HHSRS: Your questions answered

Written by Pennington Choices | Apr 25, 2024 8:15:22 AM

Last updated: 24th July 2024

In our recent webinar, ‘Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) 101’, which is available to watch now on-demand, our attendees posed a variety of questions relating to damp and mould and their responsibilities under the HHSRS. Our experts have answered and compiled these questions to give you a comprehensive understanding of the rating system and common questions seen within the sector.

Q: How frequently should an HHSRS assessment be done on a property?

A: Your requirement to conduct an HHSRS assessment aligns with the Decent Homes Standard; therefore, it should be integrated into your Stock Condition Survey. Ideally, these assessments should be carried out every five years as part of your routine maintenance. However, if a tenant reports a hazard at any time before the scheduled assessment, it's crucial to conduct an HHSRS inspection to address the identified hazard, rather than waiting for the next Stock Condition Survey.

The responsibility is on you as landlords to understand the risks and issues with your properties. The Housing Ombudsman, Regulator of Social Housing, and guidance on damp and mould states that even if a tenant isn’t contacting you, you should be proactively reaching out rather than neglecting the properties that don’t cause any problems.

Q: Is there a standard HHSRS assessment form?

A: The operating guidance doesn't provide a specific template, but there is an example paper scoring form that you can use as a foundation for creating your own Excel or Word template if you aren’t using any specific survey software.

There are two approaches to conducting HHSRS assessments: indicative and fully scored.

Indicative: This method involves listing all 29 hazards and assigning severity levels such as severe, moderate, or typical. This allows surveyors to visually inspect and interpret hazards on-site.
Fully Scored: This method is more complex, using national averages for each hazard and considering all vulnerable categories. Typically, surveying software packages provide interactive tools for surveyors to input data and generate scores using algorithms that can act as a form of template but there are no specific templates for a fully scored survey.

Q: Can you go into more detail about the scoring? What training do people need, and who needs it?

A: If you're conducting HHSRS surveys yourself, it's essential to undergo appropriate HHSRS training. This training can either be conducted internally by experts in the field or externally through certified courses. To find out more about external HHSRS training courses, speak to one of our experts to secure your place on our day-long, virtual HHSRS course, which provides in-depth insight into HHSRS scoring.

The scoring differs depending on each hazard, meaning whilst damp and mould is often visible and easier to score, other issues such as missing handrails on stairs might require more attention to detail. Frontline staff visiting properties should not necessarily be expected to score these issues but should have the knowledge to recognise problems and report them promptly to the appropriate channels.

Q: Where would a provider find what the “average” is? Is there statutory guidance on this?

A: The hazard profiles that include the baseline averages are contained within the operating guidance itself and can be downloaded from the government website.

Q: The 29 hazards are being reduced to 21. Is there an indication of what these 21 could be or an estimate of when this could be known?

A: The HHSRS review has detailed the hazards that will be changing, and you can find updates on the government website. The update will mean a number of the hazards will be combined so none of them will be entirely removed.

To discover more on the upcoming HHSRS review, catch up on our webinar, 'Preparing for Change: HHSRS, Damp, Mould, and Condensation', available on-demand now.

Q: When commissioning a Stock Condition Survey, does HHSRS, Decent Homes Standard, and a Damp and Mould Survey form part of it?

A: HHSRS is a module that forms part of a Stock Condition Survey. The data collected from both the Stock Condition Survey and the HHSRS is used to inform the Decent Homes calculation for the property based on four criteria. Damp and Mould Surveys would typically be a separate service which looks specifically at damp and mould, not the full property like a Stock Condition Survey.

If you require guidance with any area of your HHSRS or specific damp and mould compliance, get in touch with one of our experts to book your Damp and Mould Survey or Stock Condition Survey, tailored to your property’s requirements.

Q: You seemed to suggest they will be pushing us to full scoring rather than indicative scoring, does that mean those who currently do indicative will have to redo surveys and adapt systems to capture this type of scoring?

