The Human Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) was created in the mid-2000s to act as a guide for local authorities to ensure properties were safe for people to live in and penalise landlords who fail to uphold good standards in their properties. However, it has now been incorporated into the Fitness for Human Habitation Act, which has itself been created to crystallise and define the fitness or unfitness of a property for humans to live in.
Each hazard is assessed separately and can be classified as either Category 1 or Category 2. A hazard is classed as Category 1 if deemed a serious and immediate risk to a person's health and safety. If a hazard is deemed less serious or less urgent it is classed as Category 2.
A HHSRS hazard checklist is included below for landlords and agents to ensure a property is fit for human habitation.