It was originally put in place by the HHSRS (England) Regulations 2005. It is an advanced risk assessment tool used to determine the severity of hazards in homes. An HHSRS assessment evaluates the potential risk of harm to an occupier and rates the seriousness of any hazard identified.

The HHSRS is a vital part of the Government’s work to improve health and safety in people’s homes. It is used by local authorities when they enforce standards in rented properties, it is fundamental to the Decent Homes Standard that social housing must meet. Government uses the English Housing Survey to assess this through levels of health and safety hazards in homes across England.

The amended regulations have been introduced following a review of the system by leading academics and experienced technical experts, including a multi-method engagement with stakeholders, using a combination of regional online focus groups, one-to-one interviews and online surveys. The review introduced an updated assessment and scoring process, including new descriptive terms, as well as amalgamating hazards that are statistically similar in terms of their likelihood and harm, reducing the number of hazards from 29 to 21.

What is happening with the HHSRS?

The HHSRS Regulations have been amended in order to make the prescribed method for assessing the seriousness of hazards in housing easier to understand and apply. HHSRS is not new but it has been amended. The prescribed descriptions of hazards have also been amended.

When did the new HHSRS Regs come into force?

The Housing Health and Safety Rating System (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 came into force on 23 June 2026 along with new guidance.

What does HHSRS do?

The HHSRS itself does not set a minimum standard but instead generates a score that falls into one of two categories, of which ‘category 1’ is the most dangerous.

The HHSRS is also a fundamental part of the Decent Homes Standard. Social housing fails the Decent Homes Standard if it contains category 1 hazards. The Decent Homes Standard will apply to private rented housing from 2035.

What are the main changes to HHSRS?

The main changes are:

• The descriptions of the four ‘classes of harm’ (Classes I to IV) have been renamed as ‘Extreme, Severe, Serious and Moderate’.
• The method for calculating the seriousness of hazards has been simplified.
• The number of hazards has been reduced from 29 to 21 by amalgamating some of the existing descriptions of hazards to make new descriptions.
• The definition of a ‘prescribed fire hazard’ has been updated following analysis of the statistical basis for fires and explosions in English dwellings. A category 1 or 2 hazard is now a ‘prescribed fire hazard’ if the risk of harm is associated with exposure to uncontrolled fire and associated smoke and fumes, an explosion, or the collapse of the whole or part of a building as a result of fire or an explosion.

The Explanatory Memorandum to the new guidance summarises all the changes.

Why has the HHSRS been changed?

Government reviewed the operation of the HHSRS with the aim to bring it up to date, empower landlords and tenants to engage with the system and help with the effective enforcement of housing standards. The review concluded in 2022 and a summary report of the review outcomes has been published.

The amendments to the prescribed method for assessing the seriousness of hazards in housing are designed to make HHSRS easier to understand and apply. Illustrated case studies and new baseline indicators for achieving safety against each hazard have been introduced.

What resources are there?

Statutory Guidance has come into operation at the same time as the new HHSRS. The Operating Guidance is split into three separate sections:

• Introductory guide,
• Technical guide for assessors, and
• Supplementary guide to the hazard of fire and explosions covering local housing authorities’ functions in relation to the inspection of premises, and the assessment of hazards.

The Explanatory Memorandum to the new guidance summarises all the changes.

A new enforcement guide has also been published. The guidance also covers how councils should use their new power to issue a financial penalty of up to £7,000 when they find a category 1 hazard in private rented housing.

What should social landlords do?

Homes must be free from hazards found at category 1 level. The Housing Act 2004 says that local authorities must enforce if they find category 1 hazards and have a power to enforce category 2 hazards. This includes all tenures, but LAs rarely enforce in owner-occupied properties.

Landlords should:

• Study the draft Statutory Guidance to understand how the HHSRS will change from 23 June 2026 and consider how it will apply to their housing stock before the introduction of the next phase of Awwab’s Law in October.
• Consider how they will be able to carry out HHSRS assessments under the new Regs.
• Assess whether they need to train staff to be assessors or recruit suitably qualified assessors or whether their existing service providers can carry out assessments or they need to contract out assessments.
• In addition, they should assess how comprehensive and up to date their stock condition information is at the individual home level. In practice this should build on the work they have already been doing under Awaab’s law (and preparing for next phase), The Building Safety Act and Fire Safety.

Where can landlords find more information?

In addition to the statutory guidance, the government has published other guidance to help landlords to carry out HHSRS assessments, which includes:

• Case studies
• Landlord and agent guide
• Tenant guide
• Local authority enforcement powers under the Housing Act 2004.

The NHMF website has a section on Building and Fire Safety, as well as articles on Awaab’s Law.

The Building Safety Regulator’s website has guidance on how to comply with the Building Safety Act.

What else will the Government be doing on HHSRS?

The operation of the amended HHSRS will be monitored and the government welcomes views of HHSRS assessors on how the suite of case studies can be expanded and reviewed.