Decent Homes by 2035? There won’t be any small landlords left by then

Just another day and another government hammer blow to private landlords. Confirmation that all private (and social) landlords must bring their properties up to the Decent Homes Standard (DHS) by 2035. Yes, it might only be a decade away and Generation Rent has called out the government for ‘dragging their feet’.

It insists that millions of renters will stay trapped in poor-quality homes but let’s flip the tired old script: for small private landlords, this isn’t a delay. It’s just one more item on a death-by-a-thousand-cuts list that’s already driving many of us out of the market.

Hot on the heels of the EPC C mandate by 2030 (as noted in the Warm Homes Plan), the DHS piles on requirements that sound reasonable until you tally the costs.

Homes must be in reasonable repair, free from serious hazards like untreated damp and mould, provide adequate thermal comfort and include child-resistant window restrictors.

Landlords must ensure basics like a properly laid-out kitchen (which will be less than 20 years old), bathroom (less than 30 years old) and protection from external noise.

Fail to fix the damp? That’s a non-decent property. Fail any category? That’s potential enforcement action with a hefty fine.

Landlords offer quality homes

Leaving aside the fact that most landlords offer quality homes and would be mortified if they were accused otherwise, my concern is that private landlords are being held to a higher standard than homeowners.

For example, mine, and I’m guessing your children survived without child-resistant restrictors on every window.

So why focus on private and social landlords for this?

But 2035 feels distant compared to the real PRS killer: the Renters’ Rights Act kicking in from 1 May 2026.

Section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions will be gone. Fixed term assured shorthold tenancies will be abolished.

Joint-and-several contracts with sharers? One leaves, the contract fractures so good luck replacing someone easily.

Your old agreements become void, replaced by a system stacked against you.

Hefty fines will hurt

Then come the penalties: civil fines up to £40,000 (or even £7,000 per breach in some cases) for failing compliance on a growing list of ‘must-dos’ and ‘must-nots’.

Crikey, give the council officer a sly glance and you’ll be paying up.

The Act is money-spinner designed to cripple small landlords.

I’m fed up with being portrayed in this way without acknowledging that some tenants contribute to the home’s squalor through their own neglect.

And don’t get me started on the state of council and social housing.

Now there’s a ticking expensive bomb that taxpayers will have to foot to meet the Decent Homes Standard.

This isn’t about decency; it’s discrimination wrapped in virtue-signalling.

Small landlords, those are the traditional ones who built portfolios over decades, providing the bulk of rental stock, now face being robbed blind before retirement.

Mind you, Labour are making a good fist of abusing us while alive and setting up for asset grabs after death.

Will there be landlords?

By 2035, will any small landlords remain in the PRS? I think it’s doubtful.

We’re going the same way as small shopkeepers, once the backbone of what was a great nation.

Most of us will be gone by 2030, forced out by EPC upgrades, DHS works, impossible compliance and the risk of massive fines or tribunal losses.

Rental properties will sit empty or shift to corporate hands, rents will rise to cover it all, and supply will shrink.

Labour is effectively worsening the housing crisis it’s claiming to fix.

Generation Rent can complain about 2035 being too far away all they want but for those of us still here, it feels like a date chosen because by then the argument will be moot.

The traditional landlord will be gone. Retired, sold up, bankrupted or simply exhausted.

Standards matter. Decent homes matter; we get that. It’s what we are proud to offer.

But decency also includes fairness, proportionality and honesty.

Instead, what we have now is more punishment dressed up as policy.

By all means, ask for better homes but don’t pretend this is not also about who is allowed to provide them.

Until next time,

The Landlord Crusader