Decent Homes

The Government believes that everyone should have the opportunity to live in a decent home.

Decent homes are important for the health and wellbeing of the people who live in them, as well as for the wider community - poor housing can lead to run-down areas and affect house prices and lead to higher crime levels.

A decent home meets the following four criteria:

1. It is free from Category 1 Hazards (assessed using the Housing Health and Safety Rating System)
2. It is in a reasonable state of repair
3. It has reasonably modern facilities and services
4. It provides a reasonable degree of thermal comfort

Further detailed guidance on the definition of a Decent Home, including the lifetime of building components for criterion 2, can be found in 'A Decent Home: definition and guidance for implementation, updated June 2006' on Communities and Local Government website.

I rent my home from a Registered Social Landlord - what does the Decent Homes Standard mean for me?

In 2000 the Government set a target to all social housing providers, that all homes should meet the Decent Homes Standard by 2010.

All Registered Social Landlords will be well on the way to improving all their homes to the Decent Homes Standard - some may already have been completed. Progress reports from the Government state that 95% of housing will meet the target by 2010, with new targets set for those that miss the deadline. To find out if any further improvements are planned for your home, contact your landlord.

I own my home / rent it from a private landlord - what does the Decent Homes Standard mean for me?

In 2002, the Government extended their target to include private sector housing occupied by vulnerable households. The specific target is that by 2010, 70% of vulnerable households living in private sector housing will live in a decent home. 'Vulnerable' is defined as being in receipt of certain income or disability related benefits.

While the target is no longer in force since 2007, the Government have stated that they will continue to monitor it as a 'legacy target'. Cheshire East remains committed to improving housing for vulnerable households, through its Interim Private Sector Assistance Policy (PDF, 412KB).

The most up to date picture we have in Cheshire East is as follows:

A further housing condition survey will be carried out to update these figures. It is important to note that some owners and landlords will carry out their own repairs and improvements, so action taken by Cheshire East Council won't be all that is happening to improve housing standards. The Warm Front programme for heating and insulation will also be contributing to improvements.

Contact us

Contact the Private Sector Housing team for more details.