HHSRS explained: the Housing Health and Safety Rating System

What HHSRS actually is

The Housing Health and Safety Rating System was introduced by the Housing Act 2004 as a way of assessing risks to health and safety arising from housing conditions. It is a risk-assessment and enforcement framework, not a schedule of repairs, and it belongs to the council rather than to you.

Rather than asking “is something broken?”, HHSRS asks what risk of harm a condition creates. That lets it reach problems arising from design, layout, maintenance, deterioration, installations, heating, insulation, ventilation, security and sanitation — including conditions that have never deteriorated from anything.

The system changed substantially in June 2026

If you are reading an older guide, a good deal of it is now out of date. The Housing Health and Safety Rating System (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 — SI 2026/571 — made the biggest change to the framework since it was introduced. The regulations came into force on 23 June 2026.

• The hazard categories were reduced from 29 to 21, with several related hazards combined.
• The ten A–J bands were replaced by three: High, Medium and Low.
• The scoring process was updated and baseline indicators introduced.
• The 2006 operating guidance and the previous enforcement guidance were both replaced.

The amended system applies to an inspection commenced on or after 23 June 2026. An inspection begun before that date may still fall under the previous framework.

The A–J bands have gone

Before the reform, hazard scores fell into ten bands labelled A to J, and you will still find council pages, landlord sites and housing articles using them. For assessments under the revised system that language is obsolete. There are now three bands.

• High — a score of 1,000 or more. This is a Category 1 hazard.
• Medium — a score of 100 to 999. Category 2.
• Low — a score below 100. Category 2.

The numerical Category 1 threshold is unchanged at 1,000. So the reform simplified how a result is described without altering the fundamental legal distinction between the two categories, or the duties that follow from it.

Category 1 and Category 2: must versus may

This is the distinction that decides whether the council has to do anything.

Category 1 — the council must act

Section 5(1) of the Housing Act 2004 provides that if a local housing authority considers that a Category 1 hazard exists on any residential premises, they must take the appropriate enforcement action. Once the hazard has been properly assessed at that level, dealing with it stops being a matter of whether the authority feels like getting involved.

Category 2 — the council may act

Section 7 gives councils powers to take enforcement action for Category 2 hazards. It is a power rather than a duty. That does not mean a Category 2 hazard is harmless or that nothing will happen — a council can and does use formal powers where the circumstances justify it — but the decision is theirs.

How the score is worked out

The assessor considers two things: the likelihood that the hazard will cause harm over the next twelve months, and how severe that harm could be. Harm outcomes are considered across four levels — extreme, severe, serious and moderate — and the two judgements are combined through the prescribed method to produce a score.

So HHSRS is not a measure of how bad a defect looks. A visually dramatic problem can score lower than a less obvious one that creates a greater risk of serious harm.

The assessment is not about your household

For most hazards, the risk is assessed by reference to the group most vulnerable to that particular hazard, not the age and health of whoever currently lives there. A dangerous staircase does not become safe because the current occupants are young and fit. The main exception is crowding and space, where the actual household is relevant.

A household member’s actual vulnerability can still matter — not to the score, but to how urgently and in what way the council decides to enforce. Tell them.

The 21 hazards

The current operating guidance groups the hazards under four broad health requirements.

Protection against accidents

• Falls on the level — slipping and tripping on broadly level surfaces, including unsafe flooring, loose coverings, slippery bathing areas and dangerous external paths.
• Falling on stairs etc. — stairs, steps, ramps and stair-like access, including poor lighting, missing handrails and dangerous stair design.
• Falling between levels — falls other than by stairs, including unsafe windows, low guarding and dangerous balconies.
• Fire and explosions — now combined, covering fire spread, inadequate detection, unsafe escape and explosion risks including gas.
• Flames, hot surfaces etc. — burns and scalds from open flames, hot surfaces and hot water.
• Collisions, entrapment and ergonomics — risks from poor layout or design causing collisions, trapping, crushing or strain.
• Structural collapse and falling elements — dangerous ceilings, unstable walls, defective masonry.
• Electrical hazards — shock, burns and other harm from unsafe electrical installations.

