The National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) is urging the government to adopt recommendations from the 2022 review of the UK’s Housing, Health & Safety Rating System (HHSRS).
The previous government had published a policy paper in September 2023 outlining the next steps from this review.
This included the introduction of statutory and enforcement guidance, updated tenant and landlord guidance with specific work to support inspections of fire and explosion hazards.
The NRLA is urging the new government to adopt these to raise standards in both the private and social rented sectors.
Given the government has already pledged to extend the Decent Home Standard (DHS) to include private rented properties, the NRLA warned there remains a “critical lack of consistency” with respect to enforcement of standards in different UK regions.
“The NRLA supports the efforts to drive up standards across all rental housing, but it is crucial that the government base its next steps on good quality evidence and professional experience,” said Ben Beadle, CEO of the NRLA.
Specifically, Ben said the Renters Rights Bill - which recently began its second reading in commons - requires a comprehensive and comprehensible set of standards which the HHSRS review could provide.
Ben added: “It is essential that the effort and insights which contributed to the review is not wasted by allowing the findings to languish in a Whitehall filing cabinet."
