Private Rented Housing: Standards
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure landlords let accommodation is fit for human habitation as set out in the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook
If rented houses or flats are not fit for human habitation, tenants can take their landlords to court under the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018.
The court can make the landlord carry out repairs and put right health and safety problems. The court can also make the landlord pay compensation to the tenant.
The government is committed to ensuring that rented homes are safe, decent, warm, and free from damp and mould.
The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 will extend Awaab’s Law to the private rented sector and introduce a Decent Homes Standard for privately rented homes for the first time.
The Decent Homes Standard already applies to social housing. Enforcement in the social sector is being strengthened through the Social Housing Regulation Act, including through the implementation of Awaab’s Law, the first phase of which has already come into force.
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