A new analysis suggests that more than one in five privately rented homes in England – around 1.027 million properties – could be deemed illegal under the Decent Homes Standard (DHS) once it is applied to the private rented sector (PRS) as part of the forthcoming Renters’ Rights Bill.

The DHS, which already applies to social housing, sets minimum standards for safety, comfort, and energy efficiency. Under current proposals, all PRS homes will need to comply by 2035 or 2037, with new energy efficiency requirements set for 2030.

A Major Challenge for Landlords

The research, conducted by Inventory Base using government data, warns that meeting these requirements will be a “massive, time-intensive, and costly task” for landlords, especially in the absence of a robust support framework.

Sián Hemming-Metcalfe, the firm’s operations director, described the Bill as:

“One of the most disruptive overhauls of England’s rental sector in a generation…

If the DHS proposal becomes law, over a million privately rented homes will require significant upgrades. The likely outcome? Widespread non-compliance or accelerated landlord sell-offs.”

Current Compliance Levels

Inventory Base’s findings reveal:

• 15% of all homes in England (around 3.78 million) fail the DHS.

• In the social housing sector, where the standard has been mandatory since 2006, 10.3% (428,000 homes) remain non-compliant.

• In the private rented sector, 21% of properties fall below the DHS threshold — a higher proportion than the 15.8% for all privately owned homes.

Calls for Urgency

Ms Hemming-Metcalfe stressed the need for clear guidance to help agents and landlords prepare:

“Deferring implementation until 2035 or later isn’t strategic – it’s negligent.

The delay legitimises inaction and leaves millions of tenants stuck in substandard homes for another decade, despite the fact we already have the data and tools to start driving progress.”

She also called for investment in the infrastructure needed to support large-scale property upgrades.