Decent Homes Standard
From Swikipedia
Introduction
Under the decent homes standard, a home in the United Kingdom is classified as decent if it is above the current statutory minimum standard for housing (the fitness standard), is in a reasonable state of repair, has reasonably modern facilities and provides a reasonable degree of thermal comfort i.e. it has effective insulation and efficient heating.
Brief Description
The Decent Homes Standard is legislation enacted by the present Labour government of the United Kingdom that aims to provide a minimum standard of housing conditions for all those who are housed in the public sector - i.e., council housing and council funded housing associations.
A decent home is one which meets modern standards of fitness, structure, energy efficiency and facilities.
Local authorities have been required to set out a timetable under which they will assess, modify and, where necessary, replace their housing stock according to the conditions laid out in the standard.
The criteria for the standard are as follows:
1. It must meet the current statutory minimum standard for housing
2. It must be in a reasonable state of repair
3. It must have reasonably modern facilities and services
4. It must provide a reasonable degree of thermal comfort
The policy also makes it possible for local councils to devolve their housing stock to registered social landlords, housing associations or private companies, and to seek funding under the Private Finance Initiative in order to fund future developments.
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