The Government has published its response to the Decent Homes Standard consultation with a statement from Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook. Sadly the Government decided to remove flooring provision from the standard which is so disappointing for the hundreds of thousands of social housing tenants living without flooring and all of the charities and campaigners who have worked along End Furniture Poverty to lobby for its inclusion.
A key excerpt from the Minister’s speech is: “We recognise that some landlords are already providing floor coverings, but many residents struggle to provide their own basic furnishings. As such, we intend to work with landlords and tenants to rapidly identify cost-effective ways in which landlords can better support tenants in need.”
We believe that flooring provision should not be a postcode lottery and should not depend on who your landlord happens to be – until all landlords are providing flooring coverings, there is still work to do. Residents need help with flooring and furnishings, it should not be an either/or situation.
We will be working hard now to ensure that this process is indeed ‘rapid’ and are already starting to bring together campaigners and tenants to plan how we will contribute to this process. If you would like to work with us on this, please do get in touch.
We have been told that the proposed Best Practice to Furniture Provision is still a possibility but that they are committed to developing ‘strong guidance’. What steps will be taken to ensure that the sector takes notice of any guidance and how that will be measured will be a priority for us.
The full suite of Decent Homes Standard documents, including the new Standard, is here, and watch this space for information on our next steps!
For information, here are our responses to the Decent Homes Standard Consultation:
Flooring Provision
Flooring is an integral part of any property but, due to its expense, many social housing tenants are forced to live without. For any home to be considered decent, floor coverings in all habitable rooms should be a minimum requirement.
Research by End Furniture Poverty shows that at least 1.2m people live without flooring and 61% of those are social housing tenants, highlighting the extent of the problem.
Walking on bare floorboards or concrete floors is an unsafe environment for children to learn to walk and play, for the elderly and for those with disabilities. It can also make it difficult to heat the home, making it more expensive to keep adequately warm.
Additionally, it is dehumanising to live in a property which lacks the fundamental flooring required to make it a home, causing significant mental health strain on those in these conditions. Tenants can also get into unmanageable debt trying to floor a rented property themselves, leaving them unable to buy other essentials.
There are numerous benefits to providing floor coverings, for both tenants and landlords, including increased tenancy sustainment, greater pride in their home, increased community cohesion, and health and wellbeing benefits and reduced social isolation.
We agree with the proposed idea that flooring from a previous tenant could be used ‘‘if they are clean, free from hazards and in a reasonable state of repair at the start of the tenancy’’. Currently, between tenures, social landlords remove flooring throughout the property which is both wasteful and places an unnecessary burden on new tenants.
This would greatly strengthen criterion C of the Decent Homes Standard while vastly improving the quality of housing available to those on low incomes.
Proposed Best Practice Guide to Furniture Provision
Furniture provision in social housing can vastly improve the physical and mental health of tenants, whilst also having a positive impact on their social and financial wellbeing. When considering best practice guidance for the Decent Homes Standard, furniture provision should be a cornerstone of good quality social homes.
Only 2% of social homes are let as furnished, compared to 29% in the private rental sector. Research from End Furniture Poverty shows that, among social housing tenants, 8% are living in ‘deep furniture poverty’ – missing three or more essential furniture and white goods items.
As a result, the best practice guidance should strongly encourage landlords to provide furniture in at least 10% of their general needs stock. Furnishing 10% of their stock will ensure that the most vulnerable social housing tenants are able to access the essential items needed to live a secure and fulfilling life.
Without this, vulnerable tenants such as survivors of domestic abuse or those escaping homelessness will move into an empty box rather than a home.
Furnishing a full property can be an insurmountable challenge for these groups. As a result, many enter unmanageable debt, often with high credit attached, to furnish their home. Furniture provision can prevent this happening.
The best method of providing this furniture support is furnished tenancies (FTs). For those on benefits, this allows the cost of furniture and appliances to be added to the service charge of Universal Credit.
FTs also create cost savings for other departments as every £1 invested has a minimum return of £2.10 for the wider public purse. It is not just the right thing to do morally; it is the right thing to do financially.
