Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee publish report on Housing Conditions in the Social Rented Sector
On the 9th of Febuary the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee, chaired by Florence Eshalomi MP, published a report on the conditions of homes in the social rented sector.
The report notes that the minimum standard of what is considered a decent home has not changed in twenty years and says, “it is not acceptable that nearly 430,000 social homes still fail to meet even this basic standard”.
The Committee’s Housing conditions in the social rented sector report calls for the Government to use the delayed Long-term Housing Strategy to deliver an approach which addresses the twin objectives of building more social homes while ensuring conditions in existing housing stock are improved.
The report recommends the Government establish a new, modern Decent Homes Programme that supports social landlords to raise the standard of social homes, which includes a pooled fund for improvements to social homes and a single housing quality framework to consolidate the regulatory requirements on social landlords.
Florence Eshalomi MP, Chair of the Housing, Communities and Local Government (HCLG) Committee said: “Whether it is residents living in poorly insulated homes, experiencing overcrowding, or enduring housing with damp or mould, it’s vital that Government measures, including Awaab’s Law and the New Decent Homes Standard, bring a meaningful improvement to social housing conditions.
“The Government deserves credit for the steps taken to rebuild the sector's financial capacity after years of underinvestment. However, we do have concerns about the resources available to social housing providers to meet the Government’s new social homes target while also raising standards over the decade.
“The Government’s Long-term Housing Strategy needs to set out a credible plan to tackle the need to improve existing housing stock while encouraging social landlords to build the new social homes the country needs.”
You can read the full report here.