Introduced in 2006, the Decent Homes Standard (DHS) is a set of minimum quality standards that UK social housing landlords must meet.

To be considered “decent,” a home must meet four simple criteria:

• The home must be free of serious health or safety hazards (e.g. structural risks, fire dangers, or severe damp).
• Key building components such as the roof, windows, doors, heating, and plumbing must be in good working order and not excessively old or damaged.
• The home should have reasonably modern kitchens, bathrooms, and adequate space and layout for daily living.
• The home must provide adequate insulation and efficient heating to keep it warm and energy efficient.

You can find the definition and guidance on the Decent Homes Standard here A decent home: definition and guidance – GOV.UK.

The Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) is an assessment tool used to identify potential hazards for properties we are responsible for.

A list of 29 HHSRS hazards can be found here

Your local authority is responsible for enforcing HHSRS under the Housing Act 2004 and works with landlords or property owners to remove or reduce any identified hazards.

If you have concerns about safety in your home ‘our safety in my home’ page has some useful information.  For information about reporting a repair visit our ‘repairs in my home’ page.

The Regulator of Social Housing assess social housing landlords against the Safety and Quality Standard and holds them to account by conducting regular inspections and reviewing data on tenant satisfaction and repairs performance.

Information to help you understand what is expected under the consumer standards can be found here Consumer standards Code of Practice – GOV.UK.

Details of our tenant satisfaction and repairs performance is also published online Tenant Satisfaction 2024-25 | CHS Group.

The Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 ensures that social housing landlords’ properties are fit for human habitation at the start of the tenancy and throughout the time of their tenancy.

Once a repair is reported to us, our contractors will respond within a reasonable timeframe to resolve the issue.

If your repair has not been resolved within a reasonable timeframe, you can contact us and we will aim to immediately resolve the issue with you.

From 27 October 2025, social housing landlords will have to address all emergency hazards and all damp and mould hazards that present a significant risk of harm to tenants to fixed timeframes.

Social housing landlords or responsible authorities are expected to:

• Investigate reported hazards within 10 working days and provide a written summary of findings to the tenant within 3 working days. Note: If repair work is completed before the end of the 3-day period, a written summary is not required. However, the tenant must still be informed of the work that was carried out
• Take action to repair hazards that pose a significant risk to health and safety within 5 working days of the report being produced
• Complete all repairs within a ‘reasonable time’, depending on the severity and nature of the issue
• Address emergency hazards (those posing an immediate risk to health) within 24 hours
• Provide suitable alternative accommodation if the hazard cannot be rectified within the required timeframe, or the issue poses a serious ongoing risk to the tenant’s health and safety

In 2026 the regulations will extend to include the following hazards where they present a significant risk of harm:

• excess cold and excess heat
• falls associated with baths etc., on level surfaces, on stairs and between levels
• structural collapse, and explosions
• fire, and electrical hazards
• domestic and personal hygiene and food safety

In 2027, the regulations will extend to all HHSRS hazards (apart from overcrowding) where they present a significant risk of harm.

We carry out stock condition surveys every 5 years to check the condition of the property and to check your home for hazards.

Within our surveys we may also complete an Energy performance certificates (EPCs) to tell you how energy efficient your building is.

The stock condition survey will look at the age and condition of the structure and fixture and fittings such as your bathroom and kitchen. This information helps us plan our investment programmes.

When we’re due to carry out a survey of your home, we’ll write to you and provide details of the contractor doing the survey and they’ll then arrange a convenient appointment directly with you.

CHS is continuously assessing the risk through regular surveys for the purpose of putting controls in place to reduce or remove hazards.

More information about the types of routine safety checks that we carry can be found on our Safety in my home page

When we do a stock condition survey, we will assess typical hazards identified under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) and put them into two categories:

• Category 1 hazards: These represent serious and immediate risks to a person’s health and safety
• Category 2 hazards: These are less serious or less urgent but may still pose a risk over time

When a hazard is reported to us, we also assess how likely the problem is to happen (likelihood), and how bad it will be if it does (consequence). As part of this assessment, we will consider your needs and rights, and we will involve you in the process.

If we identify a Category 1, emergency, or significant hazard, we will aim to reduce the likelihood of that hazard occurring though repairs, e.g. if there is a damp and mould hazard, we may clean the affected area until the root cause of the problem is investigated and repaired.

If we cannot make the property safe and reduce the hazard, we will discuss other options with you including alternative accommodation in some instances.

CHS maintains the condition of your home by replacing property components such as windows, doors, kitchen, bathrooms etc. The timescale for replacing components depends on its age and condition, past maintenance history and detailed stock condition surveys information.

We also carry out cyclical maintenance which would normally include, for example, electrical testing, external repainting, legionella control, the annual servicing of heating systems, fire alarms and lifts.

If we need access to the property to replace a component, we will notify tenants by letter when their property is scheduled for planned investment works.

If you would like to know the estimated date for planned investment, you can contact us and a member of our team will get back to you.

We use Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) data to understand the energy performance of your home including areas for improvement which could save you money on your bills and reduce CO₂ emissions.

In 2024 we received funding through the Government’s Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) to make energy efficiency improvements to our homes with the lowest energy efficiency ratings.

Properties included in our Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund programme, which runs from 2024-2026, have already been contacted and news about this programme can be found here.  

In addition, modern heating systems, windows, and doors installed through our planned investment programme will help to improve the energy efficiency of your home and reduce household bills.

The energy saving trust offer useful tips and advice to reduce energy costs https://energysavingtrust.org.uk/energy-at-home/.

CHS can also provide money saving advice in relation to household bills and in other areas – visit our Money Matters page for more information.

Some claims management companies who offer a ‘no win- no fee’ service and often promise pay-outs of several thousand pounds, however, these claims are rarely successful and claims are often resolved through our internal complaints procedure – you can find out more information here.  

Before signing any agreement with a claim management company, you should also first consider the following:

• You may be asked to attend court to provide evidence
• Compensation you receive may be reduced to cover your legal fees
• You may be liable for the cost of our legal fees
• We will be asked to supply details about your tenancy
• Your personal details may be shared with other third parties.

Before making a claim, you should also review your repair responsibilities to ensure you have met the conditions of your tenancy. You can find this information here

When a claim of disrepair is made, we will immediately appoint a solicitor to represent us and defend against any unjustified or unfounded claims.

We will also inspect the property and review our records to check whether any of the identified repairs have been previously reported, in line with your tenancy agreement.

If the issue has not been reported before, we will arrange for our contractors to carry out the necessary repairs.

If you have any concerns about the condition of your home, we’re here to help. Please contact us and a member of our team will be in touch.