The current Decent Homes Standard requires a social rented home to have an efficient heating system, with a primary heating system reaching at least two rooms, as one part of its thermal comfort criterion; a reformed standard confirmed in January 2026, targeted to apply by 2035, requires a programmable primary heating system capable of heating the whole home instead.

The current heating requirement

Under the existing Decent Homes Standard, a home meets the thermal comfort element of the standard through a combination of an efficient heating system, effective insulation, and a minimum SAP energy rating of 35 or above, broadly equivalent to EPC band F. The primary heating system under the current standard needs to distribute heat to at least two rooms, a lower bar than heating the whole property, reflecting a standard largely unchanged in this respect since it was first introduced.

The thermal comfort criterion

Thermal comfort is one of several criteria a home has to pass to count as decent under the standard, sitting alongside requirements covering disrepair, modern facilities and services, and freedom from category 1 hazards under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System. A boiler or heating system that is inefficient, or that cannot reach at least the minimum number of rooms the current standard requires, can cause a home to fail the thermal comfort criterion even where the rest of the property is otherwise in good condition.

The reformed standard: whole-home heating

A reformed Decent Homes Standard, with its policy design confirmed by government in January 2026 following consultation, moves the heating requirement significantly further: the primary heating system will need a distribution system sufficient to provide heat to the whole home, not just two rooms, and will still need to be programmable by residents, allowing them to control timing and temperature themselves. A specific exemption from the programmable requirement continues for cases such as some supported housing and accommodation for older residents, where maintaining consistent heating for safety reasons outweighs resident control over timing.

How MEES fits in

Rather than keeping the older SAP-based thermal comfort test, the reformed standard folds thermal comfort into compliance with Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards, assessed through a combination of the home’s fabric performance and either smart-readiness features or an efficient heating system. For the social rented sector specifically, the associated MEES target is EPC C equivalent by 2030, meaning a social landlord’s boiler and heating decisions increasingly need to be judged against that combined efficiency and heating standard, not the heating system in isolation.

The timeline

The overall reformed Decent Homes Standard is targeted to apply from 2035, while the linked Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard for the social rented sector is targeted for 2030, several years ahead of the wider standard. This means the MEES-driven push toward more efficient heating and fabric performance is expected to land in social housing before the reformed Decent Homes Standard’s own whole-home heating requirement formally takes effect.

Who this currently applies to

The Decent Homes Standard has applied to social rented housing in England for years; the reform confirmed in January 2026 extends a version of the standard to the private rented sector as well, alongside updating the requirements themselves, rather than being limited to a technical update for social landlords only. Both sectors are affected by the reformed heating and thermal comfort requirements, though on the timeline set out above.

What this means for boiler replacement decisions

For a social landlord planning boiler and heating replacements, the reform shifts the practical target away from simply reaching an ageing boiler’s end of life and toward a heating system capable of reaching the whole home and meeting the linked energy efficiency standard, since a like-for-like replacement that still only heats two rooms would fail the reformed criterion even where it satisfies the current one. Programmes phased around the 2030 MEES date for social housing, ahead of the 2035 date for the wider reformed standard, give landlords a practical staging point for when heating upgrades need to be substantially completed.

FAQs

Does the current Decent Homes Standard require heating in every room?

No. It currently requires a primary heating system reaching at least two rooms; the reformed standard raises this to heating the whole home.

When does the reformed Decent Homes Standard take effect?

It is targeted to apply from 2035, with the linked Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard for social rented homes targeted earlier, for 2030.

Will the reformed standard apply to private rented homes too?

Yes. The January 2026 reform extends a version of the standard to the private rented sector alongside social housing.

Does every home have to have programmable heating under the reformed standard?

Programmable heating remains a general requirement, with a specific exemption for cases such as some supported housing and older residents’ accommodation where continuous heating is needed for safety.

Bottom line

The current Decent Homes Standard requires social housing to have an efficient heating system reaching at least two rooms; a reformed standard, with its policy design confirmed in January 2026 and targeted to apply by 2035, raises that to a programmable system capable of heating the whole home, tied to Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards targeted for 2030 in the social rented sector. This is general information, not advice on a specific property; a social landlord or local authority can confirm what currently applies to a particular home.

Sources

This guide draws on the following primary sources, current as of 22 September 2026:

• GOV.UK, “Consultation on a reformed Decent Homes Standard for social and privately rented homes”

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Best Boiler Deals is an independent guide. We may earn a fee from some links; this never affects what we write. This article is general information, not regulated advice on any specific installation — always confirm the details with a Gas Safe registered engineer.