<0.05 0.15 0.3 0.7 1.5 3 7 15 26 38>
<4200 2400 1300 750 420 240 130 75 42 24 13 7.5 4 2.5 1.5>
<0.05 0.15 0.3 0.7 1.5 3 7 15 26 38>
<4200 2400 1300 750 420 240 130 75 42 24 13 7.5 4 2.5 1.5>
<0.05 0.15 0.3 0.7 1.5 3 7 15 26 38>
Conclusions
The Health Housing and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) formerly designed to maintain consistency in approach to the rating of a tenure, and in addition used as a training resource for Local Authorities and other bodies involved with housing related issues. The worked examples in essence are tried and tested answers for each of the 29 categories of potential housing hazards, suggesting improvements where necessary to the condition of the tenure, thus reducing or eliminating the hazard.
Although not specified as a standard, the HHSRS was introduced as a replacement for the Housing Fitness Standard. The HHSRS was founded on the logical evaluation of both the likelihood of an occurrence that could cause harm and the probable severity of the outcome of the occurrence (ODPM, 2004). The system has undergone considerable research, statistical reviews, and is scientifically and evidence based in its approaches to the impact on housing.
Whilst completing the housing ratings for 50a Risky Row, the author surmised that there might possibly be an element of manipulation in completing the rating; however, this could be clarified with the justification notes for the individual hazard or impact on health. Once the formulas were implicit, the rating forms were relatively straightforward to complete. Ultimately, they should be utilised as a preventive method of approach and with a degree of common sense, would the health or safety issue bother the assessor, if so then action should be taken.
Appendix 1
Original Surveyors Report
This two storey 1850’s house is in a radon-affected area. It is built with random rubble stone, rendered walls and has a variety of floor constructions. It was converted in 1980 to provide two self-contained flats. The occupier of the rented ground floor flat, (50a Risky Row) has complained of a range of defects. The flat comprises a living room, two bedrooms, kitchen/ diner and shower room/w.c.
This property has just been inspected by a Surveying Technician at Trent District Council, who has provided you with the following details of their visit:
Occupation:
Mr and Mrs Scruffy. The current household comprises the mother and father and their three children, two girls aged 13 and 11 and a boy aged 9 years.
Background:
The flat generally is in a poor state of repair. It has solid nine in brick external walls, which are rendered. The flat comprises a large living room at the front, a bedroom at the rear with a further bedroom, and kitchen diner located in the long back addition and a shower room / w.c. created from a single store scullery. The floors to the ground floor front and rear rooms, and hall are all of tongued and grooved timber boards laid on joists, with a relatively shallow under space below. The ground floor front room has a butt jointed, suspended timber floor. This is sloping and uneven and is badly off level and springy, particularly around the bay area; parts of some of the floorboards are also broken and decayed.
There are two air vents to the front wall, but no others, and rising damp is present in the external walls. The rear addition bedroom has a solid concrete floor and this shows evidence of rising damp, as do two of the walls. The kitchen has a flag stone floor, the flags being laid directly onto the soil. Most of the kitchen walls show signs of rising damp. There is a deficiency of natural lighting and ventilation to the shower room / w.c. This has been converted from a scullery attached to the rear addition. Several of the power sockets throughout the flat are partly detached from the wall and give a tingling sensation when used.
An inspection of the flat confirms the above defects and reveals that in certain areas there is substantial mould growth, especially to the shower room and bedroom. There is only one heat source to the flat contained in the living room, which is a two-kilowatt radiant electric fire (wall mounted). The open fireplaces throughout the flat have been sealed.
The building is located next to a parade of shops on a main arterial road running out of Trent City. This road provides access to the motorway and is used by heavy goods vehicles as well as for long distance and local car journeys. Immediately behind the short rear yard and garden is the main London to Scotland railway line. The line is used by high-speed trains, local diesel trains, and goods trains.
The front living room of the house overlooks the main road and the rear elevation the railway line. All windows are traditional single glazed double hung sashes. There is no way the habitable rooms in the flat can be used without suffering from the noise caused by the road and train traffic. It would interfere with all activities.
