The housing health and safety rating system HHSRS
The housing health and safety rating system (HHSRS) is a risk-based evaluation tool to help local authorities identify and protect against potential risks and hazards to health and safety from any deficiencies identified in dwellings. It was introduced under the Housing Act 2004 and applies to residential properties in England and Wales.
The HHSRS assesses 29 categories of housing hazard. Each hazard has a weighting which will help determine whether the property is rated as having category 1 (serious) or category 2 (other).
It requires an evaluation of the potential risks to health and safety from any deficiencies identified in dwellings. The assessment using the HHSRS is made based on the condition of the whole
dwelling. This means that, before such an assessment can be made, a thorough inspection of the dwelling must be carried out to collect the evidence of the condition.
This will affect all owners and landlords, including social landlords. It focuses on identifying and tackling the hazards that are most likely to be present in housing to make homes healthier and safer to live in.
The system can deal with 29 hazards relating to:
Dampness, excess cold/heat
Pollutants e.g. asbestos, carbon monoxide, lead
Lack of space, security or lighting, or excessive noise
Poor hygiene, sanitation, water supply
Accidents – falls, electric shocks, fires, burns, scalds
Collisions, explosions, structural collapse
Each hazard is assessed separately, and if judged to be ‘serious’, with a ‘high score’, is deemed to be a category 1 hazard. All other hazards are called category 2 hazards.
A risk assessment looks at the likelihood of an incident arising from the condition of the property and the likely harmful outcome. If a local authority discovers category 1 hazards in a home, it has a duty to take the most appropriate action. Since the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 seeks to evaluate the potential risks to health and safety from any deficiencies identified in dwellings both social and privately rented.
TCS Property Services will carry out the HHSRS inspection in an independent manner. Our clients are mainly Council housing or environmental health departments. However we can do them for private individuals whether tenants, landlords. Our work for councils is to support over stretched housing departments required to carry out large numbers of HHSRS inspections. For landlords we can carry out an HHSRS inspection for Selective licensing purposes or they disagree with the HHSRS rating given to them by the council. For tenants we can carry out the HHSRS inspection if they wish to highlight serious problems with the property which are potentially category 1 or 2 hazards and they are in dispute with the landlord.
Prices
HHSRS Inspection
Flats £240
Houses £290
Court attendance fee £300 per day
All prices above relate to Monday to Friday from 9:00AM to 6:00PM
Out of hours work and weekend work will add a surcharge of £20
All prices assume access to Loft via customer provided ladder.
If ladder needs to be brought by me then an additional £20 surcharge outside congestion charge area, and £40 in congestion charge area.
Appointments outside Greater London are charged as follows
0 to 10 miles is £30
10 to 30 miles is £50
VAT included in above prices at 20%
Call 0208765 1795 to order above services.
Visit our website www.tcspropertyservices.co.uk
Email us on info@tcspropertyservices.co.uk