According to data from an inspection and inventory software company, around 21% of private rentals currently fall short of the Decent Homes Standard (DHS)—a benchmark the government aims to apply to the private market through the Renters’ Rights Bill.
Originally designed for social housing in 2006, the DHS sets minimum criteria for safety, structural integrity, heating, and basic amenities. Now, under the Renters’ Rights Bill—which also proposes scrapping fixed-term tenancies and banning no-fault evictions—the same standards could soon become mandatory across the private rental landscape.
The latest government data, approximately 1.027 million private rented homes in England fail to meet the Decent Homes Standard. That’s more than one in five properties—units that could be deemed legally unfit for letting if the Renters’ Rights Bill is enacted without changes, unless landlords carry out substantial improvements.
“Over a million privately rented homes will require significant upgrades,” warned Sián Hemming-Metcalfe, Operations Director of the firm: “That’s a massive, time-intensive, and costly task—especially without a clear support structure. The likely outcome? Widespread non-compliance or accelerated landlord sell-offs.” The government has launched a consultation on overhauling the Decent Homes Standard, with responses open until September. Under current proposals, landlords would have until either 2035 or 2037 to upgrade their properties, mirroring plans for mandatory minimum EPC ratings by 2030. Ostensibly, this extended timetable offers ample breathing room, but many landlords doubt it reflects on-the-ground market realities.
“This is the most disruptive rental sector reform in a generation,” warns Hemming-Metcalfe from scrapping Section 21 notices to mandating pet-friendly agreements and now enforcing stricter decency thresholds. He says landlords are navigating a maze of new rules without any clear roadmap for support.
Despite the Decent Homes Standard applying to social housing for nearly twenty years, 10.3%t of that stock still falls short. With older, lower-value properties concentrated in less affluent private markets, experts predict the compliance challenge for private landlords will far exceed what social housing has faced.
Many landlords welcome the clarity that statutory benchmarks provide, but a vocal minority argues the deferred enforcement dates serve political convenience at the expense of practical effectiveness, postponing vital investment and support in the sector.
“Deferring implementation until 2035 or later isn’t strategic—it’s negligent,” Hemming-Metcalfe added. “It legitimises inaction and leaves millions of tenants stuck in substandard homes for another decade.”
Regulatory turbulence threatens private landlords who are already under pressure from rising mortgage costs, hostile public narratives, and shifting rent controls now face a fresh compliance battleground, this time enforced by potential legal penalties. Unlike energy performance certificates, which target only a property’s environmental efficiency, the Decent Homes Standard demands a broader set of criteria, covering structural soundness, adequate insulation, and basic interior amenities.
Critics warn that the government’s plan lacks strategic cohesion. With some 3.78 million homes across all tenures—around 14.9 percent of England’s housing—currently failing to meet the DHS, imposing a strict legal threshold on the private rented sector without any dedicated funding could slash the available stock just as tenant demand reaches unprecedented levels.
“This Renters’ Rights Bill, if rolled out as it stands, will force out already compliant landlords and leave renters stranded,” says Paul Barber, a private landlord from Leicester. “It’s another wave of high-profile reforms that ignore the everyday financial and operational challenges we face.”
While the Renters’ Rights Bill remains in consultation, now is the moment for landlords to conduct a thorough review of their portfolios. Identifying which properties fall below the proposed DHS is crucial—not only to stay on the right side of the law but also to safeguard the long-term worth of their investments in an increasingly strict regulatory climate.
Ultimately, whether these reforms drive meaningful improvements that causes a mass exodus from the private rental market hinges less on the letter of the law and more on whether the government backs up its standards with the practical support landlords need. As it stands, landlords are being told to raise the bar without being given the tools to do so.