The Government has defined a decent home as meeting the following four criteria:
A - It Meets the Current Statutory Minimum Standard for Housing
Dwellings below this standard are those which have more than one hazard assessed as Catergory 1 under the Housing Health & Safety Rating System.
B - It is in a Reasonable State of Repair
Dwellings which fail to meet this criterion 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 Reasonably Modern Facilities and Services
Dwellings which fail to meet this criterion are those which lack three or more of the following:
- A reasonably modern kitchen (20 years old or less);
- A kitchen with adequate space and layout. The kitchen must contain all the required items appropriate for the size of the home eg: sink, cupboards, cooker space, worktops etc;
- A reasonably modern bathroom (30 years old or less);
- An appropriately located bathroom and WC - this means the bathroom and WC must not be accessed through a bedroom. The WC must not be on a different floor to the nearest wash hand basin. A WC without a wash hand basin must not open into a kitchen next to the food preparation area.
- Adequate insulation against external noise (where external noise is a problem). This refers to noise such as road, rail, aircraft or factory noise;
- Adequate size and layout of common areas for blocks of flats. Failures would include steep staircases, lack of hand rails or low headroom.
A home lacking two or less of the above is still classed as decent which means it is not necessary to modernise kitchens and bathrooms if a home passes the remaining criteria.
D - It Provides a Reasonable Degree of Thermal Comfort
This criterion requires dwellings to have both effective insulation and efficient heating.
More Information
Detailed information about the Government's Decent Homes Standard can be found on the website of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minsiter.
