Decent Homes Standard (DHS) - Tenant Feedback Questionnaire

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Closes 17 Jan 2025

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Tenant Feedback

The DHS is a minimum standard that all social housing properties should meet, it combines four pillars as listed;

  1. Meet the current statutory minimum fitness standard for housing as set out in Article 46 of the Housing (NI) Order 1981
  2. Ensuring a property is in a reasonable state of repair
  3. Having reasonably modern facilities and services
  4. Providing a reasonable degree of thermal comfort

Pillar C indicates that a building component (kitchen, bathroom fittings, etc) can only fail to meet the Standard by being old and being in poor condition. It is being considered that the “Age” requirement should be removed from the DHS and therefore a component would be judged on condition alone.  During the consultation we received mixed feedback from housing providers regarding the removal of the Age requirement.

In relation to component replacement - If the term “modern” is used in place of age – feedback states this could cause confusion. Tenants may believe that a kitchen or bathroom may need replaced as it is not modern in terms of style despite the fact it is functioning with all working components and installed in the last 10 years.

1. Which do you view as more important to assess if a kitchen or bathroom needs replaced?
2. If age is removed from the DHS then replacement of components would be based on condition only, would you be concerned that the onus will be on the tenant to report component disrepair?

Explanatory text

Currently the NIHE and HA use age of components for planned maintenance works, based on average lifespans of the component.

3. Do you have any views on how your social housing provider should plan maintenance work without referring to the “Age” criteria?