The Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS)
If you own or manage residential accommodation, the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) is the yardstick that every local authority uses to determine whether your buildings are safe to live in. Introduced under Part 1 of the Housing Act 2004, it distinguishes a hazard worth monitoring from one that triggers formal enforcement. Knowing exactly where your stock sits before an inspector does is the difference between managed risk and an unwelcome notice through the door.
Our team assesses residential stock against the HHSRS day in, day out. Whether you are responsible for a handful of units or a portfolio running into the thousands, we will tell you exactly where you stand.
The HHSRS is not a tick-box condition survey. It is a risk-based assessment that weighs two things: how likely a hazard is to cause harm, and how serious that harm could be. Damp and mould, excess cold, fire, falls, faulty wiring, poor sanitation. The list of hazard categories is long, and the stakes are high.
That rating matters because of what sits behind it. The most serious hazards are rated Category 1, and when a local authority finds one, it has a legal duty to act. Lower-level hazards are rated Category 2, where the authority can act at its discretion. Either way, the outcome can be an Improvement Notice, a Prohibition Order, or something more serious, none of which you want to be reacting to after the event.
We take the guidance, the hazard categories and the scoring bands, and turn all of it into something you can actually use. A clear picture of where your buildings stand, which hazards need attention first, and what it takes to put them right. No jargon for the sake of it, no padding, just an honest assessment and a plan you can act on.
Stay ahead of enforcement, protect the people living in your buildings, and keep your portfolio compliant, one assessment at a time.
Alex Hurn
CEO & Founder
Ambitious Change Maker
Housing Health and Safety Rating System Services
Approach
01
Consultation
This is where you tell us what you are dealing with. The size and type of your stock, the reason for the assessment, whether it is proactive compliance, a fresh acquisition, a tenant complaint, or a notice already on the table. We use it to scope the work properly and flag anything that needs urgent attention from the outset.
02
Inspection
Our surveyor visits the property and assesses it against the relevant hazard categories on the ground. Structural condition, damp, heating, fire safety, electrical risks, sanitation, and everything in between. We capture the evidence as we go, because a hazard rating is only as strong as the record behind it.
03
Review
Back at the desk, we score each hazard on likelihood and severity, band the results, and separate the Category 1 hazards that carry a duty to act from the Category 2 hazards that do not. Then we prioritise, so the report reflects real-world urgency rather than a flat list of findings.
04
Delivery
You receive a clear, plain-English report: what we found, how each hazard is rated, what needs doing, and in what order. We talk you through it, answer your questions, and set out the practical next steps. No guesswork, no surprises, just a picture you can act on with confidence.
Get in touch with us today!
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