Housing Health & Safety Rating System (HHSRS)

The Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) is the government’s method for assessing potential risks to the health and safety of occupants in residential properties — and the basis on which local councils enforce minimum housing standards in the private rented sector.

What HHSRS Covers

HHSRS identifies 29 categories of housing hazard, ranging from damp and mould growth to excess cold, falls, electrical hazards, and fire. Each hazard is assessed by scoring the likelihood of harm occurring and the likely severity of that harm. The resulting score determines whether a hazard is:

• Category 1 — Serious hazard: The local authority has a duty to take action
• Category 2 — Less serious hazard: The local authority has a power (but not a duty) to take action

Enforcement Powers

Where a local authority identifies a Category 1 hazard, it must take one of the following enforcement actions:

• Improvement Notice: Requires the landlord to remedy specified hazards within a set timescale
• Prohibition Order: Restricts or prevents occupation of all or part of the property
• Emergency Remedial Action: The council carries out works itself and charges the landlord
• Demolition Order or Clearance Area: In the most severe cases

Common HHSRS Hazards in East London Properties

Given the age of the housing stock in Redbridge, Barking & Dagenham, and Newham, the hazards most frequently identified by local authority inspectors include:

• Excess cold: Inadequate heating systems, poor insulation, draughty windows
• Damp and mould: Rising damp, condensation, and penetrating damp from flat roofs or guttering defects
• Falls: Steep or poorly lit staircases, lack of handrails, worn floor coverings
• Fire: Inadequate smoke detection, single means of escape, use of combustible materials
• Structural collapse: Lintels, flat roofs, and wall ties in older stock

Proactive Compliance

The best approach to HHSRS is prevention rather than enforcement. Conducting regular property inspections, maintaining the building in good repair, ensuring heating and insulation are adequate, and addressing damp promptly will significantly reduce your exposure to HHSRS enforcement action. Redbridge Property’s managed landlord clients benefit from twice-yearly property inspections and detailed condition reports.