East Suffolk Council
Decent Homes Standard
East Suffolk Council (ESC) takes its responsibility as a landlord very seriously and to help us understand the quality of the homes we provide and inform our investment plan for them, we have been conducting stock condition surveys. You may have already had a survey completed by Pennington Choices, over the last 18 months. If you have not, they will be in touch soon, as we are planning to have every property surveyed by the end of the year.
The majority of surveys have been completed. We have been reviewing the results and have identified that many of our homes do not currently meet what is known as the Government’s “Decent Homes Standard”.
Based on the levels of non-decency we have identified, East Suffolk Council has referred itself to the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) who will now consider the information we have provided and will determine whether any action needs to be taken against the council.
As part of our response to the RSH, we are sharing a robust improvement plan, to ensure this situation is rectified as quickly as possible.
You will probably have lots of questions, so we have listed some of them below. If you have a question, which you do not think is covered here, please complete our online contact form and we will respond within three working days.
What are the issues?
Who is the Regulator of Social Housing?
The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) is responsible for ensuring that all homes provided by Registered Providers (Housing Associations) and Local Authority Registered Providers (councils) meet a set of standards.
The RSH have published a video, which sets out how they regulate landlords.
The RSH also has lots of information on their website.
Why have you made a self-referral?
We have made a self-referral following a large number of properties, which have been surveyed, being identified as ‘non decent’ under the Decent Homes Standard.
ESC is required to ensure that all its housing stock meets a minimum statutory quality requirement. This is known as the Decent Homes Standard. Since 2023, ESC has been undertaking stock condition surveys to its housing stock. We have now completed approximately 75% of the surveys and these have identified that 50% of our homes, do not meet the Decent Homes Standard.
As a result of this, it is necessary for ESC to report this matter to the RSH which we have done on 3 June 2025.
What is a Decent Home and the Decent Home Standard?
The Decent Homes Standard is a set of minimum standards for the condition of socially rented homes. It ensures that homes are fit for habitation, are in a reasonable state of repair, have modern facilities, and provide a reasonable degree of thermal comfort.
A decent home is one, which should be wind and weather tight, warm and have modern facilities.
There are four criteria a home should meet:
1. It must meet the minimum statutory requirements, under the Housing, Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS)
a. Homes should be free from hazards, enabling residents to live in homes, which do not pose a risk to their health and/or safety
b. A Category 1 (Cat 1) Hazard means there is something that could cause a serious and immediate risk to a resident’s health and safety
c. A Category 2 (Cat 2) Hazard means there is something that needs to be remedied but it is less serious and immediate
2. The home should be in a reasonable state of repair
a. One or more of the key building components are old and, because of their condition need replacing or major repair
b. Two or more of the non-key building components are old, and because of their condition need replacing or major repair
3. The home should have reasonable modern services and facilities
Homes which fail to meet this criterion are those which lack three or more of the following:
a. Reasonably modern kitchen (20 years old or less)
b. Kitchen with adequate space and layout
c. Reasonably modern bathroom (30 years old or less)
d. Appropriately located bathroom and WC
e. Adequate insulation against external noise (where external noise is a problem)
4. The home should have a reasonable degree of thermal comfort
This includes programmable heating and adequate insulation
What is ESC doing to address this issue?
East Suffolk Council is putting programmes of work in place, to ensure that we undertake the necessary works required to ensure that all our homes meet the Decent Homes Standard.
These programmes of work will be designed to ensure that, in future, properties do not fail to meet the Decent Homes Standard.
We are currently developing an Investment Programme, which we intend to finalise by the end of July 2025. We will then be appointing suitable contractors to undertake the works and we are expecting these to be in place by the end of 2025.
If your home is affected and repairs and improvements are required, we will contact you to make arrangements to complete the works.
Health and safety compliance records
In May 2022, we made a self-referral to the Regulator of Social Housing due to there being inadequate health and safety compliance checks within our housing stock.
The council has made progress since the Regulatory Notice was issued in 2022. We have recruited a new team, including a Strategic Lead for Regulatory Compliance, four Compliance Contracts Managers, two Clerk of Works, a Damp and Mould Inspector and dedicated Administrative Support.
We have introduced a Housing, Health and Safety Board, which oversees and monitors compliance monthly and there are quarterly update reports presented to the council’s Corporate Leadership Team and Cabinet.
Most recently, the council commissioned an independent external assurance review to assess our compliance levels against these related elements of the Regulatory Notice. The report for this review was received in May 2025, which recognises that progress has been made. However, it is clear from the report that there are improvements that could be made with record-keeping, systems and information management relating to compliance. The report has provided a number of recommendations for further improvement, and these have been incorporated within our wider service improvement plan.
The current levels of health and safety compliance within our housing stock are:
| Compliance Area | Level of Compliance |
|---|---|
| Asbestos | 100% |
| Electrical | 98.84% |
| Fire | 100% |
| Gas | 99.97% |
| Lift | 100% |
| Water | 100% |
What is ESC doing about condensation, damp and mould?
We have a dedicated Damp and Mould Inspector, but we also have other inspectors who can conduct assessments against the Housing, Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS).
We have recently identified that we need a more robust monitoring systems for reports of damp and mould. Therefore, we have implemented an interim manual recording system but are currently investigating what systems we can use to help us manage this more effectively.
We are procuring new, dedicated software that will ensure that all records, information and documentation associated with property-related health and safety management are accurate and up to date. This will be implemented by November 2025. Until then, we have in place a number of additional checks to ensure that the information that we hold remains accurate.
What if I have damp and mould in my home?
If you have damp and mould in your home, it is important you report it to us as soon as possible, so we can carry out a survey to identify the cause and carry out any necessary repairs and maintenance.
There are multiple ways you can report a damp and mould issue or request a repair:
- Contacting Customer Services
- myHome East Suffolk
- Online housing repair request form
- By post
- By email
- In person at our Customer Services centre
More information on the types of repairs the council is responsible for and timeframes:
Does this mean my home isn’t safe?
We have no reason to believe that any properties are not safe. If there are any additional checks or surveys required, we will write to you to arrange this.