Physiological requirements

• Excess cold — where a home cannot be kept adequately warm, whether through inadequate heating, poor insulation, draughts or building defects.
• Radiation — including radon.
• Damp and mould growth — its own hazard, covering water penetration, condensation, leaks, inadequate ventilation and cold surfaces.
• Lead — including from old paint and older water-supply components.
• Indoor air pollutants — combining several previously separate chemical and combustion hazards.
• Excess heat — dangerous or serious overheating, whether from ventilation, design or solar gain.
• Asbestos and manufactured mineral fibres.

Protection against infection

• Domestic hygiene — a broad category now covering pest access, refuse, food hygiene, sanitation, drainage and inadequate facilities.
• Water supply — an inadequate, unsafe or unreliable supply.

Psychological requirements

• Crowding and space — unusual in HHSRS because the actual household is relevant to the assessment.
• Entry by intruders — defective external doors, insecure windows, inadequate security.
• Noise — risk to physical or mental health from noise associated with the housing conditions.
• Lighting and obstructed views — inadequate natural or artificial light, or obstructed outlook.

Excess cold is worth pausing on, because it is not the same question as whether the boiler works. A home can create an excess-cold hazard even where the heating system operates exactly as designed but cannot keep the property adequately warm — which is precisely the kind of condition the repairing duty struggles to reach.

What happened to the old 29?

They were consolidated rather than deleted. Collision and entrapment merged with position and operability of amenities; several chemical and combustion hazards became indoor air pollutants; fire and explosions were combined; different kinds of level-surface fall were brought together; and several hygiene, sanitation, pest and food-safety hazards became domestic hygiene.

So an older article discussing a former hazard name is not necessarily describing something that has stopped mattering. It may now sit inside one of the 21.

Can I make the council inspect?

Not directly, and this is the part most guides get wrong. Section 4 of the Housing Act 2004 says that where the authority considers it appropriate to inspect premises to determine whether a Category 1 or 2 hazard exists, it must arrange an inspection. The judgement about whether inspection is appropriate belongs to the authority, not to you.

There is a separate mandatory route called an official complaint — but it is not available to tenants. Where a proper officer receives a written official complaint from a justice of the peace with jurisdiction in the district, or from the parish or community council for the area, alleging that a hazard may exist, the officer must inspect.

In practice, start with the council’s ordinary housing-conditions process. Where there is a parish council, you could ask whether it is willing to raise the matter — but it is not obliged to do so because you asked. If the council handles your complaint badly, use its formal complaints procedure and then, where appropriate, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.

What happens at an inspection

The officer is not confined to the patch of mould or the broken socket you complained about. HHSRS uses a whole-dwelling assessment, so they may consider every room, common areas, gardens, paths, external structures, services, access arrangements and relevant parts of a larger building.

They may make notes, take photographs, ask questions and inspect communal areas. They may also identify hazards you had not complained about at all.

What the council can do about it

Section 5(2) lists seven courses of action for a Category 1 hazard. Not all are remotely likely in an ordinary repair complaint, but it is worth knowing what the legislation permits.

• Improvement notice (section 11) — requires specified remedial work within a stated period. The most familiar tool.
• Prohibition order (section 20) — restricts use of all or part of the property; it can prevent occupation of a room, restrict occupation by particular groups, or prohibit use entirely.
• Hazard awareness notice (section 28) — identifies the hazard but does NOT require any work to be done.
• Emergency remedial action (section 40) — the council carries out work itself where there is an imminent risk of serious harm.
• Emergency prohibition order (section 43) — immediate prohibition on use where the statutory emergency conditions are met.
• Demolition order (section 265, Housing Act 1985).
• Clearance area (section 289(2), Housing Act 1985).

The existence of seven options does not mean you choose. The authority decides which course is appropriate.

The £7,000 civil penalty

This is a separate change from the HHSRS scoring reform and should not be confused with it. Section 6A of the Housing Act 2004 allows a local housing authority, when first taking enforcement action required by section 5(1) for a Category 1 hazard, also to impose a financial penalty on the responsible person. The maximum is £7,000, and there is no statutory minimum.

