Paragon Bank polled 500 landlords and found that 34 per cent said they “strongly support” the initiative, while 28 per cent had general support for the move. A further eight per cent did not know plans to introduce a minimum standard for the private rented sector (PRS) were being proposed.
The government announced its intention to introduce a Decent Homes Standard to the PRS as part of its Renters Reform Bill. This could reflect the similar standard within social housing which has been in place since 2001.
The proposals are currently being consulted on.
Some 74 per cent of landlords also said they were unhappy about the lack of action from local authorities when it came to action against people who let sub-standard homes.
A separate report from Paragon found that the rise of the buy-to-let sector had improved property standards in the PRS, with 23 per cent of homes defined as non-decent according to the English Homes Survey, up from 44 per cent in 2008.
Richard Rowntree, managing director, mortgages at Paragon Bank, said: “The vast majority of landlords have nothing to fear from a Decent Homes Standard as they are providing a good quality home to their tenants already. It’s the minority of landlords who don’t meet these standards that are tarnishing the wider reputation of the sector.
“At Paragon, we employ our own in-house team of surveyors, who assess a rental property to a stringent standard, so we act as a natural barrier to poor quality homes entering the sector. Landlords have made great strides in improving the standards of rental property over the past 15 years and they should be celebrated.”
