Housing, Health & Safety Rating System (HHSRS)
If you rent your home, your landlord has certain responsibilities to ensure that the property is free from serious health and safety hazards.
Hazards can arise in the home because of its design, wear and tear, or a lack of maintenance. The most common hazards involve:
- inadequate heating, insulation and disrepair
- a lack of handrails, steep stairs and poor lighting
- damp and mould growth
- problems with personal and domestic hygiene
On the 6th April 2006, the new Housing Act 2004 introduced an new system for assessing risks in rented properties. The Housing, Health & Safety Rating System enables local authorities to address more effectively the hazards to health and safety present in the home. The principle behind the new system is to ensure that a dwelling, including the structure and associated outbuildings and garden, yard, and/or other amenity space should provide a safe and healthy environment for the occupants and any visitors.
HHSRS replaces the Housing Fitness Standard, which was set out in the Housing Act 1985.
HHSRS: the system of assessment
The purpose of the HHSRS assessment is not to set a standard, but to generate objective information in order to determine and inform enforcement decisions. In order to do this, the HHSRS assesses twenty nine categories of housing hazard, including factors which were not covered or covered inadequately by the housing fitness standard. It provides a rating for each hazard.
A hazard rating is expressed though a numerical score which falls within a band. There are 10 bands. Scores in Bands A to C are called Category 1 hazards. Scores in Bands D to J are called Category 2 hazards.
The HHSRS does not provide a single rating for the dwelling as a whole or, in the case of multiply occupied dwellings, for the building as a whole. The HHSRS assessment is based on the risk to the potential occupant who is most vulnerable to that hazard. For example, stairs constitute a greater risk to the elderly, so for assessing hazards relating to stairs they are considered the most vulnerable. The very young as well as the elderly are susceptible to low temperatures. A dwelling that is safe for those most vulnerable to a hazard is safe for all.
HHSRS: Enforcement
Action by authorities will be based on a three-stage consideration:
- the hazard rating determined under an HHSRS assessment;
- whether the authority has a duty to act (Category 1 and Category 2 hazards present) or a power to act (only lower category hazards present), and
- the authority's judgement as to the most appropriate course of action to deal with the hazard.
The 29 hazards that can be assessed are those associated with or arising from:
(A) Physiological Requirements
- Damp and mould growth
- Excess cold
- Excess heat
- Asbestos (and MMF)
- Biocides
- Carbon monoxide and fuel combustion products
- Lead
- Radiation
- Uncombusted fuel gas
- Volatile Organic Compounds
(B) Psychological Requirements
- Crowding and space
- Entry by intruders
- Lighting
- Noise
(C) Protection Against Infection
- Domestic hygiene, pests and refuse
- Food safety
- Personal hygiene, sanitation and drainage
- Water supply
(D) Protection Against Accidents
- Falls associated with baths
- Falling on level surfaces
- Falling on stairs and steps
- Falling between levels
- Electrical hazards
- Fire
- Flames, hot surfaces
- Collision and entrapment
- Explosions
- Position and operability of amenities
- Structural collapse and failing elements
Further advice
Tenants
If you are a tenant in West Somerset, Sedgemoor or Taunton Deane areas and you feel that your accommodation is failing to meet standards, please contact the Somerset West Private Sector Housing Partnership on telephone 01278 435747 or email privatesector.housing@sedgemoor.gov.uk.
Landlords
We are always looking to work with landlords with an aim to improve the housing stock in West Somerset, Sedgemoor or Taunton Deane districts If you are unsure whether your property complies or you would like some general advice please contact the Somerset West Private Sector Housing Partnership on 01278 435747 or email us at privatesector.housing@sedgemoor.gov.uk