Government Publishes Draft Updated HHSRS Guidance

Reading Time - About 2 minutes:

The Government has finally published draft statutory guidance for the updated Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS), the well-established, but not necessarily well-known risk-based system used by Local Authorities to assess housing hazards in residential properties.

Whilst the HHSRS was introduced in the Housing Act 2004 and took effect in 2006, the new guidance follows an announcement in 2018 to undertake a scoping review of it, which concluded in 2022 and a policy paper subsequently published in 2023.

The guidance reflects a significant shift in how Housing Hazards are understood, assessed and enforced in today’s housing landscape, which increasingly being viewed through the lens of health, prevention and wellbeing instead of just property condition.

 

What is the HHSRS?

The HHSRS is the legal framework used by local authorities in England to assess risks to health and safety in residential properties.

It covers 29 Housing Hazards, including:

  • Damp and mould
  • Excess cold and heat
  • Fire safety
  • Electrical hazards
  • Falls and structural risks
  • Domestic hygiene

 

Under the system, Councils can take enforcement action where serious Hazards are identified.

The updated guidance is intended to modernise how the HHSRS operates and improve consistency in assessment and enforcement, which now covers 21 Hazards divided into 4 'main groups':

  • Protection against accidents
  • Physiological requirements
  • Protection against infection
  • Psychological requirements

 

Why has the guidance been updated?

The Housing Sector has changed significantly since the HHSRS was first introduced nearly 20 years ago.

The updated guidance reflects:

  • Greater understanding of the health impacts of poor housing
  • Increased focus on damp and mould following the death of Awaab Ishak
  • Stronger expectations around consumer regulation and resident safety
  • The need for more consistent enforcement approaches across local authorities

 

What are the key themes?

The key themes emerging from the guidance are:

1. Prevention and early intervention

The guidance encourages earlier identification of Hazards before they escalate into serious health risks, recognising the cumulative impact of housing conditions on wellbeing.

2. A stronger focus on damp and mould

Damp and mould are treated more explicitly as health hazards, reinforcing the direction of travel already seen through Awaab’s Law and Ombudsman investigations.

3. Greater consistency in enforcement

The guidance aims to support more consistent decision-making by local authorities when assessing Hazards and deciding on enforcement action.

4. A more resident-focused approach

Assessments are expected to consider the circumstances, needs and vulnerabilities of occupants, particularly children, older residents and vulnerable households.

 

What does this mean for housing disrepair?

The updated guidance is significant to housing disrepair given that many disrepair cases involve Hazards assessed under the HHSRS, particularly:

  • damp and mould
  • excess cold
  • water ingress
  • electrical risks
  • structural defects

 

In practice, this means the HHSRS continues to play a central role in:

  • identifying serious housing hazards
  • supporting enforcement action
  • informing legal claims
  • shaping landlord repair priorities

 

The revised guidance also reinforces the growing expectation that landlords should:

  • diagnose root causes properly
  • maintain accurate property data
  • resolve hazards before they escalate into formal complaints or disrepair claims

 

For social landlords especially, this further strengthens the link between:

  • repairs
  • complaints
  • regulation
  • health

 

What does this mean for Awaab’s Law?

The updated HHSRS guidance sits alongside the implementation of Awaab’s Law, which introduces strict legal timeframes for investigating and resolving serious health hazards in social housing using the Hazards in the HHSRS.

Both the guidance and Awaab’s Law reflect the same wider shift across the Sector away from reactive repairs and towards earlier intervention and risk management, both with empathy.

The stronger emphasis on damp and mould within the updated HHSRS guidance is particularly important because these Hazards are likely to become a major trigger for:

  • regulatory scrutiny and downgrades
  • Ombudsman escalations and judgements
  • legal enforcement under Awaab’s Law
  • Court decisions

 

What does this mean for landlords?

Housing Hazards are now clearly defined and must be identified early, investigated properly, and resolved quickly, especially where residents’ health may be affected.

The guidance also strengthens the case for joined-up working between a landlord's repairs, complaints, housing management and safeguarding teams.

The updated guidance reinforces the importance of:

  • proactive inspections
  • accurate stock condition data
  • effective repairs processes
  • early engagement with residents

 

Why does this matter?

The updated HHSRS guidance reflects a broader cultural shift across the Housing Sector towards:

  • identifying and managing risk earlier
  • viewing disrepair as a more than maintenance issue
  • recognising a repair as a safety issue
  • codifying the resolution of hazards in homes in legislation

 

How can DISREPAIR AWARE help?

Many rented homes are not inspected regularly or maintained properly - we want to help improve housing conditions for everyone.

DISREPAIR AWARE helps:

 

You can find more news and insights about housing disrepair on our Blog.

 

 

View our Blog

Please share this post!

We want to make housing disrepair information easy to understand, accessible and useful - if you found this post helpful then please share it

Together, we can help improve housing conditions for everyone