HHSRS (Housing Health and Safety Rating System)
The risk-assessment framework used by local authorities to judge whether housing is safe. It scores 29 categories of hazard, from damp and mould to falling on stairs. Category 1 hazards are the most serious and trigger enforcement powers including Improvement Notices and Prohibition Orders.
At a glance
- Hazard categories
- 29
- Category 1
- Serious + triggers enforcement powers
- Enforcement
- Improvement notices, prohibition orders, emergency works
Full guide
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Open full guideWhy HHSRS (Housing Health and Safety Rating System) matters for landlords
HHSRS is the evidence base the council uses to classify housing hazards, and its Category 1 threshold is the one that triggers civil and criminal enforcement. Damp and mould, excess cold and falls on stairs are the three hazards that land most PRS landlords in trouble. HHSRS is now being refreshed and the new framework is expected to align more closely with Awaab’s Law timescales.
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Official sources
LetCompliance editorial reviews this entry every quarter against the sources above. Always confirm specific duties with a qualified solicitor or your local council.
Related terms
Decent Homes Standard (DHS)
A government standard for minimum housing quality, extended to the private rented sector by the Renters Rights Act 2025. Properties must be free of Category 1 HHSRS hazards, in a reasonable state of repair, have reasonably modern facilities and provide reasonable thermal comfort.
Improvement Notice
A formal notice served by the local housing authority under section 11 (Category 1 hazard) or section 12 (Category 2 hazard) of the Housing Act 2004 requiring a landlord to remedy hazards identified through the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS). The notice specifies the works, the deadline and the route of appeal to the First-tier Tribunal. Failure to comply is a criminal offence with civil penalty up to £30,000, and triggers a 12-month Rent Repayment Order window.
Additional Licensing
A discretionary HMO licensing scheme a council can introduce under section 56 of the Housing Act 2004 to cover smaller HMOs that fall below the mandatory five-person, three-storey threshold. It is separate from selective licensing (which covers all rented homes in a designated area, not just HMOs). Operating an unlicensed HMO where additional licensing applies is a criminal offence with civil penalties up to £30,000 and exposure to a Rent Repayment Order of up to 24 months’ rent.
Article 4 Direction
A planning tool councils use under article 4 of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 2015 to remove permitted-development rights, most commonly the right to convert a single-family home (Use Class C3) into a small HMO (Use Class C4) without planning permission. In an Article 4 area, every C3 → C4 conversion needs a full planning application, and operating without it can trigger an enforcement notice, a planning contravention notice or a refusal of HMO licence.
Awaab's Law
Provisions extending to the private rented sector under the Renters Rights Act 2025 that set strict timescales for landlords to investigate and remedy hazards such as damp and mould. Named after Awaab Ishak. Breach can lead to tenant compensation and enforcement by the local housing authority.
Banning Order
A court order under Part 2 of the Housing and Planning Act 2016 banning a person convicted of certain housing offences from letting property, engaging in lettings agency work or holding an HMO licence. Triggered by a banning-order offence (Schedule 1 of the Act): includes serious housing-condition offences, illegal eviction and unlawful HMO operation. A banned landlord is added to the national database of rogue landlords and breach of the order is itself a criminal offence with up to 51 weeks’ imprisonment.