Legionella Risk Assessment – £60 inc VAT
Legionnaires’ disease is a potentially fatal form of pneumonia caused by the inhalation of small droplets of contaminated water containing legionella. All man-made hot and cold water systems are likely to provide an environment where legionella can grow.
The law is clear that if you are a landlord and rent out your property (or even a room within your own home) then you have legal responsibilities to ensure the health and safety of your tenant by keeping the property safe and free from health hazards.
Section 3(2) of the Health and Safety at Work Act (HSWA) makes provision for relevant health and safety legislation to apply to landlords to ensure a duty of care is shown to their tenants regarding their health and safety.
Landlords, under section 53 of HSWA, are regarded as being self-employed. If you rent out a property, you have legal responsibilities to ensure you conduct your undertaking in such a way that your tenant(s) are not exposed to health and safety risks.
A simple assessment may show there are no real risks and these are being properly managed so no further action is needed. It is important to review the assessment in case anything changes in the system.
Implementing simple, proportionate and appropriate control measures will ensure the risk remains low. For most domestic hot and cold water systems, temperature is the most reliable way of ensuring the risk of exposure to legionella bacteria is minimised – keep the hot water hot, cold water cold and keep it moving. Other simple control measures to help control the risk of exposure to legionella include:
- flushing out the system prior to letting the property
- avoiding debris getting into the system (for example, ensure the cold water tanks, where fitted, have a tight-fitting lid)
- setting control parameters (such as setting the temperature of the hot water cylinder (calorifier) to ensure water is stored at 60°C)
- make sure any redundant pipework identified is removed
19. Legionella: Private residential tenancy model agreement
Published 1 April 2024
From Minister for Housing
Directorate Local Government and Housing Directorate
ISBN 9781836011217
Information about the statutory and discretionary clauses in the model private residential tenancy agreement.
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