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What is the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS)?

The HHSRS is used by your local council to make sure that properties in its area are safe for their occupants. This involves carrying out inspections based on possible hazards.

If you own a property and rent it out, the council may decide to do an HHSRS inspection because:

• your tenants have asked them for one
• it has carried out a housing stock condition survey and identified your property as being potentially hazardous

HHSRS hazard ratings

HHSRS inspectors give 'hazard scores' for 29 health and safety areas. The scores are based on the risk of harm to an actual or potential occupier of a dwelling which results from a deficiency in the dwelling, and the seriousness of that harm.

Each hazard score is rated in one of two categories, according to its seriousness:

• category 1 faults pose the most risk - for example, a window with a low sill on an upper floor that could be opened by a child, who could then fall out, resulting in serious injury or death
• category 2 faults are less serious, but still pose a risk - for example, a ground floor window that a child could open and fall out of, causing bruising or a sprain

After an inspection, the council will give you an HHSRS report, listing any faults that might cause hazards in your property, and rating them as category 1 or 2.

If the inspector thinks there are hazards present that fall within category 1 then they are under a duty to take whatever enforcement action is necessary to ensure that the hazard is removed. Where there are only category 2 hazards they may take whatever action they consider to be necessary.

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What do HHSRS inspections cover?

HHSRS inspections look for hazards that could affect your tenants' (or any occupier's or potential occupier's) health or increase the risk of accidents - for example, uneven stairs leading to increased risk of falls.

Hazards might be caused by an unsuitable use of a building, like too many tenants in a property. Individual faults can also cause hazards. A poorly maintained ceiling, for example, could lead to damp and pests.

The HHSRS covers 29 potential health and safety hazards, in four groups.

Physiological hazards - dealing with temperature and moisture problems, as well as pollutants - include:

• damp and mould growth
• excess cold
• excess heat
• asbestos and manufactured mineral fibres - for example, rockwool
• biocides - for example, chemicals used to prevent mould in roof timbers
• carbon monoxide and fuel combustion products
• lead - for example, in paint or water pipes
• radiation - for example, presence of radon
• uncombusted fuel gas leaking into the property's atmosphere, leading to risk of asphyxiation
• volatile organic compounds - for example, when a property has been refurbished

Psychological hazards include:

• crowding and space
• entry by intruders
• lighting
• noise

Protection against infection includes:

• domestic hygiene, pests and refuse
• food safety
• personal hygiene, sanitation and drainage
• water supply

Protection against accidents includes:

• falls associated with baths and similar installations
  
• falling on level surfaces
• falling on stairs
• falling between levels
• electrical hazards
• fire
• flames, hot surfaces and similar
• collision and entrapment
• explosions
• position of amenities and how they are operated
• structural collapse and falling parts of buildings
  

What to expect if your council finds problems

If your council finds any serious health and safety faults during an HHSRS inspection, it must take action for the faults to be fixed. It can order you to fix them or in some circumstances fix them itself.

You must take action to fix category 1 faults - the most serious - if your council serves an enforcement notice. They can in some circumstances do the works themselves and claim the costs back from you. You may also be asked to remove the less serious category 2 hazards.

Councils can take enforcement action in several ways:

• improvement notices - these require you to start making repairs within 28 days
• prohibition orders - these prevent you or your tenants using part or all of a building
• emergency action notices - your council can take action itself to fix category 1 faults posing an imminent risk of serious harm to tenants, like the possible collapse of part of a building
• hazard awareness notices - these identify a problem and give you advice about how to fix it
• demolition orders - a possible emergency response to a category 1 fault
• clearance orders - demolition of several properties with serious faults in the same area

It is a criminal offence to ignore an improvement order or any other HHSRS enforcement action, although you can appeal against an inspector's decision.

How to make your property safe

The HHSRS encourages you to check your properties for health and safety hazards and take action to fix them. This will help you avoid potentially costly enforcement action from your local authority.

Checking for HHSRS faults

As a landlord, you should:

• regularly inspect your properties to check whether there are any faults that could result in one of the 29 health and safety hazards being present
• take action to fix any faults - giving priority to serious faults
• keep records of any action taken
• check that the faults have been fixed or the hazards removed
• arrange regular re-inspections of your property

Landlord maintenance responsibilities

You are responsible for maintaining the following installations or facilities in properties you rent out:

• water, gas and electricity - all equipment needed to supply utilities should be safely and correctly installed
• personal hygiene - for example, hand basins, showers and baths
• sanitation and drainage - for example, lavatories, drains and drain pipes
• food safety - for example sinks, draining boards and cooking facilities
• ventilation - including air bricks and ventilation equipment
• space and water heating - central heating or fitted space heaters

Tenant responsibilities

Tenants also have a duty to keep the property they rent in a reasonable state of repair, including:

• reporting any repairs that need to be carried out by the landlord
• not using dangerous appliances
• reporting any dangerous faults
  

Useful contacts

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