What you Need to Know
Legionella risk assessments are an important bit of legal legislation that all Landlords must have for their property.
The risk assessment is carried out to determine the level of risk, if any, of water in the rental property becoming contaminated with Legionella. The majority of rental properties will be low risk; however, it is a legal requirement for landlords to ensure that the risk of exposure to tenants and visitors by legionella, is properly assessed and controlled. This legal obligation is enforced by the Health & Safety Executive.
Control measures can be implemented to ensure that the risk of Legionella is kept low, these can include the following:
- Proper flushing of the water systems before letting out the property.
- Making sure water temperature controls are in place ie. Hot water is stored above 60 degrees.
Further control measures can be found on The Landlord Accreditation Scotland website, it is another great resource for the most up to date information regarding Legionella risk assessments and the legislation surrounding them.
The consequences for not having the correct risk assessments carried out can be severe. There is now a maximum fine of up to £20 000 and up to 12 months in jail if these checks are not carried out and someone is subsequently affected in a domestic property.
What your Tenant Needs to Know
Where control measures are required, Landlords should make tenants aware of all measures that should be followed. This can vary depending on the risk assessment.
Landlords Should inform tenants around any control measures that need to be maintained such as:
- Inform tenants of any potential risk of exposure to Legionella and its consequences.
- Tell tenants of any action with arises from the risk assessment if appropriate to do so.
- Tell tenants to contact the landlord if the hot water system is not heating properly.
- Tell tenants to contact the landlord if the cold-water system is not running cold.
Sourced From HSE website & Landlord Accreditation Scotland
There is lots of further information and guidance surrounding Legionella risk assessments. All the correct and current guidance can be found on the HSE website
We hope the above information is useful and should you have any further questions regarding Legionella risk assessments, please do not hesitate to get in touch!
The Pebble Mountain Team.