There is sufficient evidence to suggest a radon problem and subsequent measurements show a level of over 800 Bqm-3, substantially above both the average for radon-affected areas and the recommended action level of 200 Bqm-3. Information from NRPB indicates that this would give an annual risk of cancer of around 1 in 280.
Rear Door:
The rear access door has a threshold, which rises about 160 mm above the kitchen floor and 200 mm above the rear yard surface. A cooker and folding work top are under a metre away.
Rear Yard:
Access to the rear door is via a side gate and along the common rear yard, which is lit only by individual outside lights to each dwelling. The yard surface is tarmac and it has a central drainage channel and is cracked and distorted and tends to hold water in places. Most of the widows are poorly maintained and, although generally sound, are rotten in places. All have thin single glazing, with some loose putty. None have safety catches. All the windows in the back addition, i.e. in the kitchen, shower/w.c. compartment, and bedroom, have been replaced with louvered windows. There are no smoke/heat detectors or alarms.
Narrow Kitchen:
The small rear addition kitchen is 2.5 m long by 1.5 m wide. Arranged at either end of one of the longer walls is a 1000 x 500 mm, single drainer sink above a sink unit, with a drawer and cupboards below, and a 500 x 500 mm free standing gas cooker. A worktop, which is inadequate in terms of its area, construction, and cleanability, is provided by a crude 750 x 500 mm sheet of chipboard spanning between the sink and the cooker. The kitchen door opens directly in front of the cooker. The kitchen has a slippery vinyl floor, which is worn in places. With the door shut, ajar or even half open, anyone standing at the cooker handling hot chip or saucepans or retrieving hot items from the oven is likely to be fully hidden from anyone entering the kitchen. The sink drainer is fitted with a gas instantaneous water heater over the adjacent gas cooker. A crude metal plate and horizontal cowel have been fixed on the wall above the unflued water heater but this has but this has not prevented the wall and ceiling above becoming stained by the hot gasses emitted. The window is a double hung louvred sash window and there is there is no other means of ventilation. The electric wiring appears to have been modified at some time, but not to current standards.
Lighting circuit:
The flat a two core, fabric covered wiring to a ceiling light, this being typical of the wiring to lights throughout the house. The main supply, meter, and fuses are sited at low level in the ground floor hall. The cover on the fuse box is missing and the wiring above the meter is loose and not fully protected. The wiring is mostly lead covered.
Power circuit:
Many of the power outlets have the original two pin sockets, although one newer circuit with flat three pin sockets has been installed to serve the hall and other ground floor rooms.
Appendix 2
House Inspection Report
Address 50a Risky Row
Name of Tenants Mr and Mrs Scruffy
Rent paid Not disclosed
Number of occupant’s Two adults, two girls (aged 13 and 11)
One boy aged 9
Type of premises Ground floor flat
Name and address of property owner Not known
Date of Inspection 19th November 2008
Introduction
The inspection of this property proceeds after concerns raised by the current tenants of 50a Risky Row, which has resulted in a Surveying Technician from Trent District Council visiting the tenure to investigate a range of defects.
Description of the Tenure
- The original two-storey house was constructed in the 1850’s and was converted into two self-contained flats in 1980. There is no documentation available to confirm if this tenure is a listed building.
- The fabric structure of the tenure consists of random rubble stone, rendered walls, and has a variety of floor constructions throughout.
- There is a rear yard, which has a main railway line adjacent to this, which accommodates high speed, diesel, and goods trains. The front of the self-contained flat overlooks onto a busy main road.
External Environment
- The tenure is situated in a known radon affected area; there is adequate evidence to suggest that there are issues. With readings of 800 Bqm-3 as apposed to the average recommended action, level of 200 Bqm-3. Information from the Health Protection Agency (HPA, 2008) indicates that this would give an annual risk of lung cancer of around 1 in 280. There is no further information disclosed in the report.
