43% of London’s social housing below minimum standards

An estimated 343,000 families in London are at risk of illness as they live in social housing which is below minimum standards and aren’t energy efficient.

This means 43% of social housing in the capital doesn’t meet the current Decent Homes Standard and doesn’t have an energy efficiency EPC rating of C, which is deemed adequate.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, is urging the government to provide emergency investment to improve homes and for failing social landlords to be penalised.

Khan says this could prevent tragedies like two-year-old Awaab Ishak who died in a social flat in Rochdale as a result of the mould in his house.

He said: ‘The heart-breaking case of Awaab Ishak shows the real-life consequences of unacceptably substandard housing. I am determined that we must not see more tragic cases like this, which is why I’m calling on the Government to take responsibility.

‘I’m pleased to see the Government is following my lead in restricting funding to underperforming social landlords, but much more needs to be done to ensure no child or family has to live in social housing that is cold or unsafe.

‘That is why we need to see emergency action from ministers to deliver higher standards, which must include providing additional funding for social landlords.’

Khan added that social homes need to be proactively inspected so problems can be spotted before they become serious and proper investment would help to raise standards.

Standards were raised between 2004 and 2014, but this has now stalled, as government funding was nearly completely withdrawn in 2016. Consequently, the target to reach 100% compliance with the Decent Homes Standard was not reached.

The Mayor has warned that the government could also fail to meet its own targets of halving the number of non-decent homes by 2030 if ministers do not commit to long term investment.

He is now calling for a reform to improve standards in the sector, matching regulatory measures in the Social Housing Regulation Bill currently before parliament.

Providing more detail on regulatory standards and improving energy efficiency could save tenants an average of 20% on their bills, according to City Hall. This could, in turn, pay for itself within 10 years, as this reduces illness, disability and NHS expenditure.

Photo by Pawel Czerwinski