Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS)
Introduction
The Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) is the required risk assessment procedure for residential properties. From April 2006, it replaced the Housing Fitness Regime and the Fitness Standard as an element of the Decent Homes Standard.
Every landlord has a duty of care to ensure the property being let is safe for the tenants. Local authority inspectors will assess the property and provide a report, before which, it can not be let.
How are dwellings assessed?
A risk assessment looks at the likelihood of an incident arising from the condition of the property and the severity of the outcome. For example, how likely is a fire to break out, what will happen if one does? Then the authorities will assess the costs of adapting the risk to make it safer and decide whether the cost is proportional and therefore reasonable to require.
Who does the assessment?
An environmental health officer from the local authority will carry out assessments.
Fair assessment
If you feel that an assessment is wrong, you should discuss it with the inspector and ultimately you will be able to challenge an enforcement decision through the Residential Property Tribunal.
How does Housing Health and Safety Rating System affect me?
Private landlords
In practice, private landlords and managing agents will be most affected by HHSRS assessments. Local authorities will take a strategic approach to the use of their new powers. They will continue to respond to complaints from tenants, and they will also be able to assess properties subject to HMO licensing.
Public sector landlords
Public sector landlords also need to incorporate HHSRS into their stock condition surveys. To be decent, all homes in the social sector should be free of category 1 hazards. Information on HHSRS has been available since July 2000 and stock condition surveys should now include HHSRS. If a landlord is about to embark on a program of work then housing managers should consider whether there are any category 1 hazards that need to be included in the refurbishment works.
Builders
Maintenance builders should be aware of the change in health and safety assessment and understand the basic principles of HHSRS. In properties with serious hazards, enforcement action will usually be against the owner, and builders would not be liable under HHSRS. However, there may be grounds for occupiers to take civil action under different legislation, such as the Building Act.
Surveyors
Surveyors should be aware of the replacement of the Fitness Standard by HHSRS and understand its basic principles. Valuation surveyors do not need to refer to HHSRS when carrying out homebuyer surveys.
Will different local authorities assess differently?
Inspectors have to follow the HHSRS methodology which ensures high standards and consistency. Of course there is a slight possibility of surveyor variation, merely because local authorities may choose to make different use of their powers.
Which properties will be assessed?
At some stage, all will be assessed - authorities also have a duty to keep the housing stock in their area under review.
Additionally, if the authority has reason to believe a certain property requires inspection (for example there has been a complaint), they will inspect it.
Common hazards
Include cold, fire, falls, lead in drinking water pipes and old paintwork, and hot surfaces that could lead to burns or scalds.
What happens if a property is found to contain serious hazards?
Hazards will be dealt with informally at first. The authority might serve a notice on you to carry out improvements to the property, for example to install central heating or insulation, fix a rail to steep stairs, or mend a leaking roof.
If the hazard is more serious, or fails to be improved, local authorities can implement any of the following:
- serve an improvement notice requiring remedial works;
- make a prohibition order, which closes the whole or part of a dwelling or restricts the number of permitted occupants;
- serve a hazard awareness notice;
- take emergency remedial action;
- make a emergency prohibition Order;
- make a demolition Order;
- include the property in a clearance area
Penalties for non-compliance
Landlords, owners or managing agents face fines of up to £5,000 for not complying with a statutory notice.
Liability of managing agents
Managing agents are advised to self assess their property to determine whether there are any serious hazards that may cause a risk to tenants and then to carry out necessary improvements. You must comply with any statutory notice given in the event of the need for work to be carried out.
Housing Fitness Standard
The housing fitness standard was introduced by the Local Government and Housing Act 1989, which inserted a new s604 in the Housing Act 1985. A dwelling is unfit if, in the opinion of the local authority, it fails to meet one or more of the requirements set out in paragraphs (a) to (i) of s604(1) and by reason of that failure is not reasonably suitable for occupation. If a local authority identifies a property as unfit it has a duty to take action.
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. The guidance on inspections and assessments (the Operating Guidance) is largely the guidance contained in version 2, with some cosmetic changes.
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. It 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. 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 Category 1 hazards. Scores in Bands D to J are Category 2 hazards.
The hazards that can be assessed are those associated with or arising from:
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Physiological Requirements
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Protection Against Infection
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Damp and mould growth
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Domestic hygiene, pests and refuse
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Excess cold
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Food safety
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Excess heat
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Personal hygiene, sanitation and drainage
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Asbestos (and MMF)
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Water supply for domestic purpose
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Biocides
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Protection Against Accidents
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Carbon monoxide and fuel combustion products
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Falls associated with baths
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Lead
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Falling on level surfaces
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Radiation
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Falling on etc
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Uncombusted fuel gas
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Falling between levels
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Volatile Organic Compounds
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Electrical hazards
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Fire
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Psychological Requirements
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Flames, hot surfaces
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Crowding and space
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Collision and entrapment
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Entry by intruders
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Explosions
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Lighting
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Position and operability of amenities
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Noise
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Structural collapse and failing elements
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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.
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