A: We don’t know at this moment in time as the guidance is yet to be published. As a sector, however, the emphasis on data and evidence trails is becoming much more of a requirement. I would ask if, as an organisation, the indicative method gives you enough information to demonstrate how a surveyor came to the decision they made years later. The onus is to ensure category 1 hazards are remedied. Certain hazards will clearly be category 1, and others clearly low-scoring category 2, it's the ones in the middle you may find yourself justifying at a later date. If the guidance does reveal that we shouldn’t be using the indicative method, we wouldn't expect it to be retrospective, but with a focus on new surveys.

Q. If there is only a small area of mould, would this be category 1?

A: small patch of mould in one property may be a category 1 hazard but the same size patch in another property may not be. The assessment is based on the next 12 months, so you need to take into consideration what the impact would be if left untreated. One property may have an efficient boiler, double glazing, good thermal insulation, good air circulation, and ventilation. The other property may have inefficient electric heating, with single-glazed windows, and no insulation. In the second property, the likelihood of the damp and mould spreading is much higher, therefore, the scoring would be higher. The location of the mould patch will also impact the scoring.

Despite this, damp and mould is a symptom, not the defect itself. A small patch of mould should act as an early warning sign that there’s an issue that needs to be addressed and should never be left to get worse even if you score it as a category 2 hazard.

Q: We complete assessments with an HHSRS score for damp and mould, we also treat the mould on the day, if possible. Once the mould has been treated would that then mean we have reduced the HHSRS score?

A: In the guidance, the damp and mould hazard itself is centred around mould (fungal growth) and the increased presence of house dust mites. Within the guidance, house dust mites are determined as the bigger risk associated with damp and mould. Meaning that although you have removed mould (a symptom) you have not reduced the risk because the underlying issue is still there, and there is still an increased house dust mite population. Therefore, it may look better, but you haven't significantly changed the score. Also, as you score based on the vulnerable group over the next 12 months, the mould will come back within 12 months if you don't fix the underlying cause, meaning the score will stay the same.

Q: If a non-technical person reports a hazard, is it good enough to raise remedial works to a contractor, or should a technical professional re-visit to do a further inspection scoring under the HHSRS?

A: It would depend, but if the defect is clearly a hazard, then raising the remedial work straight from this non-technical view is fine. However, depending on what the hazard is, you may want a technical professional to visit to ensure the remedial work will remove or reduce the risk to an acceptable level. Our experts are on hand if you need help assessing the hazard following remedial works. Get in touch.

I would also suggest whoever visits should take photos to ensure you have an evidence trail of the hazard when you are initially made aware of it.

Q: Why are some landlords so far behind in inspecting damp and mould?

A: Historically, the housing sector has neglected to provide damp and mould and HHSRS the attention it deserves. The tragic death of Awaab Ishak has brought the HHSRS more to the fore in recent years, but the requirements have been in place for 20 years, and it’s equally as important to ensure compliance now as it was then. The main challenges organisations face revolve around finances and resources, including the availability of skilled individuals. This shortage is not unique to housing but reflects broader issues in training and development within the sector.

To ensure you’re up to date on inspecting damp and mould, we would advise acting on stock condition data month by month to stay compliant with new regulations. Lessons learnt from working with organisations show clients falling foul for not taking action on data they’ve received. To address this, creating teams dedicated to addressing and remediating damp and mould cases would be beneficial. These teams can be dedicated to receiving category surveys to stay on top of the stock condition data and manage the workload each month.

Q: Regarding mould/condensation, we currently carry out mould wash and redecoration where mould is found. However, this will not generally stop the cause of the mould growth, especially if we have already installed PIV, etc. What do you think the timescales for other more extensive works (improved insulation) to prevent the cause of condensation/mould will be?

A: If you have works that would fall into the category of extensive and cannot be completed within the timeframes directed by Awaab’s Law, then unfortunately there is no acceptable timescale. As a landlord, you would have to demonstrate you acted reasonably for each individual case. This in itself will vary case by case, and the only person who can confirm whether you acted reasonably is a judge. This may change with some case law, but there isn't a bar to work towards currently. In this situation, you need to remedy this as soon as practicably possible.

To discover more about the upcoming timescales under Awaab’s Law and your next steps, head over to our dedicated blog, ‘Awaab’s Law: What to expect’.

Q: Before carrying out any damp and mould remediation work, is an asbestos report required?

