Decent home
A decent home is a home that meets all of the following four criteria:
- It meets the current statutory minimum standard for housing as set out in the Housing Health and Safety Rating System.
- It is in a reasonable state of repair (related to the age and condition of a range of building components including walls, roofs, windows, doors, chimneys, electrics and heating systems).
- It has reasonably modern facilities and services (related to the age, size and layout/location of the kitchen, bathroom and WC and any common areas for blocks of flats, and to noise insulation).
- It provides a reasonable degree of thermal comfort (related to insulation and heating efficiency).
The detailed definition for each of these criteria is included in A Decent Home: Definition and guidance for implementation, Department for Communities and Local Government, June 2006. Ref https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/a-decent-home-definition-and-guidance
Ref English Housing Survey, Profile and condition of the English housing stock, 2018-19, Published by the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government in August 2020.
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki
- Cost to make decent.
- Decent Homes Standard.
- English housing stock age.
- English Housing Survey 2018-19.
- Housing Health and Safety Rating System.
- Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).
- People with disabilities.
- The cold man of Europe 2015.
- The cost of poor housing to the NHS.
- The full cost of poor housing in Wales.
- The full cost of poor housing.
- The Housing Stock of The United Kingdom.
- The real cost of poor housing.
Featured articles
Check out some of the best features and news from Designing Buildings as well as key stories from around the web.
Changing expectations around competence and compliance
New information sheet from CIAT.
Grenfell investigation files passed to CPS
Angela Rayner apologises on behalf of the British state.
Electrical contractors need to understand the practical implications.
The real barrier to getting more value from digital technology.
Your guide to The Construction Reset at UKCW Birmingham.
Accommodating the Victorian and Edwardian working woman. Book review.
Rethinking passive fire protection in design
PFP demands the same level of design rigour as structure or services.
38% of Gen Zs feel safe when a fire door is wedged open.
Stunning images from around the world
Shortlist for CIOB’s Art of Building photography competition.
Guidance for conversion of traditional pre-1919 stone buildings.
Industrial heritage in the Ruhr
A marked difference to the fate of industrial landscapes in the UK.
Communities will be able to build their own clean energy.

















