Environmental health visit: what to expect

If your home has serious disrepair that your landlord has not fixed, you can ask your local council's environmental health team to inspect the property. Below, we walk through what happens during an environmental health visit, how to prepare, and what the council can do as a result.

What is environmental health?

Every local council has an environmental health team. Part of their job is to inspect privately rented homes and deal with conditions that are dangerous or harmful to health. They have legal powers to order landlords to carry out repairs.

When should I request a visit?

You should consider asking for an environmental health visit if:

• You have reported disrepair to your landlord and they have not fixed it
• The problem is serious, for example, damp and mould covering large areas, no working heating, a structural risk, or a pest infestation
• Your health or the health of someone in your household is being affected

You do not need a solicitor or legal representative to request a visit. You can contact environmental health directly.

How do I request a visit?

Contact your local council and ask to speak to the environmental health or private sector housing team. You can usually do this by:

• Calling the council's main number and asking to be put through
• Using the council's website to report a private rented property concern
• Visiting a council office in person

When you contact them, explain that you are a private tenant, describe the disrepair, and say that your landlord has not fixed it despite being told about it. Ask for an inspection of the property.

What happens during the visit?

An environmental health officer (EHO) will come to your home to inspect it. During the visit they will:

• Look at the condition of the property, including any areas you have reported
• Take notes and photographs
• Assess the risk to your health and safety using a system called the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS)

The HHSRS rates hazards from Category 1 (the most serious, requiring action) to Category 2 (less serious but still noteworthy). Damp, mould, cold, and structural problems are all assessed under this system.

What should I do before the visit?

Before the officer arrives:

• Make a list of all the problems in the property, including when they started and when you reported them to your landlord
• Gather any evidence you have, photographs, written reports to your landlord, their replies
• Make sure the officer can access all the affected areas

You do not need to tidy up or hide any damage. The officer needs to see the property as it is.

What can environmental health do?

If the officer finds a Category 1 hazard, the council must take action. This can include:

• Issuing an improvement notice ordering the landlord to carry out specific repairs within a set time
• Taking emergency action if the risk to health or safety is immediate
• Prosecuting the landlord if they fail to comply with an improvement notice

If the hazard is Category 2, the council has the power to act but is not required to.

What are the limits of an environmental health visit?

Environmental health can order repairs, but they cannot award you compensation. If you want financial compensation for living with disrepair, or if you want to apply more direct pressure on your landlord, a housing disrepair claim may be the right next step alongside an environmental health referral.

Environmental health also tends to focus on the most serious hazards. More moderate disrepair that is still affecting your quality of life may not result in enforcement action, even if it is something your landlord should fix.

Will the landlord know I requested the visit?

Yes. If the council takes any action, the landlord will be informed. You should be aware of this and consider whether it might affect your tenancy, though it is unlawful for a landlord to evict you in retaliation for contacting environmental health. If your landlord tries to evict you shortly after you report them, this can be evidence of retaliatory eviction.

When should I contact Support for Tenants?

An environmental health visit and a housing disrepair claim can run alongside each other. If you have reported disrepair to your landlord and want to know what options are available to you, call us.

Call us on 0800 030 4669. No upfront cost. You only pay if you win, and the fee comes out of the compensation, not your pocket. If you don't win, you pay nothing.

Sources

• Housing Act 2004, Part 1, HHSRS (legislation.gov.uk)
• Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) guidance (GOV.UK)