Memorandum by Mr M Cairns MCIEH (DEC 56)
TENANTS' PERSPECTIVE
1. Background
1.1 My daily work and that of many Environmental
Health colleagues involves visiting housing that would fail the
"decent homes" standard. For over thirty years I have
been an independent Environmental Health & Housing Consultant.
In this role I have been involved in preparing many thousands
of inspection reports, the vast majority of which dealt with conditions
in tenanted housing. It appears to me that any review of the Decent
Homes initiative requires an assessment from the perspective of
the tenants of sub-standard housing.
2. Discussion
2.1 Whilst all initiatives to improve unsatisfactory
housing conditions are to be welcomed, my opinion is that non-statutory
standards have least to offer tenants.
2.2 The last English House Condition Survey
estimated that approaching a million homes were unfit for human
habitation. That this basic Victorian standard should be failed
to this degree is a national disgrace (especially since we know,
from work in the Housing Health & Safety Rating System, that
many of the most important threats to health and safety in housing
are not even covered by the fitness standard).
2.3 Since at least the late 1800s Local
Authorities have had a range of powers and duties relating to
sub-standard housing, yet Local Authorities have been demonstrably
unable to raise the standard of a substantial proportion of the
worst housing stock to a satisfactory standard. (This is not to
place all the blame with Local Authorities—much has been
wrong with the legislation and the resources made available to
them).
2.4 In the last 50 years it has also become
clear that the Local Authority stock itself contained some of
the worst housing conditions. The pattern in Las has been to exclude
enforcement staff from dealing with sub-standard Local Authority
properties—a practice condoned by case law such as Cardiff
v Cross [1982] 6HLR 1, CA.
2.5 The question that then arises is how
are Local Authorities to achieve the higher targets of the "Decent
Houses Standard" (DHS) when even Victorian standards have
eluded control for decades? Indeed who is examining the condition
of Local Authority and RSL stock? Local Authorities are not even
up to date with the conditions in the private sector.
2.6 In considering the DHS I would respectfully
request that the Committee gives great attention to enforcement.
In that I include the need for adequate staff and financial resources.
The results of such intervention also need to be monitored and
verifiable to ensure works are carried out.
2.7 It appears to many of us working in
this field that for too long many landlords have been able to
evade their responsibilities to provide reasonable housing and
regrettably this also includes Local Authorities and RSLs.
2.8 I would therefore suggest that tenants
themselves should be provided with a right to decent conditions
in their rented property. The concept was included in basic form
in section 8 of the Landlord & Tenant Act 1985, which required
that properties were to be fit for human habitation when let.
Sadly the ridiculously low rent levels it incorporated rendered
it useless in practice. As long ago as 1996 The Law Commission[1]
recommended that this implied term "fitness at the time of
letting" should be re-enacted. Many in this field would support
that proposition. This would give force to much of that the DHS
seeks to achieve by putting a duty on landlords which can be legally
enforceable. Since this implied term would apply to all tenancies
it would therefore also result in making improvements in the private
sector stock.
2.9 It also appears to me that, in as much
as there have been improvements in the practice and procedures
of LAs in relation to their own stock and enforcement practice
in recent years, this can, in large part, be attributed to the
pressure resulting from tenant and community action initiatives
in the 1970s and 1980s. This included legal actions in the Magistrates
and County Courts to enforce other minimum public health and housing
standards
2.10 This implies that the law in this field
should incorporate the concept of accessible enforcement of the
standard by those actually living in sub-standard housing (eg
as in s82 Public Health Act 1990; s11 Landlord & Tenant Act
1985). I would therefore suggest that similar procedures should
be incorporated in the DHS standard.
2.11 Finally I also consider that the standard
is too basic—in particular the low minimum for thermal insulation
levels under criteria "d". I would also point to the
failure to incorporate matters such as the situation of the dwelling
and airborne and structure-borne noise within dwellings.
I hope that these points are of assistance to
the Committee in its evaluation of the DHS policy.
1 "Landlord & Tenant Responsibility for State
& Condition of Property 1996". Back
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