The initiative, which will help improve the quality of homes in the sector, is being led by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), and will be a first-of-its-kind data gathering tool to make it possible to compare stock condition and maintenance standards across the sector.

Alongside the Local Government Association, the Association of Retained Council Housing and the National Housing Federation, the NFA will be consulting its members and making sure the views and first-hand experience of their residents are taken into account.

The Better Social Housing Review recommended that data collection about the condition of social rented homes and who lives in them had to improve. Given that a ramped-up regulation and inspection regime is encouraging landlords to aim for a rolling 100% stock condition survey across five years, improved consistency is key.   

At the moment, there are no plans to make the new standard mandatory. However, the hope is that a useful and practical standard will be welcomed by most landlords and help build trust with residents and wider stakeholders. More accurate and more consistent cross-sector data will also help build powerful policy arguments for additional investment in social housing.

“This is a very positive step forward, and it demonstrates that social landlords are taking the initiative wherever they can rather than focusing only on what is compulsory,” said NFA Managing Director Eamon McGoldrick.

“A new Decent Homes Standard is very much on the horizon, and this initiative is a key part of getting landlords ready to meet that challenge – and in helping our sector persuade government where and why we need support.”