Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) Updated: What Swindon Landlords Need to Know
3rd July 2026
As the private rented sector continues to evolve, landlords are facing a steady stream of legislative and regulatory changes. The latest update came into effect on 23 June 2026, with changes to the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS).
While these updates don’t introduce new legal obligations, they do change the way local authorities assess hazards within residential properties. Understanding what has changed can help landlords ensure their properties continue to meet the required standards.
What is the HHSRS?
The Housing Health and Safety Rating System is the framework used by local authorities to identify and assess potential health and safety hazards in residential properties.
Its purpose is simple: to ensure homes are safe for those living in them. If a property is found to contain serious hazards, the local authority can require landlords to carry out improvement works.
What’s changed?
The latest update is designed to make assessments clearer and more consistent across England.
The key changes include:
These changes aim to improve consistency for landlords, tenants and local authorities when assessing property safety.
What does this mean for landlords?
In practical terms, your responsibilities haven’t changed.
Landlords are still required to provide safe, well-maintained accommodation and deal with hazards promptly when they arise. However, the updated HHSRS means there is likely to be greater consistency in how local authorities inspect properties and assess risk.
It’s therefore more important than ever to:
Being proactive not only helps ensure compliance but also protects your investment and provides a better experience for your tenants.
How Home Finders can help
If you’re one of our managed landlords, we’ll continue to help you stay on top of these changes.
Our property management team carries out regular inspections, identifies any maintenance or safety concerns, provides recommendations where works are needed and keeps clear records of inspections and maintenance. This proactive approach helps minimise the risk of issues developing into more significant problems.
With the private rented sector seeing continual legislative reform, having an experienced managing agent has never been more valuable.
Need advice?
If you’d like to discuss how these changes affect your property, or you’re considering moving to a fully managed service, our team is always happy to help.
Get in touch with Home Finders today and let us help keep your investment protected, compliant and performing at its best.
