Housing Standards - Tenants and Landlords

Many properties are affected by condensation and associated mould growth, particularly in the colder months of the year.

Condensation is caused by too much moisture within a property and can generally be improved by reducing the amount of moisture produced and increasing the rate of ventilation or temperature.

You can find further guidance in our Controlling Damp and Condensation in Your Home booklet or the government guidance.

The organisation Shelter provides a template letter that you could use to report any issues to a landlord. 

If you don't receive a satisfactory response from your landlord - they must do repairs in a reasonable time - then we may be able to help. You can report poor rented housing conditions or problems with repairs by completing the online form.

An officer may need to visit you to carry out an assessment of the property using the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS). HHSRS is a risk assessment tool to help local authorities identify hazards in residential properties.

We have powers to make sure owners and landlords keep their properties to an acceptable standard. If the assessment finds significant housing hazards, then the officer will take action to make sure the property meets an acceptable standard.

The assessment most likely will not result in a change to any housing application or banding.

Check how to get repairs done in your rented home.

Awaab’s Law is an English housing regulation requiring social landlords to address severe hazards, such as damp and mould, within set timescales. It was introduced after the death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak in 2020.

Your landlord must deal with emergency hazards and significant damp and mould hazards within set timescales. You need to provide as much information as you can on the hazard and who lives in your home to your landlord, so they can make an accurate decision.

Awaab’s Law: Guidance for tenants in social housing - GOV.UK

Housing associations must investigate and fix serious damp and mould within legal timescales set out in Awaab’s Law.

Tell your landlord about things that need fixing as soon as you can. You can usually do this online, via email or telephone.

There is also a template you can use on the Shelter website to ask for repairs from a social landlord.

If a repair is not completed in a reasonable time or you are unhappy with the works carried out, you can make a formal complaint to your landlord through their complaints process. If this does not resolve the matter, you can complain to the Housing Ombudsman Service. 

In some circumstances, the council may be able to help; please complete the online form.

The Decent Homes Standard (DHS) is a UK government technical standard for social housing, requiring properties to be safe, warm and in a reasonable state of repair. 

The current DHS, introduced in 2001 and last updated in 2006, has set the minimum standard that social homes must meet. It has improved the housing conditions of millions of social rented sector tenants. 

The new DHS will apply from 2035 (MEES implementation dates are set out below and vary by tenure) to both the social and private rented sectors, at which point regulation and enforcement against these standards by the Regulator of Social Housing and local authority housing teams will begin

More information can be found in The New Decent Homes Standard: policy statement - GOV.UK.

Renting is changing. Reforms to the private rented sector in England are bringing in new rights and responsibilities for landlords, letting agents and tenants. 

As a landlord, you play an important role in delivering these reforms and will need to understand what these changes mean for you and your business. That way, you can be confident that you are complying with the law and providing your tenants with a safe, affordable and decent home. 

To find out more, visit Private landlords.

Landlords also have a legal duty to provide certain certificates to any tenant before any tenancy commences and at certain subsequent periods.

You must:

• make sure that any gas equipment you supply is safely installed and maintained by a Gas Safe registered engineer

• arrange for a gas safety check to be carried out at least once a year, by a Gas Safe registered engineer

• give your tenant a copy of the gas safety check record before they move in or within 28 days of the check.

You can find more information from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) as the enforcement authority.

Landlords must make sure the property's electrical installation is safe. You must:

• inspect the electrical installation at least every 5 years

• give the tenant a copy of the inspection report

• fix anything that's unsafe within 28 days of the report being undertaken.

You must also make sure any appliances you provide are safe.

Read the full guidance for electrical safety standards on GOV.UK.

Landlords must provide an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) before a tenant moves into a property. An EPC shows you how energy efficient a property is. Properties are rated from A to G, A being the most efficient. Finding a more efficient property could help tenants save money on fuel bills.

Currently, a property must have a rating of at least E before a tenancy can start or be renewed. There are proposals that this could be increased to a C rating by 2030.

The government has provided guidance for landlords: Domestic private rented property: minimum energy efficiency standard - landlord guidance.

EPCs are not required for House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) properties.

Landlords must:

• follow safety regulations

• provide at least one smoke alarm on each floor of the property used for living accommodation

• provide a carbon monoxide (CO) alarm in rooms where a fixed combustion appliance other than a gas cooker, such as a boiler, fireplace or wood burning stove

• check tenants have access to escape routes at all times

• make sure all the furniture and fittings they provide are fire safe. The Fire Safety Advice Centre has further information about furniture and furnishings fire regulations

• carry out a written risk assessment and take any action necessary, if your property is a licensed House in Multiple Occupation (HMO).

The government has issued guidance on fire and CO detectors. 

Failure to comply with the regulations could result in a penalty of up to £5,000.

In some circumstances this level of fire detection would not be adequate, dependant on any disabilities the occupants have, the layout of the property or its use.

Further guidance: Fire Kills (GOV.UK).

It would always be wise to consult your electrician to ensure you are compliant with British Standard.

Landlords of domestic rental properties should be aware of their duty to assess the risk of exposure to Legionella, to ensure safety of their tenants and implement control measures necessary.

You can find more information about Legionella and landlords' responsibilities on the Health and Safety Executive website.

From January 2023, the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 make it a requirement for responsible persons of high-rise residential buildings to provide information on their building(s) to their local Fire and Rescue Service. In Huntingdonshire this is Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service.

A high-rise residential building is defined as a building containing two or more sets of domestic premises and is at least 18 metres tall or has at least seven storeys.

The Regulations apply to England only and are introduced under Article 24 of the Fire Safety Order.