The Housing Health & Safety Rating System (HHSRS) sounds like a fairly obscure piece of local authority statutory control and despite the fact that it came into force in England on 6th April (Wales will see it introduced later this year), for the moment that is what it remains. Awareness is generally low among private and public sector landlords and their tenants, despite the fact that it has a potential impact on every one of them.

The new rating system brings the energy efficiency of homes into the realm of statutory housing 'fitness' for the first time and gives local authorities a powerful new assessment process that can be used to tackle poor energy standards in the private sector.

The system could have enormous implications for raising energy efficiency in existing homes, when everyone wakes up to what HHSRS is, of course. On the other hand the government has built so much flexibility into the system that is far from clear how local authorities will respond to HHSRS and to what extent it will be incorporated into local housing investment strategies.

National average HHSRS risk assessment scores for typical dwelling types have been produced for the government and the results are quite startling. The average dwelling in both the Pre-1920 and 1920-1945 age bands (for houses in multiple occupancy and non-HMOs) scores over 1000 on the HHSRS scale, a score that classes a dwelling's thermal underperformance as a Category 1 hazard - that is a risk so serious that the local authority must take enforcement action when it is discovered..

Dwellings with a recorded Category 1 hazard also fail the government's Decent Homes standard, because HHSRS became the new test of acceptability in April.

"On the face of it, it  is mandatory for local authorities to take action on typical pre-1945 homes in their area," says Dave Princep, chair of the Energy Efficiency Partnership for Homes' Private Rented Sector Sub-Group.

Meanwhile, any tenant in a typically below par property who brings a complaint to a local authority should be able to see enforcement action taken against the landlord. And in the case of a Category 1 hazard, enforcement action must be taken.

As pre-1945 homes make up a large proportion of homes in most areas, the implication is that the potential for HHSRS to reduce emissions in existing homes and reduce local fuel poverty could be enormous.,

It is not that simple, however, local authorities do not have the resources to embark on blanket upgrading of older housing stock not already subject to a decent homes programme, nor necessarily the inclination to launch enforcement action against every other private landlord in the district.

While Local Authorities have a strategic duty to review the condition of local housing stock, official guidance to local authorities on enforcement says authorities will have to take a judgement based on local priorities, any area renewal policies and their own knowledge of the landlord.

The enforcement guidance has further subtleties. Local authorities are instructed to consider HHSRS wherever properties are to be considered for improvements under any local strategies that deal with fuel poverty, improve energy efficiency or increase the proportion of vulnerable people living in decent homes.

At the same time, authorities are advised that the existing Neighbourhood Renewal Assessment should remain as the recommended method for considering appropriate action, not only in large or small-scale assessment but also in the assessment of individual properties.

In its own impact assessment of the new HHSRS regime, the government suggests that the total annual cost of works carried out as a result of a local authority having a duty to act will be over £200m less than under the old fitness standard, despite the fact that thermal efficiency is expected to produce almost half of all expenditure under HHSRS and yet was not even covered by the fitness standard. The explanation given is that local authorities will have greater discretion over whether and how to act under the new system.

Civil servants involved in the development of HHSRS also point out that HHSRS was developed as a hazard assessment tool, rather than as a benchmarking standard for housing investment.

Confused? It seems it will be up to local authorities to choose how to respond to HHSRS. As the enforcement guidance puts it: "Authorities will need to take a view on the spread of hazards in the local housing stock that have come to their attention and prioritise action on those with the most serious impact on health and safety."

Councils are also instructed to build into their housing strategy a policy on the extent to which they will intervene to make use of their new enforcement powers under the Housing Act 2004.

Dave Princep suggests that in practice HHSRS will be a feature of local authority area targeting strategies, where local authorities are aware that a particular area has a housing stock and tenant mix where cold is a problem.

In the case of individual private landlords, the situation appears more straightforward as remedial costs will be the responsibility of the owner. The government has promised to publicise the new HHSRS across the private rented sector, which could see large numbers of tenants approaching local authorities with complaints relating to excess cold or excess heating bills.

Remedial treatment could cover the full range of typical remedies, such as loft insulation and adequate heating and controls. Problems are most likely to arise in hard to heat homes.

HHSRS is just one element of the Housing Act 2004. Most attention to date has focussed on the Act's requirement for the licensing of HMOs, because there is a well publicised deadline of 6 July after which councils have the power to prosecute unlicensed landlords.

Dave Princep says that many in the housing industry are still digesting the implications of HMO licensing for which there is a three month moratorium on enforcement action from 6 April, and so the emerging issues around HHSRS enforcement have not yet fully surfaced.

The immediate impact of HHSRS on the private sector will no doubt be influenced by the amount of publicity the new system gets. Communications on the HHSRS regime are certainly part of the Energy Efficiency Partnership for Homes' forward plans and working groups will be discussing the appropriate message to send out over the coming months.

HOW THE HHSRS WORKS

HHSRS has replaced the housing fitness regime, which was based on criteria first introduced 80 years ago. The new system came into force in England on 6 April 2006 and will be implemented later this year in Wales. It introduces a new evidence-based risk assessment procedure that will form the basis of enforcement decisions for all residential premises. There are 29 categories of housing hazard and the HHSRS provides a rating for each hazard, rather than a single rating for a dwelling. The new system has major implications for the energy efficiency of dwellings because it classes 'excess cold' as a hazard, whereas the housing fitness test did not. Dwellings should be provided with adequate thermal insulation and a suitable and effective means of space heating to that the dwelling space can be economically maintained at reasonable temperatures. HHSRS also classes 'excess heat' as a hazard, although the number of instances that will prompt enforcement action is expected to be far fewer in number. Government estimates suggest that the cost of action to mitigate excess cold will be far greater than any of the other hazards, amounting to almost half of the total estimated cost to landlords - work being done at the moment to assess the impact of HHSRS on the basis of the latest 2003 English House Condition survey is expected to produce even more dramatic results.  An average dwelling that is either pre-1920 or 1920-45 will have a HHSRS score of over 1,000 for excess cold, according to the government's own assessment, a C band score - any hazard generating a score in bands A, B or C is in turn classed as a Category 1 hazard, which should prompt action by a local authority when that hazard is brought to its attention. Any dwelling with a category 1 hazard also fails the government's decent home standard. Therefore a large proportion of the housing stock in England and Wales, in both private and public sectors, now fails the decent home test under the HHSRS system. The underlying principle of HHSRS is that any residential premises should provide a safe and healthy environment for any potential occupier or visitor. This means that hazard assessments are carried out on the basis of occupation by the most vulnerable group; for the excess cold hazard, the most vulnerable group is persons 65 and over. The national average scores (above) for dwellings suffering from excess cold are based on occupation by this group. However the government's enforcement guidance also instructs local authorities to use their judgement to take account of the current occupant.  Local authorities can inspect any property that comes to their attention, through a complaint for example, but are not required to inspect all properties. At the same time, local authorities have a duty to keep the housing stock in their area under review. Landlords will be advised to self assess properties to determine whether there are any hazards, and to carry out improvements to reduce any such risk. Landlords, owners and managing agents face fines of up to £5,000 for failing to comply with a statutory notice.