It’s being claimed that a fifth of English private rental properties have so-called ‘category one’ issues, making them fail a potential Decent Homes Standard.
The standard is currently applied to social rented homes only, but there is a government commitment to extend this to private rentals in the long term.
Cash house buyer Sell House Fast conducted a study which it claims reveals the percentage of non-decent homes and the most reported category one issues in English homes, with private renters coming out on top across many categories.
English regions by the percentage of ‘non-decent’ homes
| Rank | Region | Owner occupiers | Private renters | Local authority | Housing association |
| 1 | North West | 18.0% | 27.0% | 16.0% | 8.4% |
| 2 | Yorkshire and the Humber | 15.6% | 31.0% | 13.5% | 13.0% |
| 3 | East Midlands | 16.1% | 25.0% | 15.5% | 8.4% |
| 4 | West Midlands | 15.1% | 25.4% | 9.5% | 9.4% |
| 5 | South West | 15.6% | 21.1% | 14.7% | 9.6% |
| 6 | South East | 13.3% | 21.9% | 9.6% | 9.7% |
| 7 | North East | 12.7% | 22.7% | 19.4% | 4.3% |
| 9 | London | 9.0% | 12.4% | 12.3% | 12.1% |
| All homes | 14.3% | 21.1% | 12.1% | 9.3% |
The northwest of England has the highest percentage of homes falling into the non-decent category, with almost 20% not being up to a decent standard. The highest percentage was found in private rental properties in this region, 27% of which were non-decent, whereas only 8.4% of Housing Association homes were classified as non-decent.
The highest proportion of non-decent homes across England as a whole is found amongst private renters, 21% of all these homes fall into this category. Unlike homeowners, private tenants are usually responsible for reporting faults in their homes to their landlords, who are then responsible for repairing them – the evidence suggests that this system is not fixing as many faults as other living situations.
Most reported category one issues in English homes
| Rank | Hazard | Owner occupiers | Private renters | Social renters | All tenures |
| 1 | Falls on stairs | 3.5% | 4.2% | 1.3% | 3.3% |
| 2 | Excess cold | 2.7% | 2.3% | 0.3% | 2.2% |
| 3 | Falls on the level | 0.9% | 1.1% | 0.6% | 0.9% |
| 4 | Falls between levels | 0.7% | 0.6% | 0.3% | 0.7% |
| 5 | Damp | 0.3% | 1.5% | 0.7% | 0.6% |
| All Category 1 Hazards | 8.1% | 10.2% | 4.2% | 7.9% |
Tripping hazards and structural issues are especially problematic for private renters, falls on stairs can be extremely dangerous and lead to serious injury. Also, private rental homes don’t seem to be insulated or well-heated, as excessive cold and damp are a prevalent category one hazard, which tells us private renters could be losing out on expensive energy bills as well as having a higher risk of getting ill.
