Almost 3.5 million occupied homes did not meet the Decent Homes Standard, a minimum standard of housing conditions in 2o20.

That’s one of the findings of recent data published by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) which shows in 2020, an estimated 2.2 million houses had at least one Category 1 hazard and nearly 941,000 had serious damp.

The report suggests there is a strong relationship between energy efficiency and housing quality and most homes with poor energy efficiency do not meet the Decent Homes Standard.

In 2020, 96% of homes with an energy efficiency rating (EER) of band F or G failed the Decent Homes Standard, as did 38% of homes in EER band E.

In contrast, 7% of homes with an EER band C and 15% in EER band D were non-decent.

The report suggests improvements in housing quality have not happened consistently in all
regions – in 2020, Yorkshire and the Humber had the highest proportion of non-decent homes, around 20% of the total.

The authors of the report estimate that it was one of the regions with the lowest level of improvement between 2010 and 2020.

The biggest improvements between 2010 and 2020 were seen in the South East, followed by London, the East of England and the West Midlands, the DLUHC has said.