The 29 Hazards for Fitness for Human Habitation in Wales

Where the 29 Hazards Come From

The Renting Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) (Wales) Regulations 2022 (S.I. 2022/6) define fitness through a schedule of 29 matters and circumstances. These are derived from the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) categories under the Housing Act 2004, but they serve a different legal purpose.

HHSRS is an administrative tool used by local authority Environmental Health Officers to calculate numerical risk scores and justify enforcement notices. The 29 fitness matters, by contrast, create a civil standard: a court can declare a dwelling unfit based on the severity of any single hazard or the cumulative effect of several minor ones, regardless of whether a council officer has ever inspected the property.

That distinction matters. You do not need a council inspection to trigger a fitness breach — your contract-holder can take you directly to court under Section 91 of the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016.

The Full List

The 29 matters and circumstances fall into four broad groups. Here is every one, with what to look for during a self-inspection:

Physiological hazards (1–10)

1. Damp, mites, and mould — black mould growth, tidemarks on walls, musty odour, peeling wallpaper, condensation on cold surfaces
2. Excess cold — single glazing, non-functional heating, absent insulation, indoor temperatures below 18°C
3. Excess heat — inoperable windows, excessive unshaded glass, poor ventilation in roof spaces
4. Asbestos and mineral fibres — damaged Artex coatings, deteriorating pipe lagging, broken ceiling tiles in pre-2000 properties
5. Biocides — strong chemical vapours from timber treatments, unventilated pesticide applications
6. Carbon monoxide and combustion products — soot marks around gas appliances, yellow or orange boiler flames, blocked flues
7. Lead — flaking pre-1970s paintwork, lead supply pipes visible in the cellar or under the kitchen sink
8. Radiation — property in a designated Radon Affected Area (check the UK Health Security Agency map)
9. Uncombusted fuel gas — gas odour near pipework, hissing sounds, unexplained high gas bills
10. Volatile organic compounds — chemical off-gassing odours from recent renovation materials

Psychological hazards (11–14)

11. Crowding and space — multiple occupants sharing undersized rooms, lack of storage and privacy
12. Entry by intruders — broken door locks, rotten frames, accessible ground-floor windows without restrictors
13. Lighting — windowless habitable rooms, glazing-to-floor area below 10%, inadequate artificial light
14. Noise — uninsulated party walls, vibrating mechanical plant, hollow internal doors with no acoustic barrier

Protection against infection and accidents (15–22)

15. Pests and refuse — rodent droppings, pest entry points around pipes, missing external bin storage
16. Food safety — broken worktops, unhygienic sink surfaces, no space for refrigeration
17. Personal hygiene and sanitation — cracked sanitaryware, leaking waste pipes, missing splashbacks
18. Water supply — discoloured water, low pressure, unsealed storage tanks
19. Falls associated with baths — slippery bath surfaces, no grab rails, unstable bath panels
20. Falling on surfaces — ripped carpets, loose floorboards, uneven external paving
21. Falling on stairs — missing handrails, open risers over 100mm, uneven treads
22. Falling between surfaces — low window sills without restrictors, unguarded balconies below 1,100mm

Building and services hazards (23–29)

23. Electrical hazards — exposed wiring, scorched sockets, outdated fuse boards, no valid EICR
24. Fire — missing or non-compliant smoke alarms, blocked escape routes, combustible materials in escape paths
25. Hot surfaces — unprotected hot water pipes, radiator surfaces above 43°C, or no temperature control where needed to prevent scalding (particularly for vulnerable occupiers)
26. Collision and entrapment — low door lintels, unguarded door jambs, low headroom
27. Explosions — unserviced unvented hot water cylinders, defective pressure relief valves
28. Position of amenities — inaccessible overhead gas meters, wall sockets placed above hobs
29. Structural collapse — sagging roofs, bowing walls, deep structural cracks in masonry

How a Self-Inspection Works

You do not need specialist equipment for most of these. A structured walk-through with a checklist, a tape measure, and a camera covers hazards 1–3, 5, 11–16, 19–22, 25–26, and 28. Hazards that require professional assessment — electrical (23), gas (6, 9), asbestos (4), radon (8), structural (29), and the EICR-dependent fire hazard (24) — should be part of your regular certification cycle.

The practical approach: inspect before each new occupation contract, then do a visual audit at least once between contracts. Log what you checked, what you found, and what you did about it. That log is your evidence of reasonable care if a contract-holder later claims the dwelling was unfit.

When One Hazard Makes the Whole Property Unfit

A court does not apply a points threshold. A single severe hazard — say, a C1 electrical fault or a structural crack in a load-bearing wall — can render the entire property unfit for human habitation. Equally, several individually minor hazards (slight dampness, a missing grab rail, marginal lighting) can combine to cross the fitness threshold.

The lesson: do not ignore minor issues. A minor issue unaddressed becomes a documented pattern of neglect if it appears alongside two or three other minor issues in the same property.

The Fitness for Human Habitation compliance guide includes a Property Self-Inspection Checklist structured around all 29 hazard categories, with space to record findings and remedial actions for each — so nothing falls through the gaps between professional inspections.

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