A rented home that cannot be locked properly is more than an inconvenience: in England, councils can treat poor security as a housing hazard. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) published new Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) operating guidance on 23 June 2026, replacing the 2006 guidance. This article summarises the Part 2 hazard profile for entry by intruders, the gov.uk publication page and the guidance’s own baseline indicators. It applies to England only, is written for council assessors rather than tenants, and is general information, not legal advice.
What the guidance is and how it is used
The HHSRS is a risk-based system, set out in regulations, covering 21 potential hazards in homes. The publication page says it evaluates the potential risk of harm to an occupier and rates the seriousness of any hazard found. Councils must take enforcement action where they find the most dangerous “category 1” hazards, and have a power to act on “category 2” hazards. The guidance is issued under section 9 of the Housing Act 2004, and local authorities must have regard to it. Part 2 holds a technical profile for each hazard, including entry by intruders.
What the hazard covers
The profile describes entry by intruders as the difficulties in keeping a dwelling secure against unauthorised entry and the maintenance of defensible living space. It includes harm from intruder entry and from fear of an intruder entering. The health effects it lists are fear of burglary occurring or recurring, the stress and anguish caused by a burglary, and injuries caused by an intruder. The guidance notes that an offender may be known to the victim and that entry can be linked to domestic abuse. Its risk factors are mainly socio-economic and local: high crime and poverty in the area, lack of defensible space, poorly overlooked doors and windows, weak security measures, insubstantial construction and easy access from alleyways.
The baseline indicators for doors and windows
The profile lists baseline indicators that assessors use. They are standards of good condition, not a statutory checklist for landlords, and the assessment still weighs the whole dwelling. The security-related ones are:
- access doors should be solid, external grade, and fitted with at least a mortice deadlock to BS 3621 that can be opened from inside without a key;
- occupiers should be able to view visitors without opening the door, through a viewer or an adjacent glazed pane;
- rear doors should have a BS 3621 mortice deadlock or two security bolts;
- windows in accessible locations should have suitable locks;
- door and window frames and furniture should operate properly and be in good repair; and
- buildings with a common entrance should have a door entry system letting a visitor contact a dwelling by two-way conversation, with the occupant able to see and identify the visitor.
Adequate external lighting for means of access, including entrances, is a further indicator. The BS 3621 standard is discussed in the guide to BS 3621 and insurer-approved locks, and anti-snap cylinders in the guide to TS 007 cylinder stars.
Other matters assessors weigh
Beyond the baseline, the profile lists location, defensible space, lighting, pedestrian routes, a housing layout with no natural view of neighbouring dwellings, missing or broken door chains, absent or defective burglar alarms and insubstantial boundaries or outbuildings. It reports that, according to the Crime Survey for England and Wales, forcing a door lock was the most common break-in method in 2019/20, accounting for one-third of burglaries. Houses are more likely to be burgled than flats, and privately rented and HMO properties are more likely to be affected, partly because of socio-economic factors rather than design alone.
For houses in multiple occupation, the guidance adds that occupiers can fail to secure a property because each assumes someone else has done it, and that methods of securing individual bedrooms may be absent or poor. It recommends stout entry doors to flats, bedsits and bedrooms with adequate means for occupiers to lock them, and intercom systems with audio or video for larger buildings.
Balancing security, fire safety and ventilation
The guidance repeatedly warns that burglary prevention can conflict with other hazards. Security measures can impede escape in a fire, and locked windows can limit ventilation. It says conspicuous measures such as bars on windows and barbed or razor wire can increase feelings of insecurity and fear, and a balance must be struck. It adds that measures for the fire hazard should be considered alongside those for intruders. Window escape rules are covered in the guide to window locks and escape windows and fire doors in shared houses in the guide to HMO licensing and fire doors.
Tenants who are changing locks themselves should read the guide to landlord keys and lock changes first, since a tenancy agreement and the law on entry affect what can be done.
The bottom line
Under the government’s June 2026 HHSRS operating guidance for England, entry by intruders is one of 21 housing hazards that councils assess, with baseline indicators that include a BS 3621 mortice deadlock on access doors, a way to see visitors without opening the door, suitable locks on accessible windows and working door entry systems in shared buildings. Councils must act on the most serious category 1 hazards. The guidance balances security against fire escape and ventilation, and it is written for assessors rather than as a tenant checklist.
Sources
- The Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS): Operating Guidance, Part 2: A technical guide for assessors, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, June 2026 (gov.uk)
- Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS): Operating guidance, publication page, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (gov.uk)