HHSRS overhaul 2026: what changes from 23 June?

The Housing Health and Safety Rating System (England) Regulations 2005 (2005 Regulations) have been in place since 2006, and are used to assess hazards within residential housing.

As the system has often been viewed as complex, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) have amended the Regulations, and are introducing The Housing Health and Safety Rating System (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 (2026 Regulations) from 23 June 2026.

The MHCLG's intention is to simplify the housing standards, and enable landlords and their property managers to have a clearer understanding of how to adhere to the 2005 Regulations.

Key changes being implemented under the 2026 Regulations

The key changes under the 2026 Regulations are centred around the methods used to assess and categorise housing hazards.

Under the 2005 Regulations there are 29 prescribed hazard descriptions, detailing hazards such as damp, mould growth, or excess cold. In contrast to this, in the 2026 Regulations, these descriptions have been reduced to 21 by using broader categories. For example, biocides, carbon monoxide and fuel combustion products are now jointly categorised as indoor air pollutants.

Hazards are currently assessed by having a numerical score assigned to them, with a higher score indicating a more severe risk. Once the hazard has been assigned a score, it will be allocated to one of the ten hazard bands , with each being represented by a letter between A and J, A being the most severe. This system is being modified, whereby a scoring system is still in place, however there will be three bands to be assigned, High, Medium and Low, simplifying the categories that the hazards will be allocated.

Similarly the way in which the classes of harm are labelled will be being changed, however their purpose and application will remain the same. Currently there are four classes of harm which are used to identify the seriousness of injuries and health conditions which could arise from the occurrence of a hazard. These classes will be known now as I-IV, but will be soon labelled as extreme, sever, serious and moderate.

How will this impact landlords?

In light of the above, managing agents and landlords need to ensure that they continue to comply with the 2005 Regulations; and if this is the case, their compliance will apply under the 2026 Regulations.

The reason for this is because there are no changes to the requirements when it comes to the hazards, only to the way in which they are categorised and assessed.

To maintain a good standard, it is recommended landlord's and their managing agents regularly review the procedures and policies that are currently in place, discuss with staff the changes, and provide regular training. This should include what has been discussed above, such as the way in which hazards are assessed and categorised, and the consequences of not remedying them.

This article is also authored by Bailey Jones, Trainee Solicitor at Womble Bond Dickinson.