Housing - public health advice
Summary
Providing advice and information to the public on all aspects of public health relating to housing. Council's have
new enforcement powers and duties under the Housing Act 2004 to assess housing conditions in England and Wales. It uses a
risk assessment approach called The Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS). The aim is to provide a system to enable
the risk from hazards to health and safety to be minimised.
How to request this service
- Contact our Environmental Health Department and give details of the deficiencies in the property.
- It will be assessed by a professional officer who will determine whether there is a hazard.
- The Council has a duty to take action if they discover a Category 1 hazard at a property and a power to take action to deal with a category 2 hazard.
Further information
Principles
The HHSRS provides a method of grading the severity of threats to health and safety in any dwelling including a house, mobile home, self-contained flat or bed-sit. The key principle of the system is that a dwelling, including the structure and associated outbuildings, outdoor space, and means of access, should provide a safe and healthy environment for the occupants and for any visitors.
What are the hazards
The system requires the assessment of 29 hazards grouped as:
- Dampness, excess cold / heat
- Pollutants e.g. asbestos, carbon dioxide, lead
- Lack of space, security or lighting, or excessive noise
- Poor hygiene, sanitation, water supply
- Accidents – falls, electric shocks, fires, burns, scalds
- Collisions, explosions, structural collapse
Inspections are carried out in the traditional fashion, i.e a physical inspection of the whole property during which deficiencies are noted and recorded. Once the inspection is completed the inspector judges:
- What is the likelihood of a dangerous occurrence as a result of each hazard
- If there is such an occurrence, what would be the likely outcome
Each Hazard is assessed separately, and if judged to be serious, with a ‘high score’, is deemed to be a category 1 hazard. All other hazards are called category 2 hazards.
Enforcement
If informal action fails to remedy the situation the council is likely to move to formal action by serving an improvement notice on the owner or agent as appropriate, requiring that hazards be removed or minimised within a set time. In more serious cases the council may serve a prohibition order prohibiting the use of all or part of the dwelling.
If the Hazard is so serious as to present an imminent risk of serious harm to the occupants the council can serve an emergency notice to remove the hazard. The notice allows the local authority to enter the premises and take urgent action to deal with the hazard.
The Act gives councils the power to charge to recover the costs of enforcement action; any such charge must be reasonable and can only cover the council’s costs.
For minor hazards, a council may serve a hazard awareness notice, which is simply advice and does require owners to take any specific action.
External websites
Contact us
| Officer / Team | Environmental Health Services |
|---|---|
| Postal address | Blaby District Council Council Offices Desford Road Narborough Leicester LE19 2EP |
| E-mail address | env.health@blaby.gov.uk |
| Telephone | 0116 272 7555 |
| Fax | 0116 272 7594 |
If you need this information in other languages or formats (large print, Braille or audio), please let us know when you contact us.
This page was last updated on 29th July 2009
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