726,000 rented homes could remain non-decent by 2035
And that’s without holding them to the updated standard outlined in the recent DHS consultation
A new consultation on the Decent Homes Standard (DHS) has suggested that all rented homes, private and social, must meet an updated, more stringent standard by 2035. However, new research from Inventory Base reveals that if the current rate of remediation is maintained, 726,000 private rented homes will still fail to meet the current DHS, let alone the updated version, and the same is true for 87,000 homes in the social rented sector.
The Decent Homes Standard has set the baseline for housing quality in the social rented sector since its introduction in 2001 and has driven significant improvements over the past two decades. With the imminent introduction of the Renters’ Rights Act on 1st May 2026, it will be extended across the private rental sector as well.
However, in 2025, the UK government undertook a lengthy consultation process resulting in the January 2026 publication of The New Decent Homes Standard. The consultation reflects government recognition that, despite progress, too many tenants across both private and social housing continue to live in poor-quality homes.
As part of the proposed reforms, all rented properties will be required to meet the new Decent Homes Standard by 2035 at the latest, with the implementation timeline intended to give landlords the certainty needed to invest in housing quality and supply. So while rented homes will continue to be held to account by the current DHS, over the next decade, properties must also start being prepared for an even more stringent standard.
In light of this, Inventory Base has analysed the most recent government data published in the English Housing Survey 2024-25 to understand how many currently non-decent homes there are in the private and public sectors, and how quickly they are being brought up to the required standard.*
The data shows that while there has been a long-term reduction in non-decent homes across both public and private sectors, progress is inconsistent.
In the private rented sector, the number of non-decent homes fell from 1.45 million in 2008 to 1.09 million in 2024, but with several periods of reversal. Over the past ten years, the average annual reduction has been -1.6%, with notable increases in some years, including a 6.1% rise in 2024 alone.
In the social sector, non-decent homes declined more sharply over the same period, falling from 1.07 million in 2008 to 428,000 in 2024, equating to an average annual reduction of -2.7%. However, the data also shows periods of stagnation and increase, highlighting the uneven pace of improvement.
Using these historic trends, Inventory Base has now produced a forecast to estimate how many non-decent homes could remain by 2035 if current rates of remediation cannot be improved on.
This forecast shows that if the current pace of remediation is maintained, 726,000 properties in the private rented sector are likely to fall short of the current DHS in 2035, raising serious questions about how the nation’s stock can ever be expected to meet an updated standard
As for the social sector, an estimated 87,000 non-decent homes are forecasted to remain non-decent by the current standard.
Sián Hemming-Metcalfe, Operations Director at Inventory Base says:
“Nine years is a long time to tell tenants to wait for homes to become properly fit for habitation. A fixed 2035 deadline is at least a step forward, if only because it replaces vague ambition with something more concrete.
But the uncomfortable truth is that we are not moving fast enough. Hundreds of thousands of homes already fail today’s Decent Homes Standard. By 2035, the risk is not that we fall short of the new benchmark, it’s that we still haven’t met the old one.
Deadlines don’t deliver change on their own. Progress does. And progress cannot remain uneven, sporadic, or optional. If the government is serious about every rented home meeting the new standard by 2035, it will take sustained investment, stronger inspection schedules, and enforcement with actual teeth. Without that, a great many tenants will still be living in homes that are neither decent nor safe, regardless of what legislation promises.”
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