Legionella Risk Assessments: A Guide for Landlords and Property Managers
Ensuring the health and safety of tenants at rental properties is always a priority for property managers and landlords. An important—and too—often neglected—task is evaluating the risk of Legionella bacteria in water systems. Legionella causes Legionnaires’ disease, a possibly lethal form of pneumonia acquired from inhaling airborne water droplets that contain the bacteria.
A professional Legionella risk assessment is not just a good idea for protecting tenants — it’s also a requirement of UK health and safety law. At No Letting Go, we offer comprehensive and compliant Legionella surveys, ensuring landlords and agents stay on the right side of the law with as minor inconvenience as possible.
Here’s everything you need to know.
What Is Legionella and Why Does It Matter?
Legionella is a bacterium that thrives in water systems if conditions are right—usually between 20