HAZARDS in the home which could harm tenants in the Kensington area are being tackled by a Lib Dem council initiative.

Nationally housing conditions are to blame for around 50,000 deaths and ½ million people seeking medical attention. Liverpool City Council's Health Improvement Team (HIT) wants to tackle the issue and address the effects that poor quality housing can have on people.

Lib Dem Councillor Marilyn Fielding, Liverpool's executive member for Housing and Neighbourhood Services, said: "Poor quality housing can have a terrible effect on the people who live there. This could be excess cold, damp or conditions that could lead to falls, electrocutions, fire, carbon monoxide poisoning and other accidents which are preventable.

"This initiative is about making homes as safe and as healthy an environment for families and their visitors as they possibly can be."

HIT officers will check the risk to health from around 30 different hazards that may be found in the home. If a home is found to be hazardous the council has wide-ranging powers to force landlords to bring their properties up to scratch and make sure that any homes are made safe where a landlord does not cooperate.

Enforcement powers available include:

Serving an Improvement Notice - removing serious hazards by requiring the landlord to carry out improvements 
Making a Prohibition Order - prohibiting the use of part or all of the premises 
Issuing a Hazard Awareness Notice - informing the landlord of less serious hazards and the works needed to deal with them. 
Take emergency remedial action or make an emergency prohibition order where there is imminent risk of serious harm to health and safety 

Hazards will be rated to how serious they are and the effect they have or could have on the people living in the home whether physical, social or emotional.

Officers will be surveying rented properties in the Kensington area during the next few months after prioritising homes on a risk assessment basis. Subdivided homes with a high number of people living in them will be visited before those with low numbers of occupants. Homes in the Fairfield area will be visited first with the rest of Kensington to follow.

Landlords will also be encouraged to join the CLASS landlord accreditation scheme which promotes responsible landlords and puts accredited properties on the Public Protection web-page.

To learn more about how to spot hazards in the home visit the Housing Health and Safety Rating System page on the council's website at www.liverpool.gov.uk 

To find out more about the Landlord Accreditation Scheme ring 233 3007 or e-mail  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it