NRLA welcomes consultation to extend the Decent Homes Standard to the PRS

Do owner occupiers arbitrarily rip out a well fitted, well designed quality kitchen solely on the grounds it has reached its twentieth birthday?

No.

This aspect may have made sense in 2006 when applied to social housing at that time where the scale of the operations meant that such work was a continual ongoing operation.

To apply this without nuance to the traditional PRS where such matters are more reactive for a typical landlord with one or a small number of properties and would normally be scheduled when necessary in between tenancies is indicative of the utter lack of comprehension of how the PRS operates.

I have a flat for my own use with the original 1988 fitted kitchen still in very good order and a neutral wood design I find perfectly acceptable and have no plans to change it.

To have to refit a kitchen with tenants in situ purely because the calendar reaches a certain date is more than just plain stupid. Bathrooms are arbitrarily given an extra decade but the principle is just as daft.

Get supply and demand in balance and there would be no need for this nonsense, the market would soon tell you when your property needed a refresh.

Reply to the comment left by Keith Wellburn at 02/07/2025 - 11:11
What are the merits of a kitchen (or bathroom) refit this from a 'green' perspective?

We are encouraged to reuse/repair/refurbish items in most other walks of life, and kitchens/ bathrooms are no different. There are a number of factors to be considered in a refit, and cost is only one of them

NRLA doing their best to alienate their members again!

Reply to the comment left by Keith Wellburn at 02/07/2025 - 11:11
As it currently stands, you only have to replace kitchens/bathrooms under the DHS if older than the specified age AND in disrepair.

Just being older than the specified age doesn't mean you need to replace, if that was the case then all City Center apartments older than 20 years will all need kitchen ripping out, there'll be no rentals left!

Reply to the comment left by Billy Gunn at 02/07/2025 - 13:17That’s interesting. It remains to be seen how it will be interpreted / gold plated when applied to the PRS. It never seems to work the other way around though - I believe it’s standard practice to hand over social rent properties without floor coverings, which would be very rare in the PRS.

It would perhaps be helpful for the NRLA to give more clarity to the replacement criteria - virtually giving Shelter and GR a stick to beat any LL with anything over the stated ages.

Why do we need more intervention than is already in the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018? Gov.uk has a great guide to what disrepair that covers and how tenants can enforce their rights. Is it just a case of adding some timescales for repairs to be carried out, or is it adding a criminal offence that the government thinks will make all the difference?

Reply to the comment left by Keith Wellburn at 02/07/2025 - 13:31If you look at the details of the current DHS then a kitchen is classed as in disrepair if 3 or more items need replacing from the following:
cold drinking water supply
hot water supply
sink
worktops
cabinets
cooking provision
A kitchen also has to have adequate space and layout
But this could all change when implemented to the PRS

In all honesty it seems like they'll need to be DHS assessors just like EPC assessors as 'disrepair' is open to interpretation. I would rather have an accredited DHS assessor assess the property and issue a certificate than make a call myself and risk being prosecuted.

My properties have old kitchens. Perfectly usable and the tenants have never mentioned having a new one.

Of course, I can have a new kitchen fitted. The rent will rise to cover the cost.

Reply to the comment left by Billy Gunn at 02/07/2025 - 13:48
Having personally done plenty of bathroom and kitchen refits, the criteria are a little bizarre - 3 from that list; cold water supply, hot water supply and sink could mean a mixer tap past its best and a worn sink - basically a new sink including tap in an otherwise good kitchen would mean no issues. Just like a pragmatic owner occupier would do.

Only one house left that won’t be re-let when the current tenants leave. From personal experience having an Additional HMO licence inspection with a council employee who couldn’t tell a 4 panel Victorian door from the fully compliant fitted fire door with all the bells and whistles that was actually fitted plus a few more howlers, I wish everybody negotiating this (and the need to start work ONE WEEK after the smallest trace of damp has been investigated and a report produced if I have read the proposed new rules correctly) the very best of luck.

It's clearly time to defund the Nrla, they don't work for us.