Amenity Standards for Privately Rented dwellings

The definition of what is a decent home has been updated to reflect the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) which replaced the Housing Fitness Standard on 6th April 2006. Generally, a decent home meets the following criteria:

1. It meets the current statutory minimum standard for housing:
   • dwellings that contain one or more hazards assessed as serious (Category 1 Hazards) using the HHSRS will fail to meet this basic criterion
2. It is a reasonable state of repair:
   • dwellings which fail to meet this criterion are those where either:
     • one or more of the key building components are old and, because of their condition need replacing or major repair; or
     • two or more of the other building components are old and, because of their condition, need replacing or major repair.
3. It has reasonably modern facilities and services:
   • dwellings that fail to meet this criterion are those that lack three or more of the following:
     • a reasonably modern kitchen (less than 20 years old)
     • a kitchen with adequate space and layout
     • a reasonably modern bathroom (less than 30 years old)
     • aAn appropriately located bathroom and WC
     • adequate insulation against external noise (where external noise is a problem); and
     • adequate size and layout of common areas for blocks of flats
4. It provides a reasonable degree of thermal comfort:
   • this criterion requires a dwelling to have both effective insulation and efficient heating