New research from Inventory Base shows that even reasonable targets in improving England’s housing stock will have a high cost
Reducing the stock of non-decent homes by 20% via repair and remediation would still cost landlords a combined £1.43bn, the research shows.
This also highlights the number of homes that do not meet decent standards, as around 1.1m properties have failed standard checks from 2015-2024.
Remediation costs are high for many
On average, remediation costs for non-decent homes reach around £6,500 to £10,000. With costs so high, many landlords may prefer to sell their property rather than pay for repairs. This could put further pressure on the rental sector, when constructing new rental homes is also difficult.
Of the houses that do not meet decency standards, 46.1% fail to meet the minimum requirements under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System, 40.3% fail to meet thermal comfort standards, 25.8% fall into the disrepair category, and 9.3% lack modern facilities.
Despite these being recorded, the shift towards remediating homes to make them decent has been minimal.
This may be set to change with the introduction of the Renters’ Rights Act and reforms to the Housing Health and Safety Rating System this year, more pressure will be put on landlords to fix their properties.
This has lead to Inventory Bases’s predicted 20% reduction over the next decade, raising 220,000 non-decent homes out of the sector, either vie remediation of issues or by the landlord exiting the market.
The costs will still be high, as it stands
The cost of remediation will still be high, with the average being £6,500 per property based on English Housing Survey data, meaning the cost will be around £143m per year, or £1.43bn over the decade.
Costs can spike even higher where more extreme remediation or repairs are needed.
Sián Hemming-Metcalfe, operations director at Inventory Base, said: “As a sector, we need to be honest about what progress actually looks like. A 20% reduction sounds positive, but if that change is driven by landlords leaving rather than properties improving, we are not solving the problem, we are reshaping it.
“Increasing that rate of improvement to 30% would require fully funded enforcement, consistent penalties, and a level of reinvestment that current margins simply do not support. On the current trajectory, 20% is realistic. However, the concern is that even this outcome leaves hundreds of thousands of tenants in non-decent homes.”
The full data can be viewed here.
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