It is not automatic. The authority must be of the opinion that it would have been reasonably practicable for the responsible person to secure the removal of the hazard. Relevant considerations include how long they knew about it, what practical steps were available, what had already been done, whether third-party permission was needed, and whether the tenant provided access for the work.

There are also limits on where it bites: section 6A applies to qualifying residential premises other than the common parts of a building containing one or more flats, and the penalty targets the person on whom an improvement notice could be served. So a Category 1 finding does not automatically mean a £7,000 fine, and not every Category 1 finding falls inside section 6A at all.

What happens if the landlord fixes it

That is the system working. Enforcement exists to remove or reduce the risk, so once effective remedial work is done the council reassesses. Requirements in an improvement notice may be treated as complied with; an order may be varied or revoked where the statutory conditions are met; and a prohibition order must be revoked where the authority is satisfied that the hazards that led to it no longer exist.

Does an HHSRS finding prove a claim?

No, but it can be strong evidence. A council assessment can provide independent, expert confirmation of the condition of the home, which is often the hardest thing for a tenant to establish.

A civil claim still has to deal with the landlord’s legal duty, notice or knowledge, how long the breach continued, causation, access, whether the defect was the landlord’s responsibility, and what loss actually resulted. HHSRS helps establish the facts about the property. It does not decide the rest.

How HHSRS relates to the other routes

Fitness for human habitation

Section 10 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 lists ten matters, and “any prescribed hazard” — the HHSRS hazards — is one of them. The other nine, including repair, stability, damp, internal arrangement, lighting, ventilation, water, sanitation and cooking facilities, stand on their own. So HHSRS is relevant to fitness but is not the fitness test, and you do not need a Category 1 or 2 finding before a court can hold a home unfit. See fitness for human habitation.

Section 11

Section 11 is a repairing obligation covering structure and exterior, the water, gas, electricity and sanitation installations, and heating and hot water. HHSRS is a risk assessment. A condition can create a serious hazard without being disrepair at all — a badly designed feature that has never deteriorated is the standard example. See Section 11.

Awaab’s Law

The two now share hazard vocabulary, which makes them easy to confuse. HHSRS is a council framework for assessing and enforcing across tenures. Awaab’s Law places duties directly on social landlords in England to investigate and respond within statutory timescales — it is about how fast the landlord must act, and it does not require you to obtain a Category 1 assessment first. From 30 November 2026 Phase 2 extends beyond damp and mould to excess cold, excess heat, falls, structural collapse, fire and explosions, electrical hazards and domestic hygiene. See Awaab’s Law.

Your tenure decides whether this route is open

Private tenants

HHSRS is a powerful escalation route, and what happens when you contact the council sets out how it works in practice. The council can inspect, score the hazards, contact the landlord, issue notices or orders, take emergency action, carry out work in default, prosecute offences and impose applicable penalties. It can run alongside a civil claim rather than instead of one. See private landlord disrepair.

Housing association tenants

Associations are not councils, and current government tenant guidance identifies housing-association tenants alongside private tenants as people for whom the council may take enforcement action against the landlord. You also have the association’s complaints process, the Housing Ombudsman, Awaab’s Law and the private-law duties. See housing association disrepair.

Council tenants — the important limitation

A local authority cannot take HHSRS enforcement action against itself. If the council owns your home, you cannot ask one part of that authority to serve Housing Act enforcement on another part of it as landlord. This is the single biggest gap in the system and almost no guide says it plainly.

It does not leave council tenants without rights. Council homes are still expected to meet the Decent Homes Standard, which includes being free of Category 1 hazards, and the routes that remain are the landlord complaints process, Awaab’s Law where it applies, the Housing Ombudsman, a ward councillor, the fitness and repairing duties, and a civil claim. See council housing disrepair.

Baseline indicators are not a pass mark

The revised system introduced baseline indicators — practical indicators of features generally expected in safer homes, covering structural condition, drainage, plumbing, sanitary facilities, kitchens, space, doors, external areas, security, walking surfaces, heating and insulation, ventilation, moisture control, pest management and fire safety.

They are not minimum standards and they do not replace the risk assessment. Failing an indicator may point to a deficiency that should then be assessed under HHSRS. A property does not become Category 1 because one indicator is not met.