Wales Landlord Hazard Assessment: Category 1 and Category 2 Hazards Explained

When a council environmental health officer inspects your property, they do not simply look at whether things are broken. They use the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) to score each hazard by likelihood and severity of harm — and whether the result is a Category 1 or Category 2 classification determines what the council must or may do next. For Welsh landlords, these hazard categories also connect directly to the fitness for human habitation duty under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016.

How HHSRS Scoring Works

The HHSRS, established under the Housing Act 2004, is a risk-based assessment framework. An environmental health officer evaluates 29 potential hazards (the same 29 matters prescribed under the Welsh Fitness Regulations) and scores each one based on:

• Likelihood of occurrence — how probable it is that the hazard will cause harm to a vulnerable occupant within the next 12 months
• Severity of outcome — the range of health outcomes if harm does occur, weighted across four classes from minor injury to death

The scoring produces a numerical hazard score. Scores of 1,000 or above are classified as Category 1 (serious hazards). Scores below 1,000 are Category 2 (other hazards).

Category 1: The Council Must Act

A Category 1 hazard is a serious risk to health or safety under the HHSRS score. It does not necessarily mean harm is immediate. When an environmental health officer identifies a Category 1 hazard, the council has a statutory duty to take enforcement action — this is not discretionary.

Common Category 1 hazards in Welsh rental properties include:

• Excess cold (Matter 2) — inadequate heating, no insulation, single glazing in exposed locations. This is consistently the most common Category 1 finding across the UK.
• Falls on stairs (Matter 21) — missing handrails, open risers, uneven treads, inadequate lighting on staircases.
• Damp and mould (Matter 1) — extensive black mould, structural penetrating damp, condensation causing health risks.
• Fire (Matter 24) — conditions such as missing smoke alarms, blocked escape routes, or combustible materials in common areas can score as Category 1 depending on severity and circumstances.
• Electrical hazards (Matter 23) — exposed wiring, absence of RCD protection, or C1-coded EICR defects can score as Category 1 depending on severity and circumstances.

The council can respond to a Category 1 hazard with:

• Improvement Notice — requiring you to carry out specified works within a set deadline (typically 28 days to start, with a completion deadline appropriate to the work)
• Prohibition Order — prohibiting use of part or all of the dwelling until the hazard is remedied
• Emergency Remedial Action — where the hazard presents an imminent risk, the council can carry out works itself and recover costs from you
• Hazard Awareness Notice — in limited circumstances where formal enforcement is not proportionate, but this is rare for Category 1

Category 2: The Council May Act

A Category 2 hazard is one that falls below the Category 1 threshold but still presents a risk to health or safety. The council has discretionary power to take enforcement action — it may issue an Improvement Notice, a Hazard Awareness Notice, or choose not to act.

Category 2 findings are less likely to result in formal enforcement, but they are not consequence-free. Multiple Category 2 hazards in the same property can cumulatively make a dwelling unfit for human habitation under Section 91 — and the fitness duty is assessed by the courts independently of any HHSRS inspection. A judge can declare a property unfit based on the combined impact of several minor hazards, even if no single one scores above the Category 1 threshold.

The Connection to Fitness for Human Habitation

Here is the critical legal distinction that many landlords miss: HHSRS scoring and fitness for human habitation are separate legal tests that happen to reference the same 29 hazards.

• HHSRS is an administrative enforcement tool used by council officers. They visit, they score, they serve notices.
• Fitness for human habitation under Section 91 is a civil standard assessed by the courts. A contract-holder can bring a claim for unfitness without any HHSRS inspection having taken place.

This means:

• A property can have no Category 1 hazards under HHSRS and still be unfit under Section 91; neither test determines the other, and the court assesses the facts under the fitness duty
• A property that has never been inspected by the council can still be declared unfit by a court
• A Category 1 or Category 2 score does not by itself decide whether the dwelling is fit under Section 91

What Happens After an Improvement Notice

If the council serves an Improvement Notice for a Category 1 hazard:

1. You have 21 days to appeal to the Residential Property Tribunal Wales. If you do not appeal within 21 days, the notice becomes final and binding.
2. You must carry out the specified works within the deadline stated in the notice.
3. Once complete, notify the council and allow a re-inspection.
4. If you fail to comply, the council can carry out the works in default and charge you for the cost, prosecute for non-compliance (unlimited fine), or issue a civil penalty of up to £30,000.

The council can also place a charge on the property's title to recover enforcement costs — this charge remains until paid and will surface when you try to sell or remortgage.

Self-Assessment Before the Council Visits

The strongest position is to identify and fix hazards before a council officer arrives. A structured self-inspection against all 29 statutory matters, combined with current professional certificates (EICR, gas safety, EPC), catches most issues before they reach the enforcement stage.

The Fitness for Human Habitation compliance guide includes a property self-inspection checklist structured around the HHSRS-derived hazard categories, designed to help Welsh landlords audit their properties systematically rather than waiting for a council inspection to reveal problems.

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