Select committee: Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee
4th Report – Housing Conditions in the Social Rented Sector
HC 1154
Published 9 February 2026
Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee Housing Conditions in England Report on parliament.uk ↗
At a glance10 recommendations and 11 conclusions · Government response published 28 April 2026 (deadline 9 April 2026)
The government's response
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.
The government sets out its five-step plan for a "decade of renewal" in response to the nine recommendations, and on several points (such as interim Decent Homes targets and a periodic review of the standard) points to existing or planned measures rather than adopting the proposal as framed.
- On the Long-Term Housing Strategy, the government says it will publish it "shortly". It confirms a 10-year, £39 billion Social and Affordable Homes Programme.
- On Awaab's Law, the government gives no timeline for extending it. It says it is undertaking a "test and learn approach before extending the requirements to other hazards" and will develop guidance for phases 2 and 3.
- On reviewing the Decent Homes Standard, the government "recognise[s] that expectations change so there will come a point where a review of the standard is necessary", but sets no 10-year cycle. Landlords have until 2035 to meet the modernised standard.
- On fuel poverty, the government retains the LILEE metric "as the most effective measure of progress to 2030" and introduces a new affordability indicator.
What the committee recommended 21
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Sources
- 4th Report – Housing Conditions in the Social Rented Sector ↗The committee's report, HC 1154, parliament.uk
- 7th Special Report - Housing Conditions in the Social Rented Sector: Government Response ↗The government's response, 28 April 2026, parliament.uk
Recommendations and conclusions 21
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1
Progress on social homes meeting Decent Homes Standard has stalled since pandemic. Conclusion (the committee's words)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 little improvement since the pandemic. Over 25 years since the Decent Homes Standard was introduced, it is not acceptable that just under 430,000 social homes still fail to meet even this basic standard. Moreover, factors such as climate change, our country’s ageing population, and the inevitable deterioration of existing stock could lead to even more people living in poor quality, unsafe homes. (Conclusion, Paragraph 12)
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2
Government social housing plans do not address systemic drivers of poor conditions. Conclusion (the committee's words)We support the Government’s plans to raise the standard of social homes over the next decade, while boosting supply. These actions will go some way to improving the quality and safety of social homes. However, the Government’s plans do not address some of the long-term systemic drivers of poor conditions, especially the need to replace some of the country’s ageing stock of social homes, which, in some instances, are being used beyond their intended lifespan. The Long-term Housing Strategy represents an opportunity to address systemic drivers of poor conditions in the social housing sector. (Conclusion, Paragraph 24)
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3
Publish Long-term Housing Strategy for improving social homes and regenerating existing stock. Recommendation (the committee's words)The Long-term Housing Strategy must put in place a long-term approach for improving and maintaining social homes and addressing the systemic drivers of poor housing quality, especially a long-term approach to the regeneration of existing social homes. We reiterate our call for the Government to publish this strategy as soon as possible. (Recommendation, Paragraph 25) 45 Raising the standard of social homes
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4
Phased rollout of Awaab’s Law mitigates risks of resource diversion and inconsistent application. Conclusion (the committee's words)We agree with the Government’s decision to rollout Awaab’s Law in phases, focusing on tackling the most dangerous hazards first. There are risks that efforts to comply with these regulations result in providers diverting resources away from the services they provide to more vulnerable tenants. There is also a risk that these regulations are not applied consistently across the sector. A phased rollout may help mitigate such risks. (Conclusion, Paragraph 30)
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5
Provide clear roadmap and guidance for the remaining phases of Awaab's Law. Recommendation (the committee's words)Even though social landlords have been anticipating the introduction of Awaab’s Law for some time, the way the Government managed the introduction of Phase 1 unnecessarily added to the uncertainty and complexity providers had to grapple with to ensure they were ready to comply. We are disappointed that the final guidance on Awaab’s Law was published so close to when the regulations came into effect. The Government must learn from this for future phases. Social landlords and tenants need a much clearer roadmap or timeline for when the remaining phases of Awaab’s Law will be introduced, and clarity on when official guidance will be provided. (Conclusion, Paragraph 33)
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6
Urgently publish timeline for extending Awaab's Law to all hazards by March 2026. Recommendation (the committee's words)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 to factor the relevant costs into their budgets for the next financial year. (Recommendation, Paragraph 34)
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7
Retrofitting social homes requires accelerated progress and clearer funding certainty. Conclusion (the committee's words)Progress at retrofitting social homes needs to accelerate if the sector is going to upgrade the remaining homes up to the required standard by 2030. The Government has not yet provided sufficient clarity to the sector on the funding available for retrofits over the Parliament. (Conclusion, Paragraph 39)
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8
Urgently provide clarity on funding for social housing retrofit improvements. Recommendation (the committee's words)The Government needs to urgently provide the sector with clarity on the funding that will be available over the remainder of this Parliament to help providers deliver the necessary improvements. (Recommendation, Paragraph 40)
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9
