Applied Energy Products: Meeting the Decent Homes Standard

Now, almost five years on, the Decent Homes Standard has evolved into a complex maze of regulations and legislation. The deadline is drawing steadily closer and with it comes a sense of urgency and a need for knowledge. But with so many other things to consider - energy efficiency, the Disability Discrimination Act, ever changing building regulations - how do local authorities keep track?

Here Chris Tait, Decent Homes Standard manager at Applied Energy Products, looks at the challenges local authorities face when trying to meet the Decent Homes Standard and other related targets effectively

Setting targets
The definition of a ‘decent home’ is one that is wind and weather tight, warm and has modern facilities. In summary the Decent Homes Standard consists of four main criteria that combine to measure the standard of a property - fitness for habitation, disrepair, modern facilities and a reasonable degree of thermal comfort.

In this respect, the actions that need to be taken to meet the Decent Homes Standard are inextricably linked to other important regulations and targets such as energy efficiency. Therefore, the Standard should not be seen as a stand-alone piece of legislation but as something that should be achieved in conjunction with existing and ongoing improvement targets.

Under the Kyoto Protocol, the UK is obligated to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to 12.5% below 1990 levels by 2010, whist the government also set a more aggressive and aspirational target of a 20% reduction. With the domestic sector alone accounting for 28% of the total UK emissions, housing is one of the key areas for improvement. Changes to Building Regulations and the Decent Homes Standard are two of the measures currently being implemented to tackle energy efficiency in private and social housing.

After decades of neglect, it is estimated that 2.1 million homes would have failed to meet the Decent Homes criteria in 1997 and thus the Standard has become the cornerstone for improving people’s quality of life in the home.  With this goal, the government has become dependent on local authorities and other social landlords to deliver housing that will ultimately meet these requirements and be regarded as ‘decent homes’. 

Although progress has been made, 1.1 million properties still remain non-decent, according to a recent government report, meaning that local authorities are facing an up hill struggle to meet the 2010 deadline and to achieve other energy efficiency targets.

Measuring success
As the underlying tenet of the Decent Homes Standard is to ensure that social housing tenants have a property that is conducive to a better quality of life, the starting point for assessment is therefore focused on analysing the fitness of properties in relation to the minimum requirement. 

The Decent Homes Standard encourages local authorities and those responsible for social housing stock to exceed the minimum standards where possible. The new Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) which has come into force this year, takes a much more robust approach for setting and achieving these minimum requirements.

The principle behind the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) is that a dwelling should provide a safe and healthy living environment for both the occupants and any visitors. It insists that a dwelling should be free from unnecessary and avoidable hazards or, where hazards are necessary or unavoidable, that they should be made as safe as reasonably possible.

This new rating system replaces the Housing Act and forms a key part of the Decent Homes Standard. It should be worked towards in conjunction with other property related legislation, such as the Building Regulations, and any local authority working to improve its housing stock should be aware of the latest targets and assessment procedures.

Meeting the Standard
Ensuring properties are fit for habitation also considers their state of repair and the guidelines for each are not mutually exclusive. Age and condition of the key building components, defined as those which, if in poor condition, could have an immediate impact on the integrity of the building and cause further deterioration in other components, are critical to a property’s ability to be wind, weather tight and warm. 

These vital components of a property, which include windows, doors and roofs, are not only required to achieve the Decent Homes Standard, but also go a long way towards meeting other important regulations such as energy efficiency.

Modern facilities and services are another criterion of the Decent Homes Standard that looks to add value and further improve the living conditions for tenants while working towards meeting additional targets. Seeing that in 2000, 83% of local authority stock was more than 30 years old, it comes as no surprise that significant funding has been mobilized to improve kitchens, bathrooms and heating systems.   To meet the Standard, kitchens must be 20 years old or less with adequate space and layout and bathrooms must be 30 years old or less and appropriately located.

