What legal and legislative mechanisms could the UK government use to codify thermal comfort as a fundamental human right?
To change the legal definition of habitable housing, the government cannot simply issue a memo. It requires a shift in primary legislation, likely through an amendment to the Housing Act. Currently, standards focus on structural safety and dampness, but they often ignore how temperature feels to a person living inside. Integrating thermal comfort as a right means moving beyond minimum building regulations into the realm of human rights law.
One practical route involves the Human Rights Act 1998. Legislators could argue that extreme cold or heat violates the right to a private and family life. If the law recognizes that a home must maintain a specific temperature range to be legally
