Environmental health visit: what to expect

Has your home got serious disrepair that your landlord has not fixed? You can ask your local council's environmental health team to come and look. Below, we explain what happens during an environmental health visit. We also cover how to get ready, and what the council can do afterwards.

What is environmental health?

Every local council has an environmental health team. Part of their job is to check privately rented homes. They deal with things that are dangerous or bad for your health. They have legal powers to order landlords to do repairs.

When should I request a visit?

You should think about asking for an environmental health visit if:

• You have told your landlord about disrepair 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 you live with, is being affected

You do not need a solicitor or anyone to act for you. You can contact environmental health yourself.

How do I request a visit?

Contact your local council. 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, tell them you are a private tenant. Describe the disrepair. Say that you told your landlord but they have not fixed it. Ask them to come and check your home.

What happens during the visit?

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

• Look at the state of the property, including any areas you have told them about
• Take notes and photographs
• Work out 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, which needs action) to Category 2 (less serious but still worth noting). Damp, mould, cold, and structural problems are all checked under this system.

What should I do before the visit?

Before the officer arrives:

• Make a list of all the problems in your home. Note when they started and when you told your landlord
• Gather any evidence you have, photographs, written reports to your landlord, their replies
• Make sure the officer can get to all the affected areas

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

What can environmental health do?

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

• Giving an improvement notice. This orders the landlord to do set repairs within a set time
• Taking emergency action if the risk to health or safety is right now
• Taking the landlord to court if they do not follow an improvement notice

If the hazard is Category 2, the council can act but does not have to.

What are the limits of an environmental health visit?

Environmental health can order repairs. But they cannot give you compensation. Do you want money for living with disrepair? Or do you want to put more direct pressure on your landlord? Then 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. Smaller disrepair that still affects your life may not lead to 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 told. Keep this in mind. Think about whether it might affect your tenancy. Even so, your landlord is not allowed to evict you for getting in touch with environmental health. Does your landlord try to evict you soon 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 at the same time. Have you told your landlord about disrepair and want to know your options? 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)