The provision of modern facilities along with improvements to key building components to meet the Decent Homes Standard again brings energy efficiency to the fore. Improved air tightness combined with new heating systems and kitchen and bathroom facilities make ventilation an important consideration. Too much ventilation increases energy consumption for space heating equipment and can cause discomfort to occupants through cold draughts. Too little ventilation leads to poor indoor air quality, resulting in the build up of pollutants which can damage the building fabric and affect the health of occupants.

A balanced approach
Arguably the most important part of the Decent Homes Standard is concerned with ensuring dwellings provide a minimum level of warmth. The majority of homes that fail the Decent Homes Standard fail on the basis of this criterion and, as such, this is a key area that local authorities must address.  It is widely recognised that inadequately heated, damp homes are linked to poor health and living conditions as well as the deterioration of buildings through damp and mould. By creating an environment of thermal comfort, local authorities are more likely to provide a better quality of life for their tenants.

However, it should be remembered that thermal comfort should be provided in conjunction with the guidelines on health and safety and disrepair mentioned earlier, not to mention energy efficiency. Such is the importance of maximising energy usage and minimising running costs that ensuring effective insulation is regarded as equally important as installing efficient heating. And as heating, insulation and ventilation are not mutually exclusive, it is vital that local authorities provide a balance of each within their social housing. 

Improved insulation of cavity walls, roof space and under floors, and the correct sizing of a heating system can help to provide initial energy and cost savings. However, what local authorities must consider is that buildings also need an adequate supply of fresh air. Indeed, with an improved heating system comes the need for an equally improved standard of ventilation. It is essential that pollutants, including moisture, are removed effectively to prevent condensation and mould growth. And if moisture is taken away, then generally other indoor pollutants will also be removed.

In short, heating and ventilation must be balanced for optimum energy efficiency. It is up to the individual local authority to consider the building fabric and the needs of the household and implement the most effective heating and ventilation strategy to meet the Decent Homes Standard, building regulations and energy efficiency targets. In recognition of this, three energy efficiency programmes have been initiated to provide additional resources to help carry out the improvements.

The Energy Efficiency Commitment (EEC) tasks electricity and gas suppliers with encouraging and assisting domestic consumers (in both private and public sectors) to take up energy efficiency measures. Warm Front is a scheme to tackle fuel poverty by providing grants for packages of insulation and heating improvements. Transco's Affordable Warmth Programme has also introduced Affordable Warmth leases. These are targeted at registered social landlords and local authorities and are designed to make the installation of energy efficiency measures more financially attractive for both landlords and tenants.

Achieving targets
With so many Decent Homes Standard criteria to consider, plus the additional regulations and legislations that go hand in hand with social housing provision, its not surprising that local authorities are under increasing pressure to deliver.

Between now and 2010, around 220,000 properties per annum will have to be brought up to the Decent Homes Standard. This represents an 83% increase in the volume of houses worked on, based on the average of 120,000 homes per annum between 1997 and 2004. Some of the key repair, maintenance and improvement works include kitchen / bathroom upgrades, and the installation of new heating systems, all of which represents a significant commitment and workload for local authorities.  

Although the Decent Homes Standard is the hot topic of the moment, it is important that local authorities do not work towards it in isolation. As the 2010 deadline looms, there comes a need for renewed commitment to meet the targets, but also consideration of broader energy efficiency goals and recognition of life after 2010. The government has already expressed a desire to see a more ambitious Decent Homes Plus target to supersede the current 2010 goal. Included in this is “a much more ambitious thermal comfort criterion which is in line with Building Regulations”, with an expected target date in the 2015-2020 range.

Given the uncertainty of the 2010 Decent Homes Standard, and the fact that energy efficiency targets and people’s aspirations are likely to change over the intervening period, the immediate focus is quite rightly on meeting the existing deadlines. However, there will always be other regulations and legislation for local authorities to consider, and decisions regarding the implementation of the current Decent Homes Standard should be undertaken with the long-term impacts in mind.