The Decent Homes Standard for private rentals.
What is the Decent Homes Standard for private rentals? Under the Renters' Rights Act 2025, a Decent Homes Standard is being extended to England's private rented sector. A decent home should be free of the most serious hazards, in a reasonable state of repair, have reasonably modern facilities, and provide a reasonable degree of thermal comfort. PropertySurvey Pro documents condition against this standard with room-by-room ratings, HHSRS-style hazard notes, EPC lookup and offline PDF reports.
Part 1 tenancy reforms took effect on 1 May 2026. The government’s January 2026 policy statement says the new Decent Homes Standard will apply to private rented homes from 2035. Awaab’s Law requirements for the private rented sector need separate regulations, so their timing and detail should be checked before relying on them. This page distinguishes current duties from future readiness.
Managing damp & mould compliance across an entire housing stock? HousingSurvey Pro — from the same team — is built for housing associations and councils tracking Decent Homes and Awaab's Law duties portfolio-wide.
Document condition on-site
Download free to complete condition reports immediately on-site. For portfolios and managed housing teams, we support custom business provisioning.
Start a Condition ReportWhat the Decent Homes Standard requires
The Renters' Rights Act 2025 extends a Decent Homes Standard to the private rented sector. A decent home is generally expected to meet four broad criteria. PropertySurvey Pro is built to record condition evidence against each of them:
Free of serious hazards
No Category 1 hazards under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS), such as damp and mould or excess cold. Record HHSRS-style hazard observations alongside your condition notes.
Reasonable state of repair
Key building elements should not be old and in poor condition. Log each element room-by-room with consistent condition ratings and supporting photos.
Reasonably modern facilities
Kitchens, bathrooms and other facilities should be reasonably modern and suitably located. Capture their condition and age indicators within the same survey.
Reasonable thermal comfort
Effective insulation and heating. The built-in EPC lookup pulls the registered energy rating into your report to support thermal-comfort context.
How PropertySurvey Pro documents condition
Understanding a property's condition is an evidence task. PropertySurvey Pro captures a structured, date-stamped record that can support professional review if a case is escalated:
| Decent Homes element | How PropertySurvey Pro records it |
|---|---|
| Serious hazards (HHSRS) | Structured hazard notes with timestamped photos (EXIF-derived where available). |
| State of repair | Room-by-room condition ratings against a consistent framework. |
| Facilities | Element-level condition logging for kitchens, bathrooms and services. |
| Thermal comfort | EPC lookup pulling the registered energy rating into the report. |
| The output | Branded PDF generated on-site and offline, with no cellular reception required. |
For damp and mould inspection records, our sister app DampApp Pro adds offline psychrometric and dew-point analysis. Current prescribed Awaab's Law timeframes apply to English social housing; the private-sector extension is pending. The two apps share the same offline-first, timestamped evidence approach.
Part of a worldwide shift
England's Decent Homes Standard and Awaab's Law are part of a broader move toward enforceable rental housing-condition standards. New Zealand's Healthy Homes Standards already require all private rentals to meet heating, insulation, ventilation, moisture-ingress and draught-stopping requirements; other markets operate habitability and minimum-standards regimes. PropertySurvey Pro's condition documentation is used by surveyors and landlords across these markets.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Decent Homes Standard for private rentals?
The Decent Homes Standard is the existing baseline for social housing. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 provides for it to extend to England's private rented sector. The government's January 2026 policy statement says the new standard will apply from 2035; it is not a current PRS pass/fail regime.
How is the Decent Homes Standard assessed?
Serious hazards are assessed using the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS), which grades hazards such as damp and mould, excess cold and falls. A property failing on a serious (Category 1) hazard would not meet the standard. PropertySurvey Pro lets you document condition room-by-room with consistent condition ratings and record HHSRS-style hazard observations as part of the same survey.
How does PropertySurvey Pro document condition against the standard?
PropertySurvey Pro captures a structured, date-stamped condition record: room-by-room ratings, HHSRS-style observations, timestamped photos (EXIF-derived where available, otherwise attachment time), and an EPC lookup. It generates a PDF on-site and offline to support professional review; it does not determine or certify compliance.
Does the Renters' Rights Act 2025 also affect damp and mould?
The Act provides for Awaab's Law requirements to be extended to the private rented sector, but their commencement and detail remain pending. Current prescribed Awaab's Law timeframes apply to social landlords in England. For damp and mould inspection records, our sister app DampApp Pro provides offline psychrometric and dew-point analysis; PropertySurvey Pro focuses on overall condition, HHSRS and EPC documentation.
Can I produce condition reports offline, on-site?
Yes. PropertySurvey Pro runs natively on iOS and Android and generates its PDF reports on the device, so you can complete a full condition report on any site with no cellular reception. Pro cloud-sync features can back up data when you are back in range.
Free interactive tool
Decent Homes & Renters' Rights Act 2025 Readiness Checker
Score any rental against the four Decent Homes criteria, HHSRS Category 1 hazards and the incoming Renters' Rights Act / Awaab's Law duties — and export a remedial action PDF. No login.
Evidence condition against the Decent Homes Standard
Use PropertySurvey Pro to capture HHSRS-style hazards, condition ratings, EPC data and timestamped photos (EXIF-derived where available) in one offline report.
For detailed damp and mould diagnostics, DampApp Pro is available on the App Store and Google Play.