NSPIRE Deficiency Rationales

Every deficiency cited in an NSPIRE inspection must have a clearly expressed and well-supported statement that explains why that particular deficiency is being inspected. Under NSPIRE, inspections focus on the most important thing: resident health and safety. The rationale describes the potential impact of the deficiency on the health and safety of the resident. It is the “why” of the standard.

Rationale Codes and Descriptions
Code	Category	Description
R1	Health	Condition could affect resident’s mental, or physical, or psychological state.
R2	Safety	Resident could be injured because of this condition – see HHRS Appendix B, 4 clauses.
R3	Sanitary	Special sub-set of health hazards related to hygiene. Resident cannot clean or dispose of waste or does not have clean drinking water.
R4	Security	Resident cannot control access to unit or property because of this condition.
R5	Privacy	Condition limits the resident’s reasonable expectation of privacy in their dwelling.
R6	Usability or Operability of Fixtures	Because of this condition, the resident is unable to use certain fixtures, features, or appliances, which are reasonably assumed to be part of their rent.
R7	Increased Monetary Impact to Resident	Resident would incur additional costs because of this condition.
M1	Corrective Maintenance	It is reasonable to expect a tenant to report this deficiency, and for facilities management to prioritize a work order response to fix that deficiency.
M2	Routine Maintenance	It is reasonable to expect that this deficiency would be identified through routine daily observations and facilities management would prioritize work orders to fix this deficiency.
M3	Preventative Maintenance	This defect indicates that a property is not following preventative maintenance practices for the item or equipment. *This only applies to items that would normally have preventive maintenance plans.
M4	Capital Cost	This defect, on its own, is significant enough to be a capital cost to repair.
M5	Increased Monetary Impact to HUD	HUD would incur additional costs due to this condition (e.g., such as energy inefficiency).
M6	Structural	This condition indicates potential structural failure of the building or a loadbearing component *May be linked to safety depending on location.
PP1	Market Appeal	If this defect occurs, HUD or the property would suffer reputational harm This defect is highly subjective. This is applicable only in areas that can be seen by the public – either from the public way or as visitors to the property.

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Rationale Codes and Descriptions

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