Housing Standards
The Housing Standard is the minimum condition that every home let in the Velocity Interoperability Network must meet, whether it is let by the Housing Department of the Velocity Interoperability Network or by a private landlord. It was published on 6 September 2026 and applies from that day to the 4,120 homes transferred to the Department, to every home delivered under the Affordable Housing Programme and to every private tenancy registered with the Department.
The Department inspects its own homes against the standard on a rolling programme and inspects privately let homes on registration, in a sample and on complaint. Where a home fails the standard, the Department repairs it within the response times below or, for a privately let home, requires the landlord to do so and inspects again when the work is reported complete.
The Housing Standard. A home meets the standard when it satisfies each of the seven requirements below.
- Structure and weather-tightness
- The roof, walls, floors, windows and doors are sound, keep out wind and rain and are free of defects that could cause injury or deterioration.
- Freedom from damp and mould
- The home is free of rising and penetrating damp and of condensation that leads to mould, and has ventilation in the kitchen and bathroom adequate to prevent it.
- Heating and insulation
- The home has a fixed heating system capable of keeping every habitable room at a comfortable temperature, and loft and wall insulation to the level set out in the standard.
- Electrical and gas safety
- The electrical installation has been inspected within the last five years and any gas installation within the last twelve months, and both have been certified safe by a competent person.
- Kitchen and bathroom
- The home has a kitchen with a sink, a cooker point and space for food storage and preparation, and a bathroom with a bath or shower, a wash basin and a toilet, all in working order and supplied with hot and cold water.
- Means of escape from fire
- Every home has a means of escape in the event of fire, smoke alarms on every floor and, where there is a fuel-burning appliance, a carbon monoxide alarm.
- Size and occupation
- The home is not occupied by more people than the number of bedrooms allows under the standard, and every bedroom meets the minimum floor area set out in it.
Repair response times. Defects in Department homes are put into one of three priorities when they are reported, and are repaired within the time set for that priority. The examples in the table are illustrative; the Department decides the priority of each report on its facts.
| Priority | Response | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Emergency | Made safe within 24 hours | Total loss of water, heating in winter or electricity; a gas leak; a burst pipe; a home that cannot be secured; a serious risk to health or safety. |
| Urgent | Completed within five working days | Partial loss of heating or hot water; a blocked toilet where there is no other; a leak that can be contained; a broken window or external door that has been made safe. |
| Routine | Completed within 28 days | Repairs to fixtures, fittings and finishes; dripping taps; minor plasterwork; defective internal doors; repairs to fences and outbuildings. |
The inspection programme. During the transition period the Department inspected a sample of one in ten of the homes being transferred from member organisations. The results are set out below. Every transferred home will be inspected in full by 31 March 2027, site by site, on the programme that follows.
- 4,120
- Transferred homes to be inspected against the Housing Standard by 31 March 2027
- 412
- Homes inspected in a sample during the transition period
- 91%
- Sampled homes that met the Housing Standard in full
- 37
- Sampled homes with defects, of which 29 have been repaired and 8 are scheduled
| Site | Homes | Inspection |
|---|---|---|
| Central Exchange | 1,240 | October 2026 to January 2027 |
| Northgate Relay | 780 | November to December 2026 |
| Southbank Terminal | 690 | December 2026 to January 2027 |
| Eastfield Campus | 620 | January to February 2027 |
| Westbrook Distribution Site | 470 | February 2027 |
| Meridian Court | 320 | March 2027 |
| Total | 4,120 | Complete by 31 March 2027 |
Tenants are given at least seven days' notice of an inspection and may ask for another date. Inspections take about an hour. Defects found are logged and repaired within the response times above, and the tenant is sent a copy of the inspection record. Homes under the Affordable Housing Programme are inspected before the Department accepts them and again at the end of their first year.
Reporting a defect. Defects in Department homes are reported and repaired in the four steps below. Defects in a privately let home that the landlord has not repaired may be reported to the Department in the same way; the Department will inspect and, where the home fails the standard, require the landlord to repair it within the response time that applies.
Step 1: Report the defect in writing
Write to the Department stating the address of the home, the defect, when it was first noticed and, for an emergency, how the Department can reach you at once. Photographs help the Department to assign the right priority.
Step 2: Receive the priority and the date
The Department confirms by email whether the repair is an emergency, urgent or routine, and the date by which it will be made safe or completed. Emergency reports are acknowledged the same day.
Step 3: Give access
Repairs are carried out on the date agreed with you. If you cannot give access on that date, write to the Department so that another date can be fixed within the response time.
Step 4: Confirm the repair or ask for an inspection
If the repair is not completed within the response time, or has not been carried out properly, write to the Department. It will inspect within ten working days of your report and confirm a date for the work.
Reports of defects, requests for inspection records and questions about the standard may be sent to contact@housing.gov.vin. For the terms of the tenancy agreement, including the tenant's own responsibilities for the home, see Tenancies; for inspection and repair figures, see Statistics; for answers to common questions, see the frequently asked questions.