The Housing Act 2004 – An Overview

Housing Act 2004 – How It Helps Tenants

The Housing Act 2004 is an important piece of legislation protecting people from unsafe and unhealthy housing conditions in England. For tenants experiencing housing disrepair, one of the most important parts of the Act is Part 1, which provides the legal framework for identifying and dealing with hazards in residential properties.

The Act introduced the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS), which is used to assess whether conditions within a home present risks to the health, safety or wellbeing of the people living there.

This means that the Housing Act 2004 is not concerned simply with whether something in a property is broken. It looks at the risk that the condition of the property creates for its occupants.

This can make the legislation particularly important for tenants living with problems such as damp and mould, excessive cold, defective heating, electrical dangers, fire risks, structural problems, pest infestations and other potentially hazardous housing conditions.

Housing Disrepair Helpline offers free advice to tenants experiencing housing disrepair. Established in 2015, Housing Disrepair Helpline has helped force landlords to fix more than 25,000 homes and continues to assist tenants who are struggling to get necessary repairs carried out.

What Is the Housing Act 2004?

The Housing Act 2004 covers a number of important areas of housing law, including:

• Housing conditions and hazards
• The Housing Health and Safety Rating System
• Local authority enforcement powers
• Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs)
• Licensing of certain rented properties
• Management requirements for HMOs
• Tenancy deposit protection

For tenants living with poor housing conditions, Part 1 of the Housing Act 2004 – Housing Conditions is particularly important.

It gives local authorities powers to inspect residential properties, identify hazards and, where appropriate, take enforcement action.

What Is the Housing Health and Safety Rating System?

The Housing Health and Safety Rating System, commonly known as the HHSRS, is the system used to assess risks within residential properties.

The HHSRS is a risk-based system.

Rather than simply asking whether a property needs repair, an assessment considers the likelihood that a particular condition could cause harm and the potential seriousness of that harm.

The HHSRS was substantially updated in 2026. The current system assesses 21 types of potential housing hazard.

When a property is inspected, the officer considers the property as a whole and whether any deficiencies contribute to one or more of those hazards.

What Are the 21 HHSRS Hazards?

The current HHSRS covers the following 21 hazard categories:

• Falls on the level
• Falls on stairs, steps and slopes
• Falls between levels
• Fire and explosions
• Flames and hot surfaces
• Collisions, entrapment and ergonomics
• Structural collapse and falling elements
• Electricity
• Excess cold
• Radiation
• Damp and mould growth
• Lead
• Chemical and combustion-related air pollutants
• Excess heat
• Asbestos and manufactured mineral fibres
• Domestic and personal hygiene
• Water supply
• Crowding and space
• Intruders
• Noise
• Lighting and obstructed views

The system therefore covers considerably more than traditional housing disrepair.

A problem with a property may potentially create several hazards. For example, a leaking roof could contribute to damp and mould, electrical risks, excessive cold or even structural problems depending upon the circumstances.

Damp and Mould Under the Housing Act 2004

Damp and mould growth is specifically recognised as an HHSRS hazard.

This is important for tenants because serious damp and mould should not simply be dismissed as a cosmetic problem.

The underlying causes can include:

• Leaking roofs
• Defective guttering
• Water penetration
• Plumbing leaks
• Poor ventilation
• Inadequate insulation
• Defective heating
• Excessive cold
• Condensation
• Structural defects

An assessment should consider the risks created by the conditions within the property rather than simply whether mould is visible.

Damp and mould can pose risks to both physical and mental health, which is expressly recognised in the current government HHSRS guidance.

Category 1 Hazards

The HHSRS distinguishes between Category 1 and Category 2 hazards according to the assessed level of risk.

A Category 1 hazard represents the most serious category.

Under the current HHSRS scoring system, a hazard scoring 1,000 or more is classified as Category 1.

If a local authority identifies a Category 1 hazard, the Housing Act 2004 places it under a duty to take appropriate enforcement action.

This provides an important protection for tenants living in seriously dangerous conditions.

Category 2 Hazards

Conditions do not necessarily have to reach Category 1 before action can be taken.

Hazards below the Category 1 threshold are classified as Category 2 hazards.

Local authorities have the power to take enforcement action against Category 2 hazards, although unlike Category 1 hazards, the exercise of those powers is discretionary.

A tenant should therefore not assume that nothing can be done simply because a problem has not been classified at the highest hazard level.

What Action Can a Council Take?

Part 1 of the Housing Act 2004 gives local authorities a range of enforcement options when housing hazards are identified.

Depending upon the circumstances, these can include:

• Serving an Improvement Notice
• Making a Prohibition Order
• Serving a Hazard Awareness Notice
• Taking emergency remedial action
• Making an Emergency Prohibition Order
• In appropriate circumstances, taking other enforcement action available under the Act

An Improvement Notice can require action to remove or reduce a hazard.

This is particularly important for tenants who have repeatedly reported problems to their landlord but have been unable to get the necessary work completed.

How Does the Housing Act 2004 Help Tenants?

The Housing Act 2004 provides an important mechanism for dealing with dangerous housing conditions.

For private tenants and housing association tenants, the local council may be able to take enforcement action if a landlord fails to carry out necessary repairs or improvements.

Government guidance recommends that tenants initially report concerns about the repair, maintenance or safety of their home to their landlord or managing agent. Reports should preferably be made in writing, and tenants should keep records of communications, photographs and videos.

Where problems are not satisfactorily resolved within a reasonable period, tenants may be able to approach the relevant local authority about the conditions.

The Housing Act 2004 therefore provides an important additional layer of protection alongside a landlord’s other repairing obligations.

Housing Act 2004 and Other Housing Disrepair Laws

The Housing Act 2004 does not operate in isolation.

Depending upon the circumstances, tenants experiencing poor housing conditions may have rights under several pieces of legislation.

These can include:

Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 – which places important repairing obligations on landlords concerning matters including the structure and exterior of the property and installations for water, gas, electricity, sanitation and heating.

Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 – which strengthened tenants’ rights by requiring qualifying rented homes to be fit for human habitation at the beginning of and throughout the tenancy.

Housing Act 2004 – which provides the framework for identifying and enforcing against housing hazards through the HHSRS.

Awaab’s Law – which imposes requirements on social landlords concerning the investigation and remediation of specified housing hazards within prescribed timescales.

These laws can overlap. The fact that a tenant has rights under one piece of legislation does not necessarily mean that other legal protections are irrelevant.

What Should You Do If Your Home Contains Serious Hazards?

Tenants should normally report housing problems to their landlord as soon as possible and keep a clear record of what has happened.

Useful evidence can include:

• Photographs and videos of the conditions
• Emails and letters to the landlord
• Repair reference numbers
• Dates when repairs were reported
• Complaint correspondence
• Records of missed appointments
• Inspection reports
• Surveyor’s reports
• Photographs of damaged possessions
• Evidence of additional expenses
• Medical evidence where housing conditions have affected health

Keeping evidence can be particularly important if there is later a dispute about when the landlord became aware of the problem or how serious the conditions were.

How Housing Disrepair Helpline Can Help

Dealing with serious housing problems can become difficult, particularly where a tenant has repeatedly contacted their landlord but repairs have still not been completed.

Housing Disrepair Helpline offers free advice to tenants experiencing housing disrepair.

Housing Disrepair Helpline can discuss the problems affecting a tenant’s home and help them understand the options that may be available for getting the problems addressed.

Where appropriate, Housing Disrepair Helpline can also appoint a tenant with a specialist housing disrepair solicitor who can consider the circumstances of the case and the landlord’s legal obligations.

Housing disrepair cases can involve several different and overlapping areas of housing law. Housing Disrepair Helpline works with different firms of solicitors with experience in housing disrepair, allowing an appropriate specialist firm to be considered according to the particular circumstances of the tenant and their property.

Are You Living With Housing Disrepair?

You should not assume that you simply have to live with serious problems because your landlord has failed to deal with them.

The Housing Act 2004 provides an important framework for identifying housing conditions that create risks to the health, safety and wellbeing of occupants.

If you are living with damp, mould, leaks, defective heating, structural problems, pest infestations or other serious housing conditions, Housing Disrepair Helpline offers free advice and can help tenants understand the options available for getting their homes repaired.

Housing Disrepair Helpline – established in 2015 and having helped force landlords to fix more than 25,000 homes.