Housing Rating System
(Housing Health & Safety Rating System)
The way houses, flats and bedsits are
assessed for habitability and safety has changed recently
to a system called the Housing Health & Safety Rating
System (HHSRS).
The HHSRS has been introduced as a replacement for the Housing
Fitness Standard. The rating system allows risks in homes to
be assessed and dealt with appropriately. The underlying
principle of it is that any dwelling should provide a safe and
healthy environment for the occupier or visitors to the
property.
The HHSRS is evidence based and supported by extensive
statistical data on the impact of housing conditions on health. In
the majority of cases both national and local evidence would be
used in forming a basis on which to justify the outcome.
Local evidence may, in some cases, be used alone.
As the range of potential hazards found in houses have
differing characteristics, the rating system uses a formula to
generate a numerical score which allows comparison of the full
range of all, or any of, the 29 hazards covered in the system. The
higher the score, whatever the hazard, the greater the risk.
Links:
For further housing information visit the Communities and Local
Government (external link) website
Contact Details:
Telephone 01929 556561 or email envservices@purbeck-dc.gov.uk