Cardo Welcomes the Decent Homes Standard (2025) as a Step Toward Safer, Warmer, More Dignified Homes
The updated Decent Homes Standard (2025) marks a significant step forward in defining what it means to live in a safe, functional, and comfortable home. The new standard applies to both social and private rented housing in England and reflects a modern understanding of tenant needs and expectations.
Key elements of the revised standard include:
- Tackling damp and mould
- Ensuring efficient heating and insulation
- Maintaining properties in a reasonable state of repair
- Meeting age criteria for kitchens and bathrooms
- Providing adequate space and noise insulation
At Cardo, we welcome this long-overdue update.
Alana McCarthy, Director of Partnerships at Cardo, commented:
“This is a welcome opportunity to align the Decent Homes Standards with modern expectations of what makes a home truly decent.
After nearly two decades of the current standards, it is crucial that legislation keeps pace with the realities of people’s lives and there is a new definition of what a safe, warm and dignified home means based on people’s lived experience.
We understand the importance of working in partnership with our clients, supply chains, tenants, and policymakers to deliver these important improvements and address damp and mould, energy performance, and building safety at scale.
Aligned to Awaab’s Law, innovative technology and digital tools will help us to continually monitor the health and safety of the homes we serve. We are maximising social value with sustainable outcomes, and the Decent Homes Standard will help us to build on our green-skilled workforce to meet the changing demands of the sector, creating secure and meaningful local jobs and supporting the communities we work in every day.”
At Cardo, we’re ready to step up, scale up, and work alongside our partners to deliver the safe, warm, efficient homes that residents rightly expect and deserve.