How much does a Healthy Homes assessment cost, and is it worth it?

There is no set price. Healthy Homes assessments are sold by private businesses that set their own fees, and quotes vary with the property, the region and what the report covers, so the only reliable figure is a quote for your house. Paying is also optional: Tenancy Services describes professional advice as voluntary, and the official tools professionals use to check the standards are free for anyone.

What drives the price

• Size and layout. More rooms means more to measure, and open-plan or multi-lounge homes take longer to work out which room is the main living room.
• Access. Getting safely into the ceiling space and under the floor takes time, and some assessments do not include it. Ask.
• What the report covers. A walk-through with a tick sheet is a different product from measured findings, photos and a heating calculation for each standard.
• Travel, particularly for rural properties.
• Extras such as a written opinion supporting an exemption, a return visit to confirm work was done, or a heating capacity assessment by a qualified specialist. That last one is a separate route in the regulations, open only to chartered engineers and similarly qualified people, and is usually only relevant for unusual rooms the standard formula handles poorly.

Some assessment businesses also sell and install heat pumps, insulation or fans. That can be convenient, but it is fair to ask how their recommendations are made and to get a second quote for any work.

What a good assessment gives you

• The required heating capacity for the main living room, how it was calculated, and whether the installed heating meets it.
• Ceiling and underfloor insulation: location, R-value or thickness, condition, and install dates where known.
• For each kitchen and bathroom fan: whether it vents outside, and its diameter or exhaust capacity.
• Openable windows for each habitable room.
• Drainage findings, whether the subfloor is enclosed, and whether a ground moisture barrier is present.
• Draughts found and any open fireplace.
• Dated photos, and a clear list of what needs fixing or what exemption applies and why.

Those are the facts the compliance statement asks for, so a good report maps straight onto it. It is evidence, not a certificate. No law requires an assessor's sign-off, and a professional can supply information for the compliance statement, but the landlord must still sign it.

When paying earns its keep

• You cannot safely get into the ceiling space or under the floor, or you would rather not.
• You think an exemption applies. Tenancy Services' guidance recommends professional advice where you are unsure, and for the extractor fan exemption, keeping a copy of that advice.
• The property is unusual: several living areas, very large glazing, a mix of old and new work, or records you do not trust.
• You manage several rentals and want independent eyes across the lot before signing a round of statements.

The free route

For an ordinary house with safe access, most landlords can do this themselves. Tenancy Services publishes a heating assessment tool, a ventilation tool, a guidance document for each standard and the compliance statement template. Its landlord guide says you may be able to install draught stopping, insulation, a ground moisture barrier or fan ducting yourself, while electrical, gas, plumbing, drainlaying and restricted building work need a licensed professional.

1. Run the heating assessment tool for the main living room and compare its answer with the kW rating on the heater's label or invoice.
2. Check the ceiling space and subfloor where it is safe, with the power off at the mains if there is foil insulation. Photograph the insulation with a tape measure in frame.
3. Run every kitchen and bathroom fan, confirm it vents outside, and find its size or flow rate on the label or invoice.
4. Open a window in each habitable room and check it stays open.
5. Walk outside in steady rain: gutters, downpipes, pooling against the house. Check whether the subfloor is enclosed and whether a barrier is down.
6. Feel for draughts around windows, doors and floors, and check any open fireplace is blocked.
7. File the results by standard and use them to complete the compliance statement.

Our free Healthy Homes self-assessment walks through the same checks, and the guide to a free Healthy Homes assessment covers the official tools in more detail.

If you do hire someone

Ask for a sample report, whether they go into the ceiling space and subfloor, whether the heating calculation is included and how it is done, whether they also sell the work, and whether a re-check is included. Our guide on who can do a Healthy Homes assessment covers the qualifications worth asking about. Whichever route you take, the value is in the afterlife: the report and photos filed against the property, per standard, ready for the next statement. Landy gives each standard its own section in the property's logbook for exactly that.