MPs demand Government updates Decent Homes Standard without delay amid concern at “catastrophic” impact of poor housing on health of tenants

The Health and Social Care Committee has today (19 January) demanded urgent action from the Government to protect tenants who live in poor quality homes that can have a “catastrophic impact” on their health.

The report calls on the Government to proceed ‘without delay’ in the steps needed to update the Decent Homes Standard for social housing tenants and set out a timetable for its extension to cover the private rented sector.

The Government first committed to review and then extend the Decent Homes Standard to the private rented sector more than three years ago, but no legal minimum quality standard exists to protect tenants in private rentals, the Committee said.

The Decent Homes Standard has not been updated since 2006.

MPs on the Committee concluded that the less well-off and those living in less well-off neighbourhoods were much more likely to develop life-limiting health conditions and to die prematurely from the effects of those conditions.

The report said the most serious housing hazards include fire and electrical risks, excess cold, excess heat, damp and mould, and air pollution. It highlighted the 2020 death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak from a respiratory condition caused by mould in a housing association property.

The report calls for a determined focus on developing "healthy places" that can prevent ill-health for those most at risk, which the Committee said was vital to ease pressures on the NHS and build a sustainable service for future generations.

The report is the second to be published by the Committee in its major inquiry into preventing ill-health with ten workstreams being examined.

Chair of the Health and Social Care Committee Steve Brine MP said: “Poor quality homes can have a catastrophic impact on the health of the those who live in them. The death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak from a respiratory condition caused by mould in his home should leave Ministers in no doubt that tenants in both the social and private rented sectors deserve greater protection by law.

“The Government has dragged its feet on updating the Decent Homes Standard for the social rented sector and in extending it to cover the private rented sector. We’re calling on the Government to set out its timetable for doing so without delay.”

Brine added: “Our report welcomes the Government’s plan to introduce Awaab’s law for tenants in the social sector. We urge swift action on the outcome of the consultation, but the Government must also consider safeguards for tenants in the private sector where risks of damp and mould can pose an immediate danger to health.”

“Creating healthy places to live to prevent ill-health among the population must take priority for Ministers. Not only will that reduce pressures on the NHS but will save vast sums spent each year on treating people with preventable illness.”

Earlier this month the Government launched a consultation on implementing Awaab’s Law. Proposals included new legal requirements for social landlords to investigate hazards within 14 days, begin fixing the issue within a further 7 days, and make emergency repairs within 24 hours.

Key recommendations in the Committee’s report include that:

• The Government should act quickly on the outcome of its consultation and should also consider how similar safeguards could be extended to tenants in the private rented sector who are affected by housing hazards, such as damp and mould that can pose an immediate danger to health. 
• The Government should require developers to aim higher, with quality housing and development that protects residents’ health, especially in the private rented sections and in conversions (including plans to allow developers to convert premises such as hotels and hostels into housing without the need for planning permission, via a proposed extension of Permitted Development Rights).
• The Government should consult on both the content of existing design and space standards as they relate to health, and on the implications of making such standards mandatory for new dwellings.
• The Department of Health and Social Care should work with NHS England and existing networks and providers to develop a national strategy for social prescribing with the aim to improve understanding among frontline clinical practitioners of the benefits and to improve confidence in offering social and community-based solutions to unmet social needs.
• The DHSC should reconsider the case for mandating a public health representative to be included on an Integrated Care Board, a previous recommendation by the committee that was rejected by the Government.

Harry Rodd