Housing Standards

At Anchor we take our responsibilities very seriously and are committed to ensuring our properties meet the standards which are set by the Government. This page explains what this means.

Decent Homes Standard

The Decent Homes Standard is a quality standard set by the Government that social-rented homes must meet.

The Decent Homes Standard states your home must satisfy four criteria:

it must meet the current statutory minimum standard for housing
be in a reasonable state of repair.
have reasonably modern facilities and services.
provide a reasonable degree of thermal comfort.

To make sure we meet the Decent Home Standard on all our properties we carry out thousands of property condition surveys annually and will use this information to plan our programme of improvement works. These surveys are informed by detailed government guidelines on how to meet the standard.
Our aim is to carry out a survey of every rented home and all shared parts, such as the hallways between flats, at least once every five years.

We report to the Regulator of Social Housing annually how we perform in meeting this standard and publish the result with our Tenant Satisfaction Measures.

Homes Fitness for Human Habitation

The Homes Fitness for Human Habitation Act 2018, requires landlords to ensure that their properties, including any common parts, are fit for human habitation both at the beginning and throughout the life of the tenancy.

To be fit for human habitation a property must be safe, healthy and free of things that could cause you or anyone else in your household serious harm.

The Government has published a guide for tenants who are concerned about the condition of their home. It sets out who is covered by the Homes Fitness for Habitation Act and what actions they can take.