Housing health and safety rating system

The Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) was introduced in England and Wales by the Housing Act 2004. It replaced the pass or fail Housing Fitness Standard in April 2006 because of concerns that it did not properly distinguish between defects and health and safety hazards.

The HHSRS is a risk-based assessment system used by environmental health officers (EHOs) to assess the likelihood and severity of 29 categories of potential health and safety hazards in residential housing (including fire). It can be used in private or social rented housing as well as owner-occupied housing, and is intended to help local authorities identify and protect against potential risks to health and safety resulting from deficiencies in dwellings.

Local authorities have a statutory duty to keep housing conditions in their area under review, and to inspect properties if they consider it appropriate to do so.

An HHSRS score is calculated following an inspection (as prescribed by the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (England) Regulations 2005), and the government has issued statutory Enforcement Guidance explaining the actions local authorities can take and the factors they should consider when deciding which action is the most appropriate.

If the EHO finds a serious hazard (one scoring A – C, called a Category 1 hazard in the Act) the local authority is under a duty to take action. If an EHO finds a less serious hazard (one scoring D – J, called a Category 2 hazard in the Act) the local authority only need take action if they think it is necessary. Enforcement is intended to make the property safer for occupants and potential future occupants and may include the local authority carrying out any necessary remedial work themselves and reclaiming the costs if necessary.

There has been some criticism that since the introduction of the HHSRS there have been no minimum property standards for rented housing in England, and have been failed attempts to introduce new legislation to require that residential rented accommodation is maintained in a state fit for human habitation.

[edit] Welsh Housing Quality Standard 2023

The Welsh Housing Quality Standard 2023, published by the Welsh Government in October 2023, states:

The Housing health and safety rating system (HHSRS) was introduced by the Housing Act 2004 and HHSRS (Wales) Regulations 2006. The system is a health-based risk assessment tool for the evaluation of housing conditions. The HHSRS has not changed since its introduction in April 2006. The system operates by evaluating potential risk of harm to an actual or potential occupier from their living environment and is a means of rating the seriousness of any hazard/s identified. A hazard is any risk of harm to the health and safety of an occupier that arises from a deficiency. Deficiencies can contribute to any one or more of the 29 different hazards subject to an HHSRS assessment.

A hazard rating is expressed though a numerical score which falls within a hazard, there are 10 bands. Scores in Bands A to C are Category 1 hazards, imposing a duty on enforcing local housing authorities to take appropriate action under Part 1 of the 2004 Act. Scores in Bands D to J are Category 2 hazards, a local housing authority has a power but not a duty to act against any significant hazard in the case of Category 2 hazards.

Category 1 Hazards are whole house judgements and deficiencies leading to the assessment of a Category 1 Hazard may impact on more than one WHQS element. Deficiencies in any element (listed in Part 7 of the standard below) that contribute to an HHSRS Category 1 Hazard would automatically result in a fail for that element and thereby the dwelling failing the Standard. The Housing Health and Safety Rating System Guidance Operational Guidance can be obtained from the Welsh Government website and is free to download https://gov.wales/housing-health-and-safety-rating-system-guidance.

[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings

• Housing.
• Housing Act 2004.
• Housing Design SPG.
• Affordable housing.
• Changing lifestyles.
• Draft London Housing Strategy.
• Housing standards review.
• Inclusive design.

[edit] External references

• Housing Act 2004.
• Housing Health and Safety Rating System (England) Regulations 2005.
• Housing Health and Safety Rating System Enforcement Guidelines, Part 1: Housing Conditions.
• Housing health and safety rating system: guidance for landlords and property-related professionals.
• Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Bill.
• Library briefing paper 7328: Housing fitness in the private rented sector.