Domestic hygiene

Domestic hygiene covers conditions that prevent cleanliness and hygiene — poor sanitary or washing facilities, drainage failures, pest infestation, or inadequate waste disposal. Under the consolidated 21-profile HHSRS this one hazard type also absorbs what used to be the separate “food safety” and “personal hygiene, sanitation and drainage” profiles. It is a Phase 2 Awaab’s Law hazard: capturable in full today, with its statutory clock not yet commenced.

What it is

The Domestic Hygiene section covers sanitary and washing facility condition, whether hot water is available for hygiene, drainage and soil-pipe condition, any foul-water escape, a repeatable pest-evidence log (species, location, evidence type, and whether it’s linked to a building defect), refuse storage adequacy, and kitchen food-preparation surface and food-storage adequacy.

Pest and general cleanliness issues are only in Awaab’s Law scope where they’re linked to a building defect the landlord is responsible for — general clutter or untidiness with no rubbish buildup, pest infestation, odours or contamination is explicitly out of GOV.UK’s scope.

How to do it

1. On the Domestic Hygiene card, record sanitary and washing facility condition and whether hot water is available for hygiene use.
2. Record drainage/soil-pipe condition and any foul-water escape observed.
3. For any pest evidence, add an entry recording species, location and evidence type, and record honestly whether it appears linked to a building defect.
4. Record refuse storage adequacy and kitchen food-preparation surface/food-storage adequacy.
5. Complete Hazard Triage — cite whether basic facilities are usable and whether the issue extends beyond this one property, such as into communal areas.

How it integrates

Domestic hygiene has its own AI preset (housing-domestic-hygiene): image analysis restates only what’s visible — a sanitary or washing-facility defect, a drainage or foul-water issue, pest evidence, or a refuse or food-storage defect — never a “linked to building defect” judgement, which stays yours. The executive-summary draft restates the linked-to-building-defect flag exactly as you recorded it. The finished record uses the “Domestic Hygiene Assessment Report” template.

Common problems

• Pests came up but I’m not sure they’re the landlord’s responsibility. Record what you observed and your honest judgement on the link to a building defect — that judgement is what decides whether the case is genuinely in Awaab’s Law scope.
• The property is untidy but nothing looks unsanitary. General clutter with no rubbish buildup, infestation, odour or contamination is out of GOV.UK’s scope for this hazard.
• There’s no due date on this job. Expected while Phase 2 remains unconfirmed, except for an emergency-severity case.