What is the Housing
Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS)
The Housing, Health and Safety
Rating System (HHSRS) is a risk based assessment and considers the
effect of any 'hazards' in the property.
Hazards are rated according to how serious they are and
the effect they are having, or could have, on the occupants and/or
any visitors. The basic principle is that the property should be
safe for occupation.
What is my landlord responsible for?
Your landlord is responsible for ensuring your property, including
the structure; garden; outbuildings; means of access, and shared
facilities, provide a safe and healthy environment for the
occupants and any visitors.
All properties contain hazards, e.g. stairs, electrical sockets,
and it is not possible to remove all hazards. The emphasis should
be to minimise the risk to health and safety as far as possible
either by removing or minimising the hazard.
What happens if my home is not kept in a good
condition?
- Officers from the Private Sector Housing Group may inspect your
property. If an inspector finds a hazard, two key tests are applied
- what is the likelihood of a dangerous incident happening as a
result of this hazard, and what harm could be caused? Inspectors
will normally concentrate on hazards that are likely to be worse
than normal.
- Hazards are normally assessed according to their likely impact
on the most vulnerable group. 'Vulnerable' can mean children and
the elderly - for example, a winding staircase with no handrail
could be a hazard for an elderly person. Once a property has been
made safe for the most vulnerable, it should be safe for all.
- As a tenant you should be given the landlord or managing agents
contact number, so they can be contacted directly if repairs are
needed. You should be given at least 24hrs notice that your
landlord/agents intend to inspect the property or to carry out
works. If it is a genuine emergency e.g. burst pipe, your
landlord/agent may enter without notice.
What happens if the landlord does not remove or minimise hazards
found within the property?
Officers within the council's Private Sector Housing Group are
authorised to deal with poor housing conditions.
Enforcement of the HHSRS
Officers within the council's Private Sector Housing Group are
authorised to deal with poor housing conditions. Some issues can be
resolved informally, without resorting to the powers of
enforcement, but the council is serious about using its powers when
it is clear there is no alternative. When private housing officers
become aware of a hazard, officers will secure compliance with the
housing legislation through the use of:
- Informal action/advice
- Formal action, use of statutory notices.
What type of formal action can be taken?
The Private Sector Housing Group will take
appropriate formal action to deal with hazards. The types of formal
action will dependent on how serious the case is, and the following
courses of action are commonly available to private housing
officers:
The following courses of action are available to private housing
officers:
- Serve an improvement notice
- Make a prohibition order
- Serve a hazard awareness notice
- Take emergency remedial action
- Make an emergency prohibition order
The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has
published detailed guidance on the rating of hazards and a number
of documents can be downloaded or hard copies ordered.
More information can be found on their website:
www.communities.gov.uk/housing. Search under
housing/making homes decent/housing health and safety rating
system.
Download this information as a handy fact
sheet.