"If the DHS proposal becomes law, over a million privately rented homes will require significant upgrades. That’s a massive, time-intensive, and costly task, especially without a clear support structure. The likely outcome? Widespread non-compliance or accelerated landlord sell-offs"
- Sian Hemming-Metcalfe - Inventory Base
More than one in five privately rented homes in England currently fail to meet the Decent Homes Standard (DHS), according to new analysis by Inventory Base. These properties could become illegal to rent if proposed reforms under the Renters’ Rights Bill (RRB) are enacted.
The DHS is a government-defined baseline for housing conditions, currently applicable only to social housing, including council-owned properties and those managed by housing associations. However, the RRB includes provisions to expand the scope of the DHS to cover private rentals as well.
As part of the legislative process, the government has opened a consultation on a reformed version of the DHS, covering both social and privately rented homes. This consultation will run until September, with proposed implementation deadlines set for either 2035 or 2037. The extended timeline is intended to allow private landlords enough time to bring their properties up to standard. These reforms are also tied to new minimum energy efficiency requirements set to apply across all tenancies by 2030.
Inventory Base reviewed the latest available government data and found that approximately 3.78 million homes in England—14.9% of the national housing stock—fall below the DHS.
Among social housing, 10.3% of properties remain non-compliant despite the DHS being in place since 2006. This equates to an estimated 428,000 homes.
In the private housing sector overall, 15.8% of homes do not meet the required standards. However, when isolating the private rented sector—excluding owner-occupied homes, which will not be impacted by the RRB reforms—21% of properties are found to be below the DHS. This represents an estimated 1.027 million homes.
If the RRB passes with the proposed DHS changes intact, these homes will require significant upgrades to remain legally rentable, potentially placing considerable financial strain on landlords across the country.
“The Renters’ Rights Bill represents one of the most disruptive overhauls of England’s rental sector in a generation,” said Sián Hemming-Metcalfe, operations director at Inventory Base. “Landlords will face enormous pressure navigating the transition, from the end of fixed-term ASTs and no-fault evictions, to new rules on pets and a sweeping expansion of the Decent Homes Standard.”
“If the DHS proposal becomes law, over a million privately rented homes will require significant upgrades,” Hemming-Metcalfe explained. “That’s a massive, time-intensive, and costly task, especially without a clear support structure. The likely outcome? Widespread non-compliance or accelerated landlord sell-offs.”
“Agents and landlords need clarity now,” she added. “They must assess where they stand, what actions will be required by 2035 or 2037, and how tools like property inspections can close the gap between today’s standards and tomorrow’s expectations.”
“While consultation is important, deferring implementation until 2035 or later isn’t strategic—it’s negligent,” Hemming-Metcalfe continued. “The delay legitimises inaction and leaves millions of tenants stuck in substandard homes for another decade, despite the fact we already have the data and tools to start driving progress. What’s missing is the urgency—and the investment—to build the infrastructure needed to scale change.”