A: This depends on the property, its age (pre-1999), and the work being undertaken. Caution should always be taken when undertaking any work that may damage or disturb asbestos. If there is any suspected asbestos, a survey should always be undertaken before completing work that may damage it. This would be the same for any piece of work, not just damp and mould remediation.

If you require an asbestos survey before carrying out damp and mould remediation work, get in touch with one of our experts.

Q: What are the tenants’ duties under the HHSRS?

A: The HHSRS is a landlord requirement, meaning there aren’t many tenant duties. Tenants have wider duties under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 and Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018, but nothing relating to the HHSRS.

Q: We only have five properties, does the HHSRS apply to us?

A: Yes.

Q: If a customer has decided to cap their gas and not heat their home, this may create damp and mould and increase the risk to the customer. Is this regarded as a category 1 hazard (and reported as non-decent) even though no defect may be identified?

A: It's a complex question that doesn’t necessarily have a straightforward answer. To calculate things like damp and mould and excessive cold, you ignore the existing tenant. This means your scoring is based on there being a fully functioning heating system in place; for any inspection, you wouldn’t know to what extent the heating is used so you wouldn’t take this into consideration. It does need to be taken into consideration when taking remedial action on damp and mould, for example.

In broader terms, the sector, particularly the Regulator of Social Housing, expects you to do more for your tenants. For HHSRS it wouldn’t be an issue with scoring, but for your wider obligations as a landlord, you will be expected to work with that tenant to see if you can help. It is no longer acceptable to leave a tenant without heating because either they requested it, or you capped it for other reasons.

Q: Is a tenant who is known to be disabled (and their increased risk/potential for injury) covered within the vulnerable group and associated scoring?

A: Not for the purposes of scoring HHSRS. For HHSRS, you score based on the identified vulnerable group for the associated risk. Despite this, you do have a wider obligation outside of the HHSRS; for example, Awaab’s Law will apply to the existing tenant and their associated vulnerabilities/disabilities would have to be considered. Damp and mould guidance from the government requires you to take into consideration the specific tenants living there at the time.

Q: When decanting tenants, what do we do if they don’t want to leave? Are you able to legally force them to decant?

A: There are two perspectives to consider here. Documents like the Awaab’s Law consultation and the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 make it clear that landlords are required to act reasonably and demonstrate diligent efforts to support and safeguard their tenants. Complete engagement is essential in fulfilling this obligation. By informing tenants about associated risks and undertaking proactive measures to mitigate them, landlords can construct a compelling case to demonstrate that they acted reasonably.

Each case would have to be taken on its own merit, and the only person that can give you the legal right to do this is a judge. Until case law is established, we don’t know what that bar would look like. As an organisation, it’s your job to act reasonably and be able to provide evidence of this.

Q: Do you have to use a protimeter to substantiate the level of moisture?

A: Protimeters have their limitations; it depends on the type and quality being used and the material they’re being used on. Calcium carbide tests are usually the accepted tests for the level of moisture contained within masonry.

Q: For customers where there is support needed and access is not provided for carrying out improvement work. What steps can we take to mitigate fulfilling landlords’ responsibility?

A: Your access process for HHSRS or any hazard identified within a property should be as robust as your compliance access policy, like gas. This approach will be different for all landlords, but access should be robust, and as a final stage, legal access should be considered. When you’re trying to gain access, you’re acting reasonably, and the tenant is generally not, if something happens during this period you should be able to demonstrate you acted reasonably.

Q: Are you able to carry out Stock Condition Surveys without using Keystone?

A: Yes, we do operate on other systems when undertaking this survey.

Q: Do regulations state certain roles must have HHSRS training?

A: No, not under the current Housing Act 2004 or within the HHSRS guidance. The only direction on competency within the guidance is for people undertaking the surveys to use professional judgment.

Q: Is a damaged garden fence considered a health and safety issue? If so, is the landlord or letting agency obliged to fix it and what is the timescale?

A: None of the HHSRS hazards directly cover garden fences; however, it could become a factor in other hazards. Security, for example, does mention fencing as it is a deterrent, however, just because the fencing is broken or isn't there would not make this hazard automatically a category 1. If the fencing is dangerous or poses a risk to anyone, then you do have a duty under various legislation, such as the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, to take action so that it no longer poses that risk.

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