EHJ February 2004, pages 54-56
There is currently much heated debate in the profession over the merits of the new housing health and safety rating system set to come into force by mid-2005. EHJ explains how the system will work and what led to it being introduced

The housing health and safety rating system (HHSRS) is included in the Housing Bill currently making its way through parliament and expected to become an act by mid-2004. If passed by parliament, the new rating system, which will be used by EHOs to rate the level of public health and safety risk to tenants in private housing, is expected to come into force by mid-2005. It is anticipated that up to 2,000 members of the CIEH will be required to use the new system.

WHAT IS IT REPLACING?

The existing system is the fitness standard, which has been used for most of the last century to assess whether a dwelling is fit to be inhabited. It was used effectively through much of the slum clearance programme, which was at its peak during the 1930s and the post-war period. Box 2 shows what EHOs have to inspect under the current system.

WHY IS THE FITNESS STANDARD BEING REPLACED?

A study by the Building Research Establishment revealed that only four of the top 10 risks associated with UK dwellings are covered by the fitness standard. Risks from exposure to radon, falls on stairs, fire safety, excessively low or high air temperatures, falls from windows, and drowning hazards, are all being neglected under the present regime.

The fitness standard is also deemed a blunt tool because it either provides a pass or fail for a dwelling. The government wants a more subtle system capable of measuring the degree of risk present in a home.

The government also wants to ensure that EHOs are focusing their attention on issues that affect heath and safety. Under the existing fitness standard, the government believes the emphasis is on the condition of housing rather than looking at its impact on health.

EVENTS LEADING TO THE HHSRS GOING LIVE

1998 - A consultation exercise is launched following a government decision to revise the fitness standard. The consultation produces general agreement that a new system based, in principle, on a risk rating should be developed.

1998 - A steering group is set up to oversee the development of the new system and Warwick University is appointed to act as consultants.

2000 - The first draft of the HHSRS is produced by a team from Warwick University law school. A second more detailed consultation takes place. Sixteen local authorities trial the system along with the handheld computer survey programme.

2000 - A roadshow organised by the then DTLR and run by the CIEH tours the country explaining the new system.

2001 - Following criticism over the user friendliness of the system and concerns over its workability, the government commissions DTZ Pieda to evaluate the system and the BRE to investigate using it with houses in multiple occupation. Warwick law school, with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, start work on revising the statistical evidence which supports the system and informs decisions.

2001 - Responsibility for the HHSRS goes to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister as the DTLR is disbanded.

2001 - Warwick University starts development on a second version.

2003 - The government includes the HHSRS in a draft version of the Housing Bill currently making its way through parliament.

Dec 2003 - The second version of the HHSRS is rolled out along with long awaited draft guidance, which is now open to consultation, ending in March 2004.

Summer 2004 - Expected enactment of the Housing Bill.

December 2004 - It is hoped the government will start providing some of the £5m it has pledged to help local authorities with training and other start-up costs. Included in these costs will be handheld PCs to help EHOs calculate the hazard rating. Software for the system will be provided by the ODPM.

December 2004 - Dependent on funding being available, training in the new system will be rolled out across the country, possibly by the CIEH.

June 2005 - The new HHSRS is expected to go live.

WHAT IS THE PRINCIPLE BEHIND THE NEW RATING SYSTEM?

That a dwelling, including any outbuildings, the garden, yards or any other amenities, should provide a safe and healthy environment for the occupants or any visitors.

WHAT ARE THE AIMS OF THE HHSRS?

That it should be comprehensive and hazard-based, looking at the effect of the fault on health and safety, not just at the defect itself. Risk assessments are used to grade the severity of the hazard and the system is capable of comparing different types of hazards. The system is also required to be evidence-based, easy to use and legally sound.

WHAT HAZARDS DOES THE HHSRS COVER?

There are 29 hazards covered in total. They are split into four categories - physiological effects, psychological effects, protection against infection, and protection against accidents.

HOW WILL AN EHO APPLY THE SYSTEM?

