Outcomes of the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) Review

Posted on December 21st, 2023

Local councils use the HHSRS risk evaluation tool to assess health and safety hazards in people’s homes. If an HHSRS assessment identifies that a hazard (for example: fire, damp and mould, falls, excess cold) is at the most dangerous ‘category 1’ level, then the council must take enforcement action against the property’s landlord. Properties must also be free from ‘category 1’ level hazards to meet the Decent Homes Standard.

The government have been reviewing the HHSRS with the aim to bring it up to date, empowering landlords and tenants to engage with the system, and ensuring alignment with other legislative standards and systems, including the Building Safety Act, and help with the effective enforcement of housing standards.

The review has concluded, but new regulations are required to bring the conclusions of the review into force.

In the meantime, the government have published a summary report setting out outcomes of the review and next steps, which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/housing-health-and-safety-rating-system-hhsrs-review-outcomes-and-next-steps

Information from gov.uk