Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to ensure council-owned homes meet an appropriate housing standard.

All social rented homes are required to meet the Government’s Decent Homes Standard. The Standard requires that homes are free of serious hazards, are in a reasonable state of repair, have reasonably modern facilities and services such as kitchens and bathrooms, and have efficient heating and effective insulation.

We are delivering on our Social Housing White Paper commitments by reviewing the Decent Homes Standard as part of our transformation of the social housing regulatory system. The review will consider whether the Standard needs to be updated to make sure it is delivering what is needed for safety and decency today.