to take complaints to the Private Landlord Ombudsman, which nearly all private landlords will have to join.

Sources: GOV.UK: the new Decent Homes Standard, policy statement (28 January 2026) · GOV.UK: reformed Decent Homes Standard consultation, government response · GOV.UK: guide to the Renters’ Rights Act

How the private sector rules differ from social housing

The five criteria are the same for both sectors. What differs is who checks and when. In social housing, compliance is regulated by the Regulator of Social Housing, and the government has said it will direct the Regulator to require the new standard from 1 April 2035. In private renting there is no regulator of that kind: enforcement is by the housing team at the local council, property by property.

The energy efficiency dates differ too. Social landlords are to meet EPC C or equivalent on one measure by 2030 and a second by 2039. Private landlords have a single date of 1 October 2030. The policy statement also sets tenant involvement duties for social landlords that have no private sector equivalent.

Sources: GOV.UK: the new Decent Homes Standard, policy statement (28 January 2026) · GOV.UK: reformed Decent Homes Standard consultation, government response

What the government decided to leave out

Two proposals from the consultation did not make it into the standard. The government response says it will not introduce a mandatory requirement on floor coverings, citing the cost of improving existing homes. It will explore the issue through guidance and a pilot with social housing providers instead.

It also decided against further home security requirements for external doors and windows, saying around half of those who responded felt security was already sufficiently covered. Doors and windows remain part of criterion B as building components that must be in reasonable repair.

For a private landlord this means a home with bare floors will not fail the standard for that reason alone, and there is no new lock specification to meet. Child-resistant window restrictors are the notable physical requirement that stayed in.

Sources: GOV.UK: reformed Decent Homes Standard consultation, government response

Energy efficiency: the part with an earlier date

Criterion D brings the minimum energy efficiency standard into the Decent Homes Standard, and it has its own, earlier date. The policy statement says all new and existing domestic private rented properties must be at EPC C or equivalent by 1 October 2030, with a £10,000 cost cap.

That energy standard is also announced policy and not yet law. What is decided, what is still to be legislated and what the current minimum is are set out in our guide to EPC rules for landlords.

Sources: GOV.UK: the new Decent Homes Standard, policy statement (28 January 2026)

How a private landlord can prepare

There is time, and the detailed regulations are still to come, so the sensible approach is to fold the standard into work you would be planning in any case. A property that is in good repair, free of serious hazards, warm and dry is most of the way there.

Damp and mould rules may tighten sooner than 2035, through the separate extension of Awaab’s Law to private landlords. TenancyDesk keeps each property’s certificates and dates in one record, which makes a condition review quicker.

• Walk each property against criteria A to E and write down anything that would plainly fail.
• Deal first with anything that could be a category 1 hazard, because that part is already enforceable.
• Check that the heating warms the whole home and that the tenant can set times and temperatures.
• Look at windows above ground level and note which would need child-resistant restrictors.
• Record every report of damp or mould, what caused it and what you did.
• Plan larger jobs, such as a roof, windows or a heating system, for the gaps between tenancies.
• Keep the property’s safety documents together, using our landlord certificates checklist.

Sources: GOV.UK: the new Decent Homes Standard, policy statement (28 January 2026)

Common questions