A retired environmental health consultant has suggested that the real problem with the government's decent homes standard for private renters is not the timeline for implementation, but a lack of enforcement by local authorities.
Dr Stephen Battersby, an environmental health and housing consultant, was responding to criticism of the government's announcement that the standard would not be enforced until 2035. He argued that local authorities already have powers under the Housing Act 2004 to deal with hazards, and many of the factors in the revised standard correspond to existing hazard categories.
However, he said enforcement was often inadequate because of a lack of resources and properly trained environmental health practitioners. He also noted that some officers blamed the complexity of the legal framework, which the new changes would only add to.
Dr Battersby also raised concerns that when the new provisions come into force, enforcement will involve both local authorities and the social housing regulator, which has no experience in regulating housing conditions for social landlords. He asked whether this would result in two under-resourced regulatory agencies.
