Great news for residents and the environment! The long-awaited review of the Decent Homes Standard is finally here [1], and it brings with it a significant focus on environmental improvements. Even better, this updated standard will apply to both social and private rented homes, a crucial step towards ensuring better living conditions for more people.
While the proposals look promising from an environmental perspective, there’s always room to refine and enhance these crucial guidelines. Here’s a breakdown of some key environmental proposals and our thoughts on them.
Energy Efficiency: Towards a Greener Future
One of the most impactful changes proposed is the alignment of the Decent Homes Standard with the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard (MEES). MEES is already in force for the private rented sector, and while the current threshold is low, there’s a strong push to raise it to an EPC C rating or better for all rented properties by 2030. This aligns perfectly with what many proactive landlords are already striving for.
However, the consultation highlights a current disparity: MEES doesn’t yet apply to the social rented sector. A separate consultation, published on July 2, 2025 [2], aims to address this. Our concern, which we’ve voiced before, is that referencing multiple metrics within the EPC regime could lead to unnecessary confusion for landlords and tenants alike [3]. Simplicity and clarity will be key to successful implementation.
The consultation also mentions the government’s intention to engage with the industry on a Home Energy Model (HEM) methodology for producing EPCs in 2025. This new model will perform calculations on an hourly basis, unlike the current which is monthly. While this appears to pave the way for increased heat pump installations, we believe a more direct and impactful approach would be to reduce the price of domestic electricity, a call widely supported by many stakeholders.
On a positive note, the consultation directly asks whether landlords would consider combining Decent Homes compliance works with MEES upgrades. This is something we’ve long advocated through our “triggers approach,” [4] which encourages landlords to strategically combine improvement works for maximum efficiency and minimal disruption.
While the proposed enforcement dates of 2035 or 2037 seem a long way off, and perhaps a little misaligned with the 2030 EPC C target, we suggest that early compliance reporting should be encouraged. A requirement to report the number of homes already meeting the new criteria could drive faster action.
Beyond energy: Other crucial environmental considerations
The consultation touches on several other environmental aspects that deserve attention:
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- Damp and Mould: Clearly a central focus, and rightly so. Addressing damp and mould isn’t just about property condition; it’s about providing healthy homes that contribute to residents’ well-being. Warm, adequately ventilated homes also help reduce CO2 emissions and the risk of overheating.
- Adequate Kitchen Size: While a requirement for “adequate kitchen size” is proposed, there’s a notable omission: space for internal recycling bins. Encouraging proper waste segregation at home is a simple yet effective way to boost local recycling efforts.
- “Best Practice” Items: The consultation lists some “best practice” items that could make it into the new standard. While a bit “light touch” at this stage, it’s a step towards better regulation. Specifically:
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- Water Efficiency: Currently just information provision, but landlords can do much more with small system tweaks to reduce water consumption [5].
- Climate Adaptation: Information provision where overheating is explicitly mentioned. While good, perhaps a more robust approach to resilience is needed [5] [6].
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What’s missing?
Despite the positive steps, we observe a couple of key omissions:
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- Flood Risk: There’s no specific mention of flood risk, although it could arguably fall under climate adaptation. Given increasing climate variability, this warrants direct consideration.
- Green Spaces and Biodiversity: The Social Housing White Paper from a few years ago called for this [7], and while there’s a small mention of maintaining shared open spaces, a more comprehensive approach to fostering green spaces and biodiversity within housing developments would be highly beneficial for both residents and local ecosystems.
The way forward
The direction of travel for the Decent Homes Standard is clear and aligns with environmental science. We strongly urge all landlords, whether social or private, to begin assessing their environmental impacts now. By implementing strategies to improve them proactively, you won’t just avoid disruption when the 2035 deadlines arrive; you’ll also be contributing to better, more affordable-to-run homes for residents and more efficient asset management for yourselves.
Ready to get started? Contact us for a free 30-minute consultation on how you can best approach these vital changes: [email protected]
[3] https://shiftenvironment.co.uk/news/shift-environment-response-to-epc-regime-change-consultation/
[4] https://shiftenvironment.co.uk/news/completing-an-epc-analysis-of-your-housing-stock/
[5] Ask about our address level water efficiency, overheating risk and flood risk assessments and adaptation strategies
[6] See here for the latest statistics for regional heat waves: https://shiftenvironment.co.uk/news/overheating-in-the-uk-where-will-the-hottest-regions-be/
[7] https://shiftenvironment.co.uk/news/social-housing-white-paper-the-environmental-angle/