Housing Act 2004 and HHSRS

The Housing Act 2004 introduced the Housing Health and Safety Rating System, or HHSRS. It replaced the old "fit for human habitation" fitness standard with a risk-based scoring system that councils use to inspect homes and decide whether to force landlords to act.

The 29 hazards

HHSRS lists 29 categories of hazard that can make a home dangerous. They are divided into five groups:

Physiological requirements (damp, temperature, light)

• Damp and mould growth
• Excess cold
• Excess heat
• Asbestos and manufactured mineral fibres
• Biocides (pesticides, preservatives)
• Carbon monoxide and fuel combustion products
• Lead
• Radiation
• Uncombusted fuel gas
• Volatile organic compounds

Psychological requirements (space, light, noise)

• Crowding and space
• Entry by intruders
• Lighting
• Noise

Protection against infection

• Domestic hygiene, pests and refuse
• Food safety
• Personal hygiene, sanitation and drainage
• Water supply for domestic purposes

Protection against accidents

• Falls on stairs
• Falls on the level
• Falls between levels
• Falls from height
• Electrical hazards
• Fire
• Flames, hot surfaces and materials
• Collision and entrapment
• Explosions
• Position and operability of amenities
• Structural collapse and falling elements

Category 1 and Category 2

The HHSRS produces a score for each hazard found. Scores above a threshold are Category 1 hazards, those below are Category 2 hazards.

For Category 1 hazards, the council has no discretion. It must take enforcement action under Section 5 of the Housing Act 2004. This usually means serving an improvement notice or prohibition order on the landlord.

What councils can do

When a council inspects and finds a hazard, it can:

• Improvement notice (most common): orders the landlord to remedy the hazard within a fixed period (usually 28 days minimum). The landlord must comply or face prosecution.
• Prohibition order: prevents the property or part of it being used until the hazard is fixed.
• Emergency prohibition order: immediate, no notice required, where a Category 1 hazard poses a serious and imminent risk.
• Hazard awareness notice: an advisory only, used for Category 2 hazards.
• Emergency remedial action: the council does the work itself and charges the landlord.
• Demolition order: rare, for the worst cases.

How to get an inspection

You can ask your local council's Environmental Health team to inspect your home at any time. There is no fee. You do not need a solicitor to make this request.

Write to the Environmental Health department at your council. Include:

• Your address
• A description of the hazard
• When you first reported it to the landlord
• Photographs

Once served, an improvement notice is registered as a local land charge and can affect your landlord's ability to sell.

HHSRS and Awaab's Law

Awaab's Law (from 27 October 2025) works alongside HHSRS but is separate. It gives social tenants strict deadlines (24 hours for emergencies, 10 working days for significant hazards). HHSRS is the council's enforcement tool; Awaab's Law is the tenant's direct legal route.

Both can run at the same time. Asking your council to inspect and getting Awaab's Law solicitor advice are not mutually exclusive.

HHSRS and your civil claim

An improvement notice or Category 1 hazard finding from Environmental Health is powerful evidence in a civil disrepair claim. It shows:

• The hazard was serious
• The landlord knew (or was told)
• The standard of the property fell below the legal minimum

If your council has already served an improvement notice on your landlord, your civil claim is significantly strengthened. Tell your solicitor immediately.

Private and social landlords

HHSRS applies to all rented homes in England, private and social. Private landlords are not exempt from council enforcement.

Welsh tenants

Wales has its own regime under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 and the Housing (Wales) Act 2014. Many HHSRS hazard categories apply in Wales through separate regulations.

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