High energy costs drive fuel poverty despite energy efficiency improvements Conclusion (the committee's words)High energy costs mean that even tenants living in homes that have undergone energy efficiency improvements can struggle to afford to heat their homes sufficiently. The higher the standard of works, the greater the benefit. While we support the Government’s plans to bring all social homes up to a minimum standard of energy efficiency, people can still live in an EPC C home and be in fuel poverty. (Conclusion, Paragraph 42) 46
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10
Revise fuel poverty definition to include homes meeting minimum energy efficiency standards Recommendation (the committee's words)In the forthcoming Fuel Poverty Strategy, we recommend that the Government revise the official definition of fuel poverty to reflect the fact that those living in homes compliant with the new Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard may still struggle to heat their homes sufficiently. (Recommendation, Paragraph 43)
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11
Decent Homes Standard previously outdated and in urgent need of reform Conclusion (the committee's words)We welcome the Government’s changes to the Decent Homes Standard. 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. (Conclusion, Paragraph 48)
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12
Introduce a process to periodically review and update the Decent Homes Standard Recommendation (the committee's words)The Government must introduce a process to periodically review and, if necessary, update the Decent Homes Standard at least every 10 years to ensure it reflects the changing needs of the population, environmental pressures, scientific evidence of the hazards to health from poor housing and societal expectations of what a decent home consists of. (Recommendation, Paragraph 49)
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13
Long implementation timeline for Decent Homes Standard delays improvements for tenants Conclusion (the committee's words)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. There is also a risk that many homes may fail to meet the revised Decent Homes Standard by the final implementation date. (Conclusion, Paragraph 54)
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14
Introduce interim annual targets for upgrading social homes to revised Decent Homes Standard Recommendation (the committee's words)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 implementation date. (Recommendation, Paragraph 55) The impact on the supply of social homes
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15
New regulatory compliance costs risk limiting investment in new social homes Conclusion (the committee's words)While we welcome the steps the Government has taken to rebuild the sector’s financial capacity, a lot of the extra rental income social landlords receive could be absorbed by the new compliance costs placed on them, thereby limiting their ability to invest in new social homes. Even with the Government’s investment in social homes and the changes to the rent settlement, we concerned that the sector will not have sufficient resources to effectively meet the Government’s new social homes target while also raising standards over the decade. (Conclusion, Paragraph 63) 47
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16
Establish a long-term approach for social home regeneration within the Housing Strategy Conclusion (the committee's words)There is a real risk that the costs of new regulatory requirements may lead to an increase in social landlords choosing to sell homes that have reached, or are approaching, the end of their intended lifespan, at a time when social housing is desperately needed. We welcome the changes to the Social and Affordable Homes Programme which will allow funds to be directed to replacing homes that “are no longer fit for purpose, meet the needs of the intended client group, or otherwise in use as social and affordable housing.” This is a useful immediate step to prevent the loss of much-need social housing. However, the Long-term Housing Strategy must set a long-term approach to the regeneration of social homes. (Conclusion, Paragraph 64)
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Publish an assessment of new regulatory requirements' cumulative impact on social home supply Recommendation (the committee's words)The Government must publish an assessment of the cumulative impact the new regulatory requirements are likely to have on the supply of social homes over the next decade. This assessment should consider how the cumulative costs of the new regulatory requirements are likely to impact the sector’s ability to invest in new supply and the extent to which providers may choose to dispose of social homes that they deem too expensive to bring up to new standards. (Recommendation, Paragraph 65) Supporting social landlords to improve housing conditions
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18
Social housing providers lack capacity to deliver improvements due to supply chain issues Conclusion (the committee's words)The steps the Government is taking to rebuild the sector’s financial capacity to invest in new and existing homes will help providers to meet new regulatory standards. However, we are concerned that supply chain constraints, workforce shortages and the limited uptake of technologies will mean that providers may not have the necessary capacity and capability to deliver the improvements to social homes that the Government aims to achieve over the next decade. (Conclusion, Paragraph 72)
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19
Establish a new, modern Decent Homes Programme to raise social housing standards Recommendation (the committee's words)There is a strong case for the Government to establish a new, modern Decent Homes Programme that supports social landlords to raise the standard of social homes. This programme should consist of: a. a single housing quality framework or strategy that consolidates, and aligns, the regulatory requirements on social landlords. b. a pooled fund that brings together existing funding for improvements to social homes and gives providers greater flexibility. c. local partnerships between local government, social landlords and the private rented sector to address skills and supply chain constraints. (Recommendation, Paragraph 73) 48
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20
Robust measures of redress are vital for newly built social homes disputes Conclusion (the committee's words)It is vital that there are robust measures of redress in place to resolve disputes about the quality of newly built social homes. (Conclusion, Paragraph 76)
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21
Set out timeframe for statutory New Homes Ombudsman and mandatory consumer code Recommendation (the committee's words)In response to this report, the Government must set out the timeframe for creating a statutory, UK-wide New Homes Ombudsman and the details of the mandatory consumer code developers will need to abide by. (Recommendation, Paragraph 77) 49