Below is a step-by-step guide to show how an EHO would use the system during an inspection.

Step 1: The EHO will firstly survey the property to identify any problems that may lead to any of the 29 published risks occurring. For example, an EHO would identify in the survey that a missing banister rail could lead to someone falling down the stairs. This falls in the protection against accidents category.

Step 2: The EHO then has to assess, given the condition of the particular problem, the likelihood of an accident occurring within the next 12 months. The EHO must estimate the likelihood of it happening to a person in the most vulnerable age group currently living in the dwelling. This could be a child or someone elderly. It does not include someone who is registered disabled.

To help the EHO make this judgement, the ODPM has provided guidance. For example, in the case of a staircase, the ODPM has calculated that in a house built between 1920 and 1945, there is on average a one in 226 chance of someone falling down the stairs.

A judgement then has to be made by the EHO, given the condition of the staircase, on the likelihood of an accident occurring. To help make this judgement, the EHO is given a list of relevant things to look out for including poor friction, stair width, and the length of the flight. These have to be graded from not satisfactory to seriously defective. The likelihood of an accident happening is expressed as a ratio, for example, one in 1,000, one in 200, or one in 10.

Step 3: The EHO then has to assess what harm an individual might suffer as a result of an accident. The categories are extreme, severe, serious or moderate. The most common example used to illustrate this is to consider a broken window latch, which may result in a child falling from a window. In the case of a fall from a third floor window, the child may die. This would be classified as an "extreme" class of harm. In the case of a ground floor window with a flowerbed beneath it, the outcome of the accident may be considered moderate. By assessing this possible outcome, the system will weight the ratio arrived at in step 2. For example, in the case of the accident possibly causing death or "extreme harm", a weighting of 10,000 is allocated to the ratio. If the outcome is just light bruising or "moderate harm", the weighting would be 10.

Step 4: The ratio from step 2 and the weighting from step 3 are fed into a scoring program for each of the problems identified during the survey at step 1. The programme will then calculate an overall hazard score of between one and 100,000 for the hazard. A score of one, for example, means there is the equivalent annual risk of death of one in a million. A score of 1,000 means there is an equivalent annual risk of one in 1,000 while a score of 100,000 means there is a one in 10 equivalent annual risk of death from that particular hazard. The calculations can be done manually or with the aid of a computer or palmtop.

Step 5: An assessment is then made by the EHO as to what action needs to be taken. Anything with a hazard score of 1,000 or more places a duty on the local authority to consider action. The government considers that a risk of death greater than one in a 1,000 is unacceptable. If the hazard rating is less than 1,000, there are powers available for the EHO to take action. This is at the discretion of the EHO.

Step 6: Finally, the dwelling is placed in a hazard band depending on its numerical hazard score. A dwelling with a hazard rating of 5,000 or more is in the most dangerous category and put in band A. If properties fall into bands A,B or C there is a legal duty on the local authority to take action. If a dwelling has a hazard score of between 500 and 999 it will be placed in band D. Between band D and J there are powers for the local authority to take action but it will be at its discretion. The safest properties are in band J with a hazard rating of nine or less.

WILL THE SYSTEM BE LIMITED TO PRIVATE HOUSING?

According to the ODPM, the system can be used on both private and council housing. The duty to act would, however, be limited to private dwellings. For council accommodation, it will be used as an information gathering tool. There are plans to modify the decency standard to take account of the HHSRS.

DOES THE HHSRS OFFER EMERGENCY POWERS TO DEAL WITH URGENT HAZARDS ?

Not at present in the bill. However, the ODPM has accepted a CIEH recommendation that powers should be included and a government amendment has been tabled.

DOES A LOCAL AUTHORITY HAVE THE POWERS UNDER THE BILL TO SAMPLE HAZARDS?

The powers are not present in the current bill to take samples such as, for example, air quality or mould. But the government has tabled an amendment which is likely to be included in the final bill. Under the bill, EHOs are able to take readings such as noise and background radiation to determine the severity of a hazard.