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Owners warned over five million unsafe homes

Monday, 28 November 2011 9:13 AM

More than one in five UK homes contains a major hazard which could need immediate repair, according to research by SearchFlow.

The property search firm says 21 per cent of homes have a hazard so serious that the local authority has a duty to intervene. The total cost of putting the problems right could be more than £52 billion.

Hazards qualify for Category One under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System include ones that can cause death, lung cancer, burn injuries, loss of a hand or foot, heart attacks and poisoning.

And the English Housing Survey says that there are almost five million homes in the UK with such hazards and 1.9 million with dangerous steps and stairs.

According to the Housing Act 2004, these types of hazard create an obligation on local authorities to force the property to be vacated or to require immediate repair.

Stuart Pearce, CEO of SearchFlow said: "Many homeowners are unaware they live with serious hazards every day.

"When private dwellings are assessed by local authorities, there's a one in five chance there will be a hazard present which requires immediate attention.

"This is a cost most property owners don't factor into their plans and can therefore prove very hard to deal with."

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