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Volume 4
Chapter 3 Assessing Whether A House Meets The Tolerable Standard
Introduction
3.1. This short chapter sets the scene for the practical advice on working with the tolerable standard which follows in chapters four onwards. It:
- highlights the two distinct circumstances in which housing staff and other professionals use the tolerable standard; and
- explains the layout and structure of the practical advice chapters.
Tolerable standard: tool for strategy and enforcement
3.2. In chapter two we described the duties and powers that flow from the tolerable standard. At a basic level, housing staff and other professionals use the tolerable standard for two distinct purposes:
- to assess whether an individual house meets the tolerable standard, usually to allow a local authority to consider whether to use its powers to close, demolish or bring the house up to the standard; and
- to produce an estimate of the scale of BTS housing at a local or national level, usually as part of a broader walk-through house condition survey, to help inform local and national housing strategies.
3.3. This distinction is an important point for housing staff and other professionals using our guidance:
- Local authority staff who work with the tolerable standard in an enforcement role ( i.e. statutory action) are able to monitor an individual house over a period of time.
- Staff who assess whether houses meet the tolerable standard as part of a local or national house condition survey need to make a decision based on the evidence available to them during a single visit.
3.4. Our guidance is relevant for staff involved in both types of activity. But there will be circumstances where the limitations of a single walk-through survey may make it more difficult to make a comprehensive assessment. Some elements of our advice in chapter four onwards highlight situations where it may be helpful to take a longer view on whether a house meets the tolerable standard: either by tracking how a potential problem is developing over time; or by calling in specialists to give expert advice. This approach is available to local authority staff who make enforcement decisions on individual houses. But staff carrying out a walk-through survey do not have the opportunity to use specialists or track a problem over time. So they may on occasion need to adapt elements of the guidance to reflect the constraints of the single, walk-through process.
3.5. We expect that house condition survey staff will, as a matter of course, examine each element of the tolerable standard as part of the survey. We recommend that local authority officers should also routinely check each element of the tolerable standard when considering whether to offer practical assistance or take enforcement action on an individual house. Not doing so means that the local authority will not be able to ensure that any action it takes on a BTS house has dealt with all the issues. It also reduces the quality of the authority's house condition data.
3.6. Where an assessor concludes that a house does not meet the tolerable standard, he or she will need to take a view on whether the problem affects only that house or has a knock-on effect on others. This issue is most likely to arise with flats. This is a matter for professional judgement. But, as a rule of thumb, assessors should not assume that the failure of one flat necessarily means that other flats in the block are BTS. The most obvious exceptions are problems relating to structural stability and access to external doors and outbuildings.
Format of the practical advice chapters
3.7. Chapters four onwards provide practical advice on assessing each element of the tolerable standard. We have adopted a consistent structure for the practical advice chapters as far as possible. Each chapter provides:
- background on the element;
- definitions of key terms - words or phrases that form part of the legislation; and
- detailed practical guidance on how to assess individual houses against the element, including a flowchart which takes readers through the process at a glance.
3.8. We use the word " assessor" throughout the guidance. This term describes anyone who works with the tolerable standard, whether through a local authority enforcement role or as part of a local or national house condition survey.
3.9. Finally, it is worth at this point re-emphasising two key principles from earlier chapters. These underpin the guidance and assessors should bear them in mind as they consider the chapters which follow.
3.10. Condemnatory standard: the tolerable standard is a basic "condemnatory" standard. In other words, it is not reasonable to expect people to continue to live in a house that falls below it. Assessors should bear this firmly in mind when considering whether individual houses meet each element of the standard and when prioritising houses for action.
3.11. Guidance as a practical tool: the guidance does not offer a prescriptive approach to working with the tolerable standard. Assessing an individual house against the tolerable standard should always be a matter of professional judgement. We intend this guidance to be a practical tool for housing staff and other professionals, to complement their own expertise, experience and local knowledge and help ensure consistent decision-making.
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