- The tenure is exposed to high levels of noise; there is a parade of shops in front, and it overlooks a main arterial road, which leads to the city. This is a main access route to the motorway, and is used by heavy goods vehicles as well as long haul and domestic car journeys. Located directly behind the rear of the yard is the main London to Scotland railway line, which serves high-speed trains, diesel and goods trains. All windows are single glazed, less than 2 millimetres thick, and unable to assist in the reduction of noise levels from the road and railway line. There are no habitable rooms in the tenure that can be utilised without suffering from the external noise.
Social Condition
- The property contains two bedrooms. There are two adult occupants and three children, two girls and one boy. The girl’s ages are 13 and 11 and the boy is 9.
-
Although not stated it is probable that the parents sleep in one bedroom and the children in the other leading to overcrowding. However, there is the opportunity to utilise the lounge as a third bedroom.
External condition
- The tenure has solid nine-inch external walls that are rendered and have not been noted to be problematical.
- The external windows have been inadequately maintained and are rotten in places. There is evidence that some have putty missing in places.
- The rear yard has a central drainage channel which is cracked and distorted, and would appear to hold water and the rear access door has a threshold of 200 millimetres above the rear yard surface.
Internal condition
- The shower room and w.c. are located in a single storey converted scullery attached to the rear addition. There is a paucity of natural light and ventilation. The window is louvered and has no safety catches fitted. There are no details submitted on the surface of the floor or the dimensions of the shower room.
- Rising damp is present on the external walls.
- The rear bedroom is situated at the rear of the long back addition; it has evidence of rising damp on two of the walls and has a solid concrete floor. There is no documentation available to confirm the condition of the ceiling.
- The main bedroom has a floor made from tongued and grooved timber boards that have been laid onto joists, with a comparatively shallow under space. The window is single glazed with a double hung sash window. There is presence of damp in the external wall.
- The Kitchen is located in the long back addition and is comparatively small measuring 2.5 meters long by 1.5 metres wide. The vinyl flooring, which is worn in places, has been laid over flagstones, which have been laid onto soil. There is evidence of rising damp.
- The original window has been replaced with a double hung louvered sash window, which has no safety catch. There is no other form of ventilation. There is no documentation available to confirm the condition of the ceiling.
- There is inadequate working surface area available. The work surface is constructed of chipboard that spans from the cooker to the sink. As this is made of chipboard, this is porous and difficult to clean. The surfaces for working on in the kitchen are unsupported or attached sufficiently to the wall.
- Located in the kitchen is a freestanding gas cooker measuring 0.5 meters by 0.5 metres, which is parallel to the door. Arranged at either end of the longer walls is a 1 metre by 0.5 metre single drainer sink above a sink unit with a drawer and cupboards below.
Kitchen Plan and layout – 50a Risky Row
Source: Bennett, Emily (2008)
- The lounge has the largest dimensions out of the habitable rooms. The floor is butt jointed tongued and grooved timber boards with a comparatively shallow under space. The floor is uneven and not levelled off correctly and is springy in places, particularly around the bay window area.
- Several of the power sockets are partially detached from the wall and give a tingling sensation when used. There appears to have been modifications made to the electrical system, however, these do not meet current standards.
- The fuse box is missing a cover and the majority of the sockets have the historical two pin plugs. There has been some evidence of modification in the hall and ground floor rooms, as these have flat three pin sockets.
- There are no smoke or heat detectors installed, and in addition, all the rear windows are louvered which would considerably obstruct an escape route should there be a fire.
- Throughout the property, the windows are not secure and do not have any safety catches fitted. It The condition and the security of the main entrance to the tenure have not been noted.
- The rear entrance is accessible via a side gate and along a shared rear yard lit only by individual outside lights for each dwelling.
- In the kitchen the door opens inwardly, anyone standing directly in front of the stove with a hot chip pan, saucepan, or if retrieving hot food from the oven is probable to be hidden from anyone entering the kitchen. There is no documentation available to confirm if the door is in an adequate state of repair to be re hinged to open the opposite way.
Appendix 3
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