Aico has welcomed the Department for Communities‘ (DfC) consultation on a revised Decent Homes Standard (DHS) for social housing in Northern Ireland and is working with landlords to ensure that safety, warmth and healthy indoor environments are central to the new framework. DfC are focusing on how fire and carbon monoxide (CO) protection, alongside connected home data from Aico’s HomeLINK platform, can help landlords deliver safer, warmer and more affordable homes for tenants.
This is the first major review of the Northern Ireland Decent Homes Standard since 2004 and will define the minimum quality, safety and energy efficiency requirements for social homes across the region. For Aico clients, the consultation is a pivotal opportunity to link DHS’s investment with best practice in life safety, thermal efficiency, fuel-poverty reduction and damp and mould management.
The project is being led by Aico’s Relationship Manager for Northern Ireland, Duncan Orr, and Andy Speake, National Technical Manager. Together they are supporting social landlords and sector bodies to understand the implications of the consultation and to develop responses that place resident safety, comfort and wellbeing at the centre of future plans.
The 14-week consultation sets out proposals to update the existing DHS, which historically focused on the home’s basic fitness, repair, modern facilities and thermal comfort. The revised standard strengthens expectations around safety, energy efficiency and indoor conditions, and will apply to homes owned and managed by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive and Registered Housing Associations, guiding investment decisions for years to come.
Aico is assisting clients by interpreting the proposed DHS criteria in the context of domestic fire and CO protection; advising on the role of compliant smoke, heat and CO detection, interlinked systems and connected technologies; and supporting sector bodies to reflect wider housing-quality and health priorities in their responses. This includes showing how connected home data from Aico’s connected devices can evidence that homes are warm enough at reasonable cost, are free from persistent damp and mould risks, and provide healthy indoor environments.
Clear Normative References for Fire and CO Safety
The consultation’s reference to Technical Booklet L for carbon monoxide requirements provides an important foundation, but Aico believes the final DHS should go further by including explicit normative references to both the Technical Booklets and the underlying
British and European Standards. Specifically, the final standard should reference:
– For Fire Safety: Technical Booklet E alongside BS 5839-6:2019+A1:2020 (Fire detection and fire alarm systems for buildings – Code of practice for the design, installation, commissioning and maintenance of fire detection and fire alarm systems in domestic premises)
– For Carbon Monoxide Safety: Technical Booklet L alongside BS EN 50292:2023 (Electrical apparatus for the detection and measurement of combustible or toxic gases, or oxygen – Requirements on the functional safety of fixed gas detection systems)
This dual approach would provide landlords with both regulatory alignment and technical clarity through the Technical Booklets and direct reference to the British and European Standards that define best practice. It would ensure consistent protection for tenants and remove any ambiguity about minimum expectations for life safety systems in homes.
Policy documents linked to the consultation place strong emphasis on improving thermal efficiency, reducing heat loss and tackling fuel poverty, recognising that cold, damp homes are associated with respiratory illness, cardiovascular disease and wider inequalities. The direction of travel is towards more objective, measurable definitions of thermal comfort, better integration with energy-efficiency standards, and a whole-house approach to retrofit and performance.
Through the use of their HomeLINK technology, Aico can help landlords monitor key indicators such as temperature, humidity and CO₂, identify homes at risk of fuel poverty or condensation-related issues, and prioritise interventions. This data-led approach supports the emerging DHS focus on evidence-based warmth and “energy wellbeing”, as well as specific requirements around damp, mould and indoor air quality.
Duncan Orr, Aico’s Relationship Manager for Northern Ireland, said:“Aico welcomes the revised Decent Homes Standard consultation for Northern Ireland and the clear ambition to ensure every social tenant lives in a safe, warm and affordable home. Our clients see this as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to bring together Decent Homes investment, best practice in fire and carbon monoxide safety, improved thermal efficiency and better use of connected home data, so that improvements are both measurable and sustainable for residents.”
Andy Speake, Aico’s National Technical Manager, added:“The consultation’s reference to Technical Booklet L for carbon monoxide is welcome, but the fire industry believes the final Decent Homes Standard should include explicit normative references to both the Technical Booklets and the underlying standards themselves. We’re calling for the DHS to reference Technical Booklet E alongside BS 5839-6:2019+A1:2020 for fire safety, and Technical Booklet L alongside BS EN 50292:2023 for carbon monoxide protection. This complete approach provides both regulatory alignment and technical clarity, giving landlords unambiguous expectations, supporting consistent protection for tenants across Northern Ireland and ensuring Decent Homes delivery is fully aligned with Building Regulations and industry best practice. When combined with connected-home insight from platforms like HomeLINK, landlords have both the right standards and the right data to keep residents safe and well in their homes.”
