New Safety Act does not require specific HHSRS inventory reports

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Health & Safety:

Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) inventory reports are not a requirement for letting agents and landlords to comply with The Homes (Fit for Human Habitation) Act 2018, according to No Letting Go.

The UK’s leading provider of inventory services says there is currently widespread confusion relating to the new legislation, which aims to ensure that all rental accommodation is suitable for human habitation at the start of the tenancy and throughout.

The Act was introduced in March and provides renters with powers to take legal action directly via the courts against their landlord if their rental property does not meet certain requirements.

As well as homes which are overcrowded, have unsafe layouts or have been neglected, those that contain any of the 29 HHSRS hazards could be deemed unfit for human habitation.

The HHSRS was introduced in 2006 and provides local authorities with the means to check health and safety in residential properties and identify hazards, with a ‘category 1’ hazard being the most dangerous.

Councils can use the HHSRS to recover costs from landlords for repair works or order them to carry out improvements.

It was recently announced that the government is aiming to reform the HHSRS to ‘improve, clarify and modernise’ the system, as well as addressing whether some hazard profiles can be removed or combined.

“Since the introduction of new legislation in March, we’ve seen organisations publishing HHSRS checklists and offering health and safety checks,” says Nick Lyons, CEO and Founder of No Letting Go.

“For inventory providers and other industry firms to promise to be able to do this is misleading due to the nature of some of the 29 HHSRS hazards.”

“The new Act is there to make it easier for tenants to prosecute landlords if there is an issue with one of the 29 hazards,” he says.

If tenants identify an issue which they believe makes their property unfit for human habitation, they are required to notify the landlord in writing.

The landlord – or a letting agent acting on their behalf – then has 14 days to provide an adequate response in writing to explain how they propose to resolve the issue.

“Providing the issue is dealt with in a timely fashion, there will be no problem for landlords and no further action taken,” Lyons explains.

“There is no legal requirement for an HHSRS report to be provided at the start of the tenancy,” he says.

No Letting Go says that some of the HHSRS hazards, such as radiation and volatile organic compounds, are not visible or obvious and therefore tricky to fit into a tick box format.

“A good inventory and documented mid-term inspections, alongside efficient maintenance processes, can prevent problems and ensure that letting agents and landlords remain compliant with The Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act,” says Lyons.

Some 15 of the 29 HHSRS hazards would be picked up in a good inventory or property visit, according to No Letting Go.

These include damp and mould growth, excess heat or cold, lighting, entry by intruders, food safety, sanitation, water supply and more.

It says the remaining 14 hazards, such as lead in paint, are much less common and it’s difficult to see how an agent or landlord could check the property for these issues unless they are specifically trained or raised by the tenant.

“The HHSRS in its current form is complicated, so it’s good news that the government has committed to simplifying it,” says Lyons.

“Moving forward, a reformed HHSRS will be able to complement independent inventories and legislation like the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act in order to protect the condition of properties and provide renters with a higher standard of accommodation.”                

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Shelter’s call for Boris to follow through on Section 21 ban

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Polly Neate, Chief Executive of Shelter, has sent an open letter to PM Boris Johnson calling for him to follow through with the Section 21 ban announced by Theresa May and “make these plans a reality by seeing through the crucial legislation a Conservative government has already committed to.”

The post Shelter’s call for Boris to follow through on Section 21 ban appeared first on Property118.

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Acquired Non-Responsive HMO tenant?

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I have recently completed on an eight bedroom HMO, where all tenants work at the local Hospital, and the house has been very well managed and kept to a high standard of cleanliness and management by the existing manager (whom we have kept).

The post Acquired Non-Responsive HMO tenant? appeared first on Property118.

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Wembley landlord fined £25,500 for overcrowded property in Kilburn

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Rogue landlord:

Landlord Salah Ali was ordered to pay a £25,500 fine by Willesden
Magistrates after he removed part of the roof from his property whilst it was occupied
by 25 tenants.

Rogue landlord Ali was also found guilty of operating the
HMO property in Kilburn without a compulsory licence and was in breach of
numerous safety issues.

The offences came to light after the fire brigade was called
to the property because of a leak caused when workmen removed part of the
property’s roof. This was done while tenants were still living the house.

The three storey HMO had also been a living nightmare for
neighbours who had complained to the council about overflowing rubbish bins around
the house, creating a breeding ground for rodents.

It was on the 22 July that Willesden Magistrates found that Mr
Ali was guilty of the serious housing law breaches and his failure to obtain a licence
from Brent Council.

The council had been unable to provide proof that Ali had been receiving rent from the occupants living at the overcrowded and unlicensed HMO, though it was said that Ali had not actually been managing the property himself.

[Image source – Brent Council]

Cllr Eleanor Southwood, Cabinet Member for Housing and
Welfare Reform, had said:

“A landlord who receives money from tenants is
responsible for ensuring that his or her property is licensed and meeting the
requirements of that licence. The tenants who were living in Mr Ali’s property
in Willesden Lane had to suffer unsafe conditions until the council stepped in.
Every Brent resident has the right to live in a safe home of a decent standard.”

After the Fire Brigade was called to stop the roof leak, Council enforcement officers got involved and visited the property following this incident. After an inspection the officers issued a prohibition on Mr Ali because because of the extent of the unsafe conditions. Ali’s tenants were assisted by Brent’s housing team in finding new accommodation.

Brent landlords can get advice and apply for a licence online at www.brent.gov.uk/prslicensing

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Wembley landlord fined £25,500 for overcrowded property in Kilburn | LandlordZONE.

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