Decent Homes Standard (DHS)
Decent Homes Standard (DHS)
The Decent Homes Standard (DHS) is a technical standard for social housing introduced by the Government.
For a home to be classed as 'decent' it must meet four criteria:
- A – it meets the current statutory minimum standards for housing
- B – it is in a reasonable state of repair
- C – it has reasonable modern facilities and services
- D – it provides a reasonable degree of thermal comfort
At Berneslai Homes, we define the Decent Homes Standard as: 'A Decent Home is one which is wind and weather tight, warm, and has modern facilities.'
Decency in more detail
A – it meets the current statutory minimum standards for housing
Dwellings that fail are those containing one or more hazards assessed as serious (‘Category 1’) under HHSRS – Housing Health and Safety Rating System.
B – it is in a reasonable state of repair
Dwellings that fail are those where either:
- one or more of the key building components are old and, because of their condition need replacing or major repair or
- two or more of the other building components are old and because of their condition need replacing or major repair
C – it has reasonable modern facilities and services
Dwellings that fail are those lacking three or more of the following:
- a reasonably modern kitchen (20 years old or less)
- a kitchen with adequate space and layout
- a reasonably modern bathroom (30 years old or less)
- an appropriately located bathroom and WC
- adequate insulation against external noise (where there is an external noise problem)
- adequate size and layout of common areas for blocks of flats
D – it provides a reasonable degree of thermal comfort
This requires dwellings to have both effective insulation and efficient heating.
Stock condition surveying programme
We have an ongoing annual stock condition programme, carrying out stock condition surveys of the council housing stock to assess the condition and future maintenance needs.
The stock condition programme assesses and collects information on the age and condition of components and identify any HHSRS (Housing Health and Safety Rating System) hazards in your home. We record this information our asset management database (PIMSS). Any Category 1 hazards identified by Stock Condition Surveying are escalated for immediate remediation.