Renters’ rights groups say the government’s delay after pledging to combat disrepair, damp and energy inefficiency in homes is ‘absurd’. Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/PA · Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/PALabour’s promise to make private rented homes in England fit for habitation will not be enforced for almost a decade, a decision campaigners have described as “absurd”. According to the Health Foundation, one in five private rented homes are classed as “non-decent”, meaning they contain a hazard or immediate threat to health, are in a state of disrepair, or are not effectively insulated or heated. In the social rented sector, a DHS was introduced in 2001 with an enforcement deadline of 2010, although some councils applied for extensions. As of 2023, 10% of social rented homes failed to meet the DHS, which has not been updated since 2006 and ministers argue it is out of date.