Harrogate Borough Council
Menu
Supporting People
The Supporting People programme plans, commissions and funds housing related support for vulnerable people.
For further information, please view the Supporting People webpages on the North Yorkshire County Council website.
(Please note that the links above will open in a new window)
Golden Triangle Partnership
What are the principles of the system?
The HHSRS provides a method of grading the severity of threats to health and safety in any dwelling. A dwelling can include a:
- House
- Self-contained flat
- Non self-contained flat
- Bedsit
- Room in a university hall or similar residential building along with the means of access and shared or common rooms and facilities.
The key principle of the system is that a dwelling, including the structure and associated outbuildings and garden, yard and/or other amenity space, and means of access, should provide a safe and healthy environment for the occupants and, by implication, for any visitors. The inspection process is a risk based assessment and considers the effect of any 'hazards' in the property. Hazards are rated according to how serious they are and the effect they are having, or could have, on the occupants, that is, 'the effect of the defect'. The basic principle is that the property should be safe for occupation.
The system also provides a means of comparing the risks associated with different types of hazard. Some are slow and insidious in their effect, like dampness and cold, whilst others are quick, such as falls. Some hazards are more likely to result in death (such as carbon monoxide); others are very unlikely to cause death e.g. noise or poor layout of amenities. It should be borne in mind that all properties contain hazards, for example stairs, electrical outlets etc. and it is not possible (or desirable) to remove all hazards. The emphasis should be to minimise the risk to health and safety as far as possible either by removing the hazard altogether or minimising the effect, as appropriate. All references in this guide to removing hazards should be read with this in mind.
The numbers (scores) that are a feature of the system are used to reflect inspectors' judgements; they also allow comparison of widely differing hazards and take account of the potential frequency of occurrence and severity of outcome.