EHS Briefing: Modelling a new Decent Homes Standard
A statistical report covering analysis of English Housing Survey data used in developing a new Decent Home Standard.
Applies to England
Documents
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The government consulted between 2 July and 12 September 2025 on proposals to update the Decent Homes Standard which currently sets a minimum housing quality standard for all registered providers of social housing. A new standard will be applied to both the social and private rented sectors, which providers must meet by 2035.
An EHS Briefing was published alongside that consultation, which analysed 2019 English Housing Survey (EHS) data (at the time the latest available) and showed the expected failure rates and costs of implementing the standard proposed in the consultation. This publication provides similar analysis covering the new Decent Homes Standard, updated based on newly available data (2023) and the results of the consultation.
To fully quantify the impact of the Decent Homes Standard, MHCLG has:
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commissioned the Building Research Establishment (BRE) to analyse EHS physical survey data from 2023 to estimate whether dwellings would pass or fail the new Decent Homes Standard, including the cost to bring homes up to the new standard
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undertaken further analysis of the housing quality data contained in the EHS
The key findings of this work, which have informed the Impact Assessment, are covered in this statistical publication.
Links to related publications