A new report introduces the Non-Decent Index, which identifies areas with higher quantities of poor condition homes, for use as local authorities roll out the UK Government’s Decent Homes Standard from 2035.
The report, authored by Dr Michael Marshall from the School of Geography and Planning, aims to provide accessible and granular data on the location of homes in the private rented sector which do not meet minimum standards of condition and quality set out in the Decent Homes Standard (DHS).
The UK Government has announced plans to enforce an updated DHS from 2035, which will extend the standards to include privately rented homes, where it previously only covered social housing. The report argues that this presents a ‘generational opportunity’ to improve housing quality, but the current lack of data poses significant challenges to this goal.
The Non-Decent Index (NDI) proposed by Dr Marshall’s report is a publicly available index which can be used to identify areas with a high expected number of ‘non-decent’ privately rented homes as per the DHS standards. There is also a web app to visualise the data on a map of local authorities.
The report also identifies several risks associated with a high NDI, including property age, type, heating source, and energy efficiency rating. Analysis in the report shows that in many English urban areas, the private rented sector has become concentrated around neighbourhoods of older, terraced housing with poor thermal efficiency. However, high NDI areas also exist in rural areas, especially those off the gas grid.
Dr Marshall, Research Associate in the School of Geography and Planning said: "The English housing stock is among the oldest and least energy efficient in Europe. National statistics show that housing standards are lowest in the private rented sector, where hazards such as damp and mould are prevalent. Work needs to begin now to identify homes that fail to meet the Decent Homes Standard before its enforcement in 2035 and to communicate the forthcoming rights of tenants and responsibilities of landlords.
“This research shows that the NDI is able to accurately predict areas with a high frequency of health and safety hazards in private rented homes. The NDI can be used to target inspections and communications, inform the implementation of the Decent Homes Standard, and evidence the need for place-based interventions that improve housing conditions."
Read the report here and access the NDI dataset here. Access the purpose-built app to visualise the index here.