Too many people are living in “appalling” social housing and conditions have barely improved since the pandemic, a committee of MPs has found.
A report by cross-party MPs on the Housing, Communities and Local Government (HCLG) committee reveals that minimum standards for decent homes have not changed in 20 years and yet almost 430,000 social homes still fail to meet this threshold.
The committee says: “Too many people living in social housing suffer from appalling housing conditions and do not have their complaints treated seriously.”
MPs are calling for the decent homes standard to be urgently updated and to be reviewed every 10 years to ensure it keeps up with changing needs.
The report says: “The current standard has been out-of-date for some time and is in urgent need of reform, given that it was last updated in 2006.”
It warns that high energy prices mean households living in homes that comply with the government’s new minimum energy efficiency standard may still be in fuel poverty, if they struggle to afford to heat their home sufficiently.
The committee therefore recommends the government revise the official definition of fuel poverty to reflect this.
MPs are calling on the government to address the twin objectives of building more social housing while also improving conditions in existing homes.
The report agrees with the government’s decision to rollout Awaab’s Law in phases, focusing on tackling the most dangerous hazards first.
But it says ministers must urgently set the timeline for extending Awaab’s Law to all remaining hazards.
HCLG committee chair Florence Eshalomi says: “Whether it is residents living in poorly-insulated homes, experiencing overcrowding, or enduring housing with damp or mould, it’s vital that government measures, including Awaab’s Law and the new decent homes standard, bring a meaningful improvement to social housing conditions.
“The government deserves credit for the steps taken to rebuild the sector’s financial capacity after years of underinvestment.
“However, we do have concerns about the resources available to social housing providers to meet the government’s new social homes target while also raising standards over the decade.
“The government’s long-term housing strategy needs to set out a credible plan to tackle the need to improve existing housing stock while encouraging social landlords to build the new social homes the country needs.”
