Background and definition

Background to the HHSRS and its' definition.

Previously the condition of a property was measured by the ‘fitness standards’ as prescribed by the Housing Act 1985. According to research conducted by Shelter, it was believed that around 800,000 rental properties in the UK fell foul of this standard. However, following the implementation of the Housing Health and Safety Rating's System (HHSRS) by the Housing Act 2004, it is estimated that around 1.6 million properties now contain unacceptable hazards. This means that it is a harder assessment to satisfy.

The underlying principle of the HHSRS is that:

Any residential premises should provide a safe and healthy environment for any potential occupier or visitor.

To satisfy this principle, a dwelling should be designed, constructed and maintained with non-hazardous materials and should be free from both unnecessary and avoidable hazards.

Some hazards, however, are necessary or unavoidable, and others are considered desirable or expected because the perceived benefits outweigh the risks. For example, electricity is hazardous but considered necessary; stairs (however well designed) are hazardous but necessary in any multi-storey dwelling. For such hazards, the design, construction and maintenance should be such as to reduce to a minimum the probability of an occurrence which could result in harm and of the potential harm that could result.

It is a general principle that any dwelling should provide adequate protection from all potential hazards prevailing in the local external environment. This includes the normal local weather conditions, round conditions and pollution (including noise, air and radiation).

Where the dwelling is a part of a larger structure, the design, construction and maintenance of that larger structure should provide adequate protection from all potential hazards. As well as potential hazards from the external environment, this includes those prevailing in the internal environment outside the dwelling, including the normal noise pollution.

This approach acknowledges that all dwellings will contain some hazards, and that the degree to which the underlying HHSRS principle can be satisfied in existing dwellings will vary. The HHSRS provides a means of assessing dwellings which reflects the risk from any hazard, and allows a judgment to be made as to whether that risk, in the particular circumstances, is acceptable or not.