Mapped: Where tenants are most likely to live in an unfit home in England

‘Too many families are living in appalling conditions which seriously impact their health and shorten their lives’

Tenants in Yorkshire and the North West of England are suffering from the worst housing conditions in the country, according to analysis of government data.

Renters in these two regions are almost twice as likely to live in housing conditions that do not meet the decent homes standard, compared to tenants in more well-off parts of the country, a health charity has found.

The decent home standard imposes a minimum set of requirements that homes need to meet to ensure they do not harm the health of tenants, such as being in a reasonable state of repair – it currently applies to social homes but not to privately rented properties.

Families in rented homes in Yorkshire and the Humber and the North West of England can also be three times more likely than average to live in a home with a serious hazard that would affect their health or threaten their lives, the research found.

Where some 11.9 per cent of rented homes in England have a category one hazard that would potentially endanger the lives of its tenants, this rises to 20.9 per cent in the North West and 30.6 per cent in Yorkshire.

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Households in Yorkshire are also facing the worst rates of damp and mould in the country, with 23 per cent of homes experiencing problems compared to 9 per cent nationally.

Under the government’s Renters (Reform) Bill, the decent homes standard would be extended to private rented homes, however recent reports have suggested that the flagship plan may be “on the brink of collapse”.

The Sun has reported that a group of rebel Tory MPs, led by Anthony Mangnall, are trying to amend the bill because of their concerns about its ban on fixed-term rental tenancies.

Whitehall sources told the paper that the bill could “now collapse” because government was running out of time to pass the legislation.

Health equity charity People’s Health Trust, which carried out the analysis of government data, is calling on levelling up secretary Michael Gove to fund councils properly so that they can enforce tougher housing measures.

Chief executive John Hume said: “Too many families are living in appalling conditions which seriously impact their health and shorten their lives, often with little control over when or if repairs are made.”

A Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities spokesperson said: “Everyone deserves to live in a safe and decent home. This is why we are introducing a decent homes standard in the private rented sector for the first time through the Renters (Reform) Bill.

“The bill introduces new powers to hold landlords to account for poor housing conditions, including giving local councils the ability to issue fines of up to £5,000 to landlords who have failed keep their properties free of serious hazards.”