Does the Decent Homes Standard apply to private landlords?

Not yet. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 lets the government apply a new Decent Homes Standard to private rented homes in England, and its January 2026 policy statement says it will apply from 2035.

Until now the Decent Homes Standard has only covered social housing. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 gives ministers the power to set the same kind of standard for private lets, enforced by councils. This page explains where that stands as at 16 October 2026 and what the planned standard asks of a landlord. It is general information for landlords in England. For your own case, check GOV.UK or get help from a solicitor or housing adviser.

Where the law stands

The Act covers what it calls qualifying residential premises: homes and HMOs in England let on an assured tenancy (including an assured agricultural occupancy) or a regulated tenancy, supported exempt accommodation, some homelessness accommodation, and the common parts of blocks containing such flats. Social housing let by registered providers is left out because it is regulated separately.

The five criteria

The policy statement says a home must meet all 5 criteria to be decent.

Key components listed include the wall structure, roof, windows, external doors, kitchen, bathroom, electrical system, heating system and fire alarms. A window counts as a fall risk if the floor level drops by more than 600mm outside, it opens more than 100mm, the guard height is under 1100mm, and there is no working restrictor.

How councils will enforce it

The standard will be split into two tiers. For criterion A failures, councils will have a duty to act and can issue on-the-spot fines of up to £7,000. For the other criteria they will have a power to act but no duty. The statement also says the government will raise the maximum fine for not complying with council enforcement action from £30,000 to £40,000. Councils will take account of cases where tenants refuse access or physical or planning factors prevent the work.

What this means for you

Nothing in the new standard can be enforced against you until the regulations are made and in force. But the hazard rules already apply: homes must be free of category 1 hazards today, and since 22 June 2026 councils can fine up to £7,000 where a landlord has not taken reasonably practicable steps to deal with one.

Take a typical two-bedroom terraced house let on an assured periodic tenancy. Under the planned standard you would check for upstairs windows that need restrictors, whether the boiler heats every room and has a programmer the tenant can use, and whether the kitchen or bathroom needs more than one item replaced. The government says landlords should not leave all the work until 2035. Whether a cost counts as a repair or an improvement matters for your tax, so keep the invoices with a note of what the work was. Our guide to what expenses landlords can claim covers the split.

Energy efficiency runs on its own, earlier timetable. The policy statement plans EPC C or equivalent by 1 October 2030 for private lets, with a £10,000 per property cost cap, under separate energy efficiency regulations. See our guide on what EPC rating a rental property needs.

Steps to get ready

1. Check each property against the 5 criteria in the table, starting with criterion A hazards, which are already enforceable.
2. Look for damp and mould and deal with any that tenants report. Awaab's Law is also being extended to private lets; see Awaab's Law for private landlords.
3. List the key components that are near the end of their life, such as the roof covering, boiler, kitchen and bathroom, and plan when to replace them.
4. Fit window restrictors where a window meets the fall-risk test.
5. Get an up-to-date EPC and work out what would reach band C before 1 October 2030.
6. Watch for the detailed GOV.UK guidance and the regulations, and recheck your plan when they are published.

The landlord section has more guides on the Renters' Rights Act. If you also need to know when Making Tax Digital starts for you, the free MTD check takes two minutes.