Updated Housing Health and Safety Rating guidance released

The government has published updated Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) guidance, following a comprehensive review.

The HHSRS is used to assess health and safety hazards in homes. It is risk-based, set out in regulation and covers a range of 21 potential hazards. The refreshed approach introduces:

✅ An updated assessment and scoring process
✅ New descriptive terms
✅ An amalgamation of hazards reducing the total number from 29 to 21  
✅ New statutory operating and enforcement guidance
✅ New illustrated case studies
✅ New baseline indicators for achieving safety against each hazard