Thousands of rental homes failing to meet minimum standards

NEARLY THIRD OF PRIVATE TENANTS IN 'NON-DECENT' PROPERTIES IN PART OF COUNTY

- By TESS RUSHIN

MORE than 21,000 privately rented homes across Leicestershire are failing to meet minimum standards, new figures have revealed.

Almost a third of properties in one part of the county are classified as “non-decent,” with all parts of Leicestershire having a number of such homes in their area.

The data, from the government's housing survey, shows the number of “non-decent” homes in all parts of the country.

A classification of “non-decent” means the property is not meeting minimum standards for issues such as safety, comfort and repair.

In Leicestershire, the highest proportion of these homes is found in Melton, where almost a third were classified as “non-decent” in 2023.

That equates to 31 per cent of privately rented homes in the area.

A home can be classed as being non-decent for a number of reasons, including the following:

It does not meet the basic legal health and safety standards for housing;

It is not in a reasonable state of repair;

It does not have reasonably modern facilities and services;

It has insulation or heating that is not effective.

Melton Borough Council said it encouraged any private rented sector tenants who are concerned about the standards of their homes to contact them to allow their teams to “carry out assessments and take action as required”.

A spokesman added: “We are undertaking a review of our resourcing and processes in light of the changes arising from the Renters Reform Bill.

“We will evaluate all relevant data and insights as part of this process.”