Housing Act 2004 · Operating Guidance 2006

HHSRS Assessments — all 29 hazards, scored in minutes

The Housing Health and Safety Rating System assessment template used by environmental health officers, social housing inspectors and chartered surveyors. Full likelihood × severity scoring across all 29 hazards, Cat 1 / Cat 2 outcome, and recommended enforcement — AI drafts the narrative, you set the scores.

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Our approach to HHSRS

A full-fat HHSRS assessment — all 29 hazards from the Operating Guidance, scored against the vulnerable group for each hazard (not the actual occupants), with the right enforcement option mapped to the score band. Built around the things that matter on a council inspection round: fast bulk-rating from your notes, the section-aware image manager tying photos to specific hazards, and a hazard score the authority's legal team won't argue with.

Vulnerable group

Age-banded scoring built in

Each hazard scored against its designated vulnerable group from the Operating Guidance — excess cold = 65+, damp & mould = under 14, falls on stairs = 60+. The template won't let you score against the wrong group.

Photo manager

Hazard-tagged image manager

Bulk-import photos from your inspection round, drag each one to the right hazard, annotate damp patches, exposed wiring, broken stair nosings. The photo evidence sits with the score that uses it — saves hours per round, indispensable for committee bundles.

Enforcement

Powers mapped to score

Hazard Awareness Notice, Improvement Notice, Prohibition Order, Emergency Remedial Action (s.40), Emergency Prohibition Order (s.43), Demolition Order. The recommendation captures the legal basis and service-of-notice requirements.

Your site notes

H1 damp/mould — bathroom + kitchen, Class III spread child age 2 in property, vulnerable group engaged H2 excess cold — no central heating, single glazing

AI draft — review & sign off

Damp & mould growth Class III

Persistent black mould observed to bathroom and kitchen. Vulnerable group (child under 14) in occupation…

Likelihood, score & enforcement assessor only

Likelihood (1-in-N), Cat 1/2 score, and enforcement option stay with the named assessor.

AI · statutorily-aware

Hazard narrative drafted from notes — scoring stays with the inspector

Type observations and the hazards engaged. AI drafts the descriptive narrative for each hazard: location, what was observed, occupant context, vulnerable-group engagement. It pre-populates the spread-of-harm class where you've flagged one.

What AI does not do: it never sets the likelihood (1-in-N), never calculates the hazard score, and never picks the enforcement option. Those decisions carry direct statutory consequence under the Housing Act 2004 — the named assessor (the EHO, chartered surveyor, or other qualified person) sets them and stands behind them.

Read our full AI compliance position

What's in the assessment

Aligned to the HHSRS Operating Guidance (ODPM/DCLG).

AInspection & instructionInspector, role (EHO / surveyor / consultant), authority, instruction (complaint / programmed / Section 4), date, weather, accompanying party.
BProperty & vulnerable groupAddress, age, construction, occupation profile, vulnerable group identification (children <5, elderly >65, etc.) per hazard's age-banded vulnerability table.
CHazard scoringPer hazard (29 entries): likelihood (1-in-N), spread of harm (Class I–IV), hazard score, Category outcome (Cat 1 / Cat 2), photo evidence.
DOutcome & enforcementCat 1 hazards (action required), Cat 2 hazards (powers available), recommended enforcement: Hazard Awareness Notice, Improvement Notice, Prohibition Order, Emergency Remedial Action, Demolition.
EInspector's declarationAuthority statement, signed declaration, qualifications, AI disclosure.

All 29 HHSRS hazards covered

From the Housing Act 2004 (Sch 1) and HHSRS Operating Guidance.

Damp & mould growth

Excess cold

Excess heat

Asbestos & MMF

Biocides

Carbon monoxide & fuel combustion products

Lead

Radiation

Uncombusted fuel gas

Volatile Organic Compounds

Crowding & space

Entry by intruders

Lighting

Noise

Domestic hygiene, pests & refuse

Food safety

Personal hygiene, sanitation & drainage

Water supply

Falls associated with baths etc

Falls on the level

Falls on stairs and steps

Falls between levels

Electrical hazards

Fire

Flames, hot surfaces

Collision & entrapment

Explosions

Position & operability of amenities

Structural collapse & falling elements

Each hazard scored on its own likelihood and severity profile, with the appropriate vulnerable group from the Operating Guidance.

HHSRS FAQs

Who is qualified to carry out an HHSRS assessment?

HHSRS is most often performed by Environmental Health Officers (EHOs) acting under the Housing Act 2004, but it's also used by chartered building surveyors, social housing in-house teams, and private consultants for landlord pre-prosecution assessments and disrepair claims.

What's the difference between Category 1 and Category 2 hazards?

Category 1 hazards (score >1000) require the local authority to take enforcement action. Category 2 hazards (score <1000 but still significant) give the authority the power to act but no duty to do so. The numerical score is calculated from likelihood (1-in-N) multiplied by spread of harm (severity weighting Class I–IV).

Does it handle the age-banded vulnerability tables?

Yes. Each of the 29 hazards has a designated vulnerable group in the Operating Guidance (e.g. excess cold = persons 65+, falls on stairs = persons 60+, damp & mould = children under 14). The score is calculated against the vulnerable group regardless of who occupies the property.

What enforcement options does the report support?

The standard powers under Housing Act 2004 Part 1: Hazard Awareness Notice, Improvement Notice, Prohibition Order, Emergency Remedial Action (s.40), Emergency Prohibition Order (s.43), Demolition Order. Each recommendation captures the legal basis and any service-of-notice requirements.

Can a private landlord commission an HHSRS report?

Yes — landlords increasingly commission pre-emptive HHSRS assessments before re-letting, after a complaint, or as a defence to a tenant claim. The report is the same template as a council-instructed assessment; the instructing-party field captures the context.

Is the AI compliant with the RICS 2026 AI Standard?

Yes. SurveyorSuite is designed around the RICS Professional Standard Responsible use of artificial intelligence in surveying practice (in force from 9 March 2026). The same disciplines — AI disclosure block, audit trail, named-assessor sign-off — apply whether you're a chartered surveyor regulated by RICS or an Environmental Health Officer regulated by CIEH. Every AI-assisted HHSRS assessment carries the disclosure block in Section E with a confirmation field the named assessor signs before export. Hazard scoring and enforcement choice stay assessor-only on statutory-consequence grounds. See our full AI compliance position.

What happens to my notes? Are they used to train AI models?

No. Inspection notes are sent to Anthropic's commercial API for drafting. Anthropic explicitly commits in their Commercial Terms of Service that customer inputs and outputs are not used to train their models. They retain API content for up to 30 days under their standard Trust & Safety policy, then delete it. SurveyorSuite never shares your content with any third party. Given the sensitivity of HHSRS work (vulnerable occupants, council enforcement), avoid pasting tenant names or medical detail into the site-notes input.