It certainly seems as if upgrading the current Decent Homes Standard is on the cards following the Labour Party conference last week. Angela Rayner has stated that she "will work in partnership with the sector to deliver change and will clamp down on damp and mouldy homes" in both the social and private rented sector and "will consult and implement a new Decent Homes Standard for social and privately rented homes, to end the scandal of homes being unfit to live in".
The last Decent Homes Standard was set by the previous Labour government in 2006 to reflect the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) and it is certainly time to shine a light on the standard of housing since in 2023 it was reported by the Regulator of Social Housing in their statistical data return that 15,576 units of registered providers stock failed to meet the current Decent Homes Standard which was an increase of 130% on the 6,781 units reported for 2022. The data demonstrates that there is a significant problem with the standards of social rented accommodation across the country, highlighted by tragic consequences for tenants living in unhealthy and unsafe homes. As well as addressing basic safety measures the new standard may address key concerns for tenants such as thermal comfort, digital needs, and future proofing for climate change. In addition compliance standards may be tightened up for example checking electrical equipment more frequently and smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.
Landlords will quite rightly want to know where the costs of the upgraded standard will be met from with many landlords struggling to find the budgets to maintain existing housing at a decent standard at the moment.
The government have also pledged to extend Awaab's law which was introduced through the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023 which received royal assent earlier in 2024 and requires landlords to investigate and fix reported health hazards in specified timeframes. Clause 42 of the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023 inserts into social housing tenancy agreements an implied term that will require social housing landlords to comply with new requirements to be detailed in secondary legislation and the new government have pledged to now extend this to the private rented sector.
With the potential for an upgraded Decent Homes Standard and implementation of Awaab's law providers of social housing will need to future proof their long-term asset management contracts to allow for changes to the standards and to work collaboratively with their contractors and suppliers to rise to the new challenges.
Designing an effective procurement strategy from the outset is essential to provide flexibility of programme and specifications and to anticipate potential new funding streams which may influence the work to undertaken to homes. The appointment of a competent contractor for the right price will focus both parties on the core outcomes of quality and safety. Clients should avoid "race to the bottom" price evaluation formulae which set any relationship off on the wrong footing. Clients need to establish a pre-tender "should cost" model– one that includes all of the social value asks and enhanced obligations etc – so that a client can see whether its budget is sufficient for the outcomes it wants to secure. Investment in, and the early engagement of, key supply-chain members is essential to avoid wasted time and cost further down the line and to inject design and delivery expertise into the project at the earliest possible stage.
We recommend use of alliancing forms of contract such as the Term Alliance Contract, TAC 1 to embody the spirit of partnership working and to utilise contractual processes to make it easier for the parties to address changes. For example using the Core Group to streamline decision making processes and to give early warning of changes in specification and legislation and to follow a clear process to implement the upgraded standards in collaboration with contractors and suppliers.
For further information please contact Katie Saunders and Rebecca Rees
