Enforcement is the issue on the decent homes standard | Letters
Dr Stephen Battersby fears that England could be doubling up on underresourced regulatory agenciesWhile the anger at the timeline for enforcing the decent homes standard (DHS) in England might be expected, it is also arguable that enforcing decent home standards is not as difficult as campaigners make out (‘Absurd’: decent homes standard for England’s private renters will not be enforced until 2035, 28 January).Local authorities already have powers and duties to deal with threats to health and safety in both the private rented sector and the social rented sector. The presence of a category 1 hazard would make the home non-decent and local authorities are already under a statutory duty to deal with these. Many of the factors in the revised DHS could give rise to category 2 hazards, which the authorities could also deal with. The issue is lack of enforcement by local authorities using the powers they have already under the Housing Act 2004. Continue reading...
Dr Stephen Battersby fears that England could be doubling up on underresourced regulatory agencies
While the anger at the timeline for enforcing the decent homes standard (DHS) in England might be expected, it is also arguable that enforcing decent home standards is not as difficult as campaigners make out (‘Absurd’: decent homes standard for England’s private renters will not be enforced until 2035, 28 January).
Local authorities already have powers and duties to deal with threats to health and safety in both the private rented sector and the social rented sector. The presence of a category 1 hazard would make the home non-decent and local authorities are already under a statutory duty to deal with these. Many of the factors in the revised DHS could give rise to category 2 hazards, which the authorities could also deal with. The issue is lack of enforcement by local authorities using the powers they have already under the Housing Act 2004. Continue reading...
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