Select Committee · Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee

Housing Conditions in England

Status: Open Opened: 3 Jul 2025 26 recommendations 33 conclusions 2 reports

The Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee is holding an inquiry into the condition of homes in England. The Government has set out plans to deliver a decade of renewal in the provision of social and affordable homes , including a “transformational” and “lasting change in the safety and quality of homes.” Our inquiry will …

Clear

Reports

2 reports
Title HC No. Published Items Response
5th Report - Housing Conditions in Temporary Accommodation HC 1831 22 Apr 2026 38 Pending
4th Report – Housing Conditions in the Social Rented Sector HC 1154 9 Feb 2026 21 Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

4 items
1 Conclusion 4th Report – Housing Conditions in the … Deferred

Progress on social homes meeting Decent Homes Standard has stalled since pandemic.

Most social homes provide tenants with warm, safe and decent places to live. The prevalence of poor conditions across the sector is generally lower than in other tenures. However, progress at bringing all social homes up to a minimum standard of decency has almost ground to a halt, with very …

Government response. The government will set out wider plans for housing in the Long-Term Housing Strategy, which they will publish shortly, bringing together many of the changes that they have already announced and providing long-term certainty on future regulatory requirements.
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
6 Recommendation 4th Report – Housing Conditions in the … Deferred

Urgently publish timeline for extending Awaab's Law to all hazards by March 2026.

The Government must urgently set and publish the timeline for extending Awaab’s Law to all remaining hazards, so that tenants and social landlords have clarity about when they can expect these new regulations to apply. This should be produced no later than 1st March 2026 to enable social housing providers …

Government response. The Government will work with sector bodies to agree a compact, overseen by a taskforce, but provides no specific timeline for extending Awaab's Law to all remaining hazards.
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
13 Conclusion 4th Report – Housing Conditions in the … Deferred

Long implementation timeline for Decent Homes Standard delays improvements for tenants

The Government’s long implementation date for the revised Decent Homes Standard eases the burden on providers, but fails to deliver improvements with the urgency that social tenants deserve. Too many tenants will remain in poor quality, unsafe homes for too long under the implementation date that the Government has set. …

Government response. The government will work with sector bodies to agree a compact overseen by a taskforce, which will focus on social and affordable housebuilding commitments and strengthened governance.
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
14 Recommendation 4th Report – Housing Conditions in the … Deferred

Introduce interim annual targets for upgrading social homes to revised Decent Homes Standard

The Government must put in place interim targets to demonstrate to tenants and the public that progress is being made. We recommend that the Government introduce interim targets stipulating the percentage of social homes that should be upgraded to the revised Decent Homes Standard in each year before the final …

Government response. The Government will work with sector bodies to agree a compact, overseen by a taskforce, but provides no commitment to interim targets.
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Oral evidence sessions

6 sessions
Date Witnesses
14 Apr 2026 Chloe Fletcher · Chartered Institute of Housing, Jennie Daly · Taylor Wimpey, Nigel Cates · The New Homes Ombudsman Service, Richard Smith · National House Building Council, Stephen Teagle · Vistry Group, Steve Turner · Home Builders Federation View ↗
27 Jan 2026 Christa Maciver · Justlife Foundation, Councillor Grace Williams · London Councils, Dr Laura Neilson · Shared Health Foundation, Joe Lane · Office of the Children's Commissioner, Joseph Donohue · Greater Manchester Combined Authority, Matt Downie · Crisis, Paul Kitson · Newham Council, Stephen Philpott · Birmingham City Council View ↗
25 Nov 2025 Ashlea Birch · Manchester City Council, Fiona MacGregor · Regulator of Social Housing, Ian Sanders · Hull City Council, James Wilson · Great Yarmouth Borough Council, Joe Roberts · Cornwall Council, Jonathan Walters · Regulator of Social Housing View ↗
4 Nov 2025 Anny Cullum · ACORN, Ben Beadle · National Residential Landlords Association, Deborah Garvie · Shelter, Dr Jennifer Harris · TDS Charitable Foundation, Kate Markey · Nationwide Foundation, Nye Jones · Generation Rent, Timothy Douglas · Propertymark View ↗
14 Oct 2025 Alistair Smyth · National Housing Federation, Councillor Sarah King · Southwark Council, Craig Moule · Sanctuary, Ian McDermott · G15, Kwajo Tweneboa, Nic Bliss · Stop Social Housing Stigma, Richard Blakeway · Housing Ombudsman Service View ↗
9 Sep 2025 Dr Henry Dawson · Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, Helen Garrett · Building Research Establishment, Michael Erhardt · Disability Rights UK, Millie Brown · Centre for Better Ageing, Professor Sir Michael Marmot · Institute for Health Equity View ↗

Correspondence

12 letters
DateDirectionTitle
22 May 2026 To cttee Letter from the Chair to the Minister of State for Housing and Planning dated 2…
19 May 2026 To cttee Letter from the Home Builders Federation to the Chair dated 1 May 2026 concerni…
26 Feb 2026 To cttee Letter from the Regulator of Social Housing to the Chair dated 23 February 2026…
14 Jan 2026 To cttee Letter from the Minister of State for Housing and Planning to the Chair dated 9…
14 Jan 2026 To cttee Letter from the Minister of State for Housing and Planning to the Chair dated 7…
3 Dec 2025 To cttee Letter from TDS Charitable Foundation to the Chair dated 25 November 2025 conce…
27 Nov 2025 To cttee Letter from the Chair to the Minister of State for Housing and Planning dated 2…
20 Nov 2025 To cttee Letter from the Chair to the Minister of State for Housing and Planning dated 2…
12 Nov 2025 To cttee Letter from the Minister of State for Housing and Planning to the Chair dated 7…
12 Nov 2025 To cttee Letter from the National Housing Federation to the Chair dated 4 November 2025 …
12 Nov 2025 To cttee Letter from Sanctuary Housing to the Chair dated 4 November following up oral e…
15 Oct 2025 To cttee Letter from the Chair to the Minister of State for Housing and Planning dated 1…