Housing in poor condition (Private Landlord)

The Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS)
Landlords Responsibilities
Safety of Gas Appliances
Responsibilities for Damp
Furniture and Furnishing
The Council's Involvement
Work in Default
How to report a problem

There are minimum standards that apply to all rented housing. The aim of such standards is to ensure homes are safe to live in, warm, energy efficient and do not cause harm or illness to the occupiers. The Housing Act 2004 gives powers to Local Housing Authorities (in this area South Cambridgeshire District Council) to enforce these standards.

South Cambridgeshire's Environmental Health and Housing teams work to ensure that homes in the private rented sector meet the required standards and are free of hazards. If necessary, enforcement action may be taken against some landlords who fail to maintain privately rented property, using the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) provisions of the Housing Act 2004.

act

The Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS)

Under the Housing Act 2004, a new way for Local Housing Authorities to assess housing conditions was introduced. This replaced the old 'unfitness' standard. It looks at the effect that deficiencies in the home can have on the health and safety of occupants and visitors by using a risk assessment approach called the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS). The aim of the risk assessment is to reduce or eliminate hazards to health and safety. Potentially there are 29 hazards and each hazard is assessed separately and rated according to how serious the likelihood of harm.

The 29 hazards are:
Damp and mould growth	Crowding and space	Falling on stairs etc.
Excess cold	Entry by intruders	Falling between levels
Excess heat	Lighting	Electrical hazards
Asbestos	Noise	Fire
Biocides	Domestic hygiene	Hot surfaces
Carbon monoxide	Food safety	Collision/Entrapment
Lead	Personal hygiene	Explosions
Radiation	Water supply	Ergonomics
Uncombusted fuel gas	Falls/baths	Structural collapse
Volatile compounds	Falls on level

When carrying out the risk assessment two key tests are applied:

The likelihood of harm occuring (such as an accident or ill health) as a direct result of a deficiency in the home (such as a broken step or leaking roof);
The likely harm outcomes in terms of severity of injury or ill health (physical and mental) arising from the deficiency.

The final score is divided into hazard bands ranging from A-J. Landlords must take reasonable action to remedy all hazards but, if they do not, Councils have a duty to consider enforcement action for the more serious hazards falling into bands A-C, known as category 1 hazards. They also have power to take enforcement action for other hazards, known as category 2 hazards.

Each case is individual and the appropriate enforcement action will be chosen, normally after consultation with the tenant and landlord, which reflects the circumstances concerned.

responsibilities

Landlords Responsibilities

The landlord is normally responsible for:

Ensuring that hazards in the home likely to affect health or cause harm are either eliminated or minimised
The structure and exterior of the property
The structure and exterior of the building, including the roof, guttering, chimneys, plasterwork, walls, windows and doors
Ensuring that equipment for supplying utilities is kept in good condition. This includes: pipes supplying gas, electricity or water, flues (e.g. for gas boilers) and ventilation, drains
Ensuring any gas appliance (including gas boilers) is safely installed and working properly. The landlord should be able to produce a gas safety certificate upon request. A Gas Safe registered engineer must test appliances every 12 months. Enforcement of gas safety regulations is the responsibility of the Health and Safety Executive (This link will open in a new window)
The supply of hot water

gas

Safety of Gas Appliances

All gas appliances must be maintained in good order and an annual safety check must be made by a Gas Safe registered engineer. A record of the safety check must be made available to you within 28 days of each annual check.

damp

Dampness

Who is responsible for damp?

The landlord is responsible if:

The damp is caused by a structural defect in the property
The property lacks damp proofing
There is a leak (e.g. in the roof)
There is inadequate insulation, heating or ventilation causing condensation

The landlord may not be responsible if the damp is caused by condensation due to the lifestyle of the tenant e.g. if the tenant dries clothes inside rooms, uses unventilated tumble driers, does not open windows for ventilation or does not use the heating system sufficiently. In these circumstances tenants should seek advice to establish who is responsible for repairs.

furniture

Furniture and furnishings

All furniture and furnishings should meet the fire resistance requirements of the Furnishing (Fire Safety) Regulations 1988. These regulations set levels of fire resistance for all new and second hand furniture in let accommodation. If you require further advice contact Trading Standards. (This link will open in a new window)

involvement

The Council's involvement

If you feel that items are in need of repair or there are hazards (see above list) that are damaging your health you should contact your landlord in the first instance. If your landlord refuses to deal with the repairs or hazard, contact Health and Environmental Services. An officer will inspect the problem and, where necessary, notify the landlord of deficiencies he is responsible for. Unless emergency action is required, or if there is a history of non-compliance, in the first instance we will try and deal with the matter informally. However, if the landlord fails to co-operate and the hazard is sufficiently serious, the Council can take formal action.

This could involve the service of formal notices on the landlord, which are subject to appeal provisions, requiring work to be carried out within a specified timescale. Failure to carry out the work could result in prosecution and/or the Council carrying out the work in default and recovering costs.

default

Carrying out work in default

In some circumstances the council can carry out works that it has required others to do. This is called works in default, and it is sometimes the quickest and most satisfactory way of making necessary repairs.

In these cases the council will pay the bill but then recover the costs, including staff time in carrying out the works. The exact procedure varies, but in most cases the debt is registered as a charge at the Local Land Registry. This gives the council powers similar to those of a building society or bank: the debt incurs interest and if it remains unpaid the council can sell the property.

report

How to report a problem

Explain the problems to Health and Environmental Services.