The City of London manages social homes on estates such as on Golden Lane, Middlesex Street and York Way
16:51, 26 Nov 2025
The percentage of the City of London Corporation’s homes classed as ‘non-decent’ has almost doubled in the last 12 months with fears the figure could get much worse.
The 9.6 per cent of the Corporation’s tenanted homes, which include those on estates such as Golden Lane, Middlesex Street and York Way, recorded as ‘non-decent’ in 2024 shot up to 17.6 per cent as of October 14 2025.
In papers the Corporation has claimed this is primarily due to delays to major refurbishment projects, for which plans are progressing.
A spokesperson for the Corporation said more than £110 million is already being invested in its 12 housing estates and that it is “delivering wide-ranging improvements including new windows, kitchens, bathrooms, heating systems, and refurbished lifts”.
The condition of some of the Corporation’s estates has been covered extensively by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).
Upgrades to the Grade II/Grade II*-listed Golden Lane Estate, for example, have been delayed for years, with residents speaking of the stress the disrepair and potential costs have caused.
In a report which went before the Housing Management and Almshouses Sub-Committee this week, Corporation officers wrote how the Government is revising its Decent Homes standards to come into effect between 2035 and 2037.
The standards were introduced by the Government in the early 2000s in a bid to improve social housing.
To be considered ‘decent’, homes must meet a set of criteria including being in a reasonable state of repair and having no serious hazards.
According to the Corporation’s report, revised standards, “although welcome, will increase the compliance burden on landlords and put further pressure on already stressed resources”.
Officers continued to write that assessed against the current standards the non-decency rate of the Corporation’s homes is 17.6 per cent.
“This is principally due to the delays experienced in three major refurbishment projects where increasing complexity, changing regulations and funding constraints have caused programmes to be substantially revised,” the paper reads.
“These projects, subject to funding and approval, are now set to enter delivery from 2027 but will take a number of years to complete.”
The Corporation has allocated £110m to improve its housing stock over the next 10 years with works including replacing windows, lift refurbishments and roof replacements.
The 17.6 per cent figure reported by the Corporation however looks particularly stark not only when compared against the 9.6 per cent recorded for 2024, but also the 10 per cent of socially rented homes failing the standard across the entirety of England in a 2023 assessment. For London the non-decency rate was 9 per cent.
The Corporation’s report warns this figure may increase further, with 293 homes currently assessed as ‘potentially non-decent’. For context the total number classified as non-decent in the most recent count was 338.
A consultation recently completed by the Government proposed keeping and updating the current four Decent Homes criteria while introducing a fifth on damp and mould.
There is no data provided on how this would impact the Corporation specifically though it is expected to increase the number of non-decent homes across the country significantly.
Introducing the item at this week’s meeting Peta Caine, Director of Housing at the Corporation, said: “In summary our Decent Homes performance has dropped as a result of not doing the major works programme works on a number of estates, and the longer we don’t do those works the higher the non-decent homes number will rise.”
She added that the financial implications of the Government’s revised standards are currently unknown, and that it “is one of those risks that we can’t quite calculate at the moment”.
A spokesperson for the Corporation said: “As a proud social landlord, we are already investing over £110m in our 12 housing estates, supporting residents across the Square Mile and six London boroughs.
“We are delivering wide-ranging improvements including new windows, kitchens, bathrooms, heating systems, and refurbished lifts.
“Electrical enhancements, roof replacements, and the refurbishment of communal areas are also being rolled out as part of this extensive programme.
“We recognise the increase in the number of homes currently classified as non-decent and understand the concern this raises.
“To build on progress we have already made, we have developed a Housing Improvement Plan, which is currently being considered by our elected members.
“In the meantime, we continue to prioritise essential repairs and maintenance to ensure residents’ homes remain safe and comfortable.”
Get the biggest stories from around London straight to your inbox. Sign up to MyLondon's The 12 HERE for the 12 biggest stories each day.