Housing, Health and Safety Rating System
The Housing Act 2004 introduced a new way for Local Authorities
to assess housing conditions in England and Wales. The legislation
replaces the old housing fitness standard and came into force on
6th April 2006.
The new risk assessment approach called the Housing Health and
Safety Rating System (HHSRS) will enable Council Officer to
identify hazards to health and safety in dwellings and to recommend
works to remove or minimise those hazards.
The HHSRS will be used to assess conditions in all private
properties including those that are owner occupied, rented to
single people and families and houses in multiple occupation.
(HMO’s)
Properties will be assessed against 29 potential hazards, which
addresses deficiencies associated with excess cold, falls on
stairs, noise and damp and mould growth. The new assessment method
aims to make homes healthier and safer and tackles hazards the
fitness standard could not deal with, or deals with
inadequately.
When a hazard is identified in a property, two tests have to be
applied:
- What is the likelihood of a dangerous occurrence as a result of
the hazard?
- If there is a dangerous occurrence, what would be the likely
outcome?
The likelihood and the severity of the outcome combine to
generate a hazard score. Hazards scores are divided into 10 bands,
with band A being the most serious and band J the least serious.
Hazards which fall into bands A – C are called Category 1 hazards
and those in band D – J are category 2 hazards.
How is it enforced and what are the
penalties?
If the Local Authority discover a Category 1 hazard in a
property, it has to take the most appropriate course of action. The
Council also has a discretionary power to deal with Category 2
hazards by means of enforcement action.
Local Authorities are advised to try and deal with issues
informally at first, however if unsuccessful the Council may be
left with no alternative but to pursue enforcement action, which
will involve the Council serving legal notices on the owner and /or
manager of the property, and require them to carry out certain
works in a specific time scale.
A property owner who feels an assessment is wrong can discuss
the matter with the inspector and ultimately will be able to
challenge an enforcement decision at the Residential Property
Tribunal
It is an offence not to comply with a statutory notice, which
could lead to a fine of up to £5000.
For Further information
If you require more information/guidance as to whether your
property needs improvements to comply with HHSRS requirements,
please contact Housing Services on 01228 817320.
Further information can also be obtained from communities.gov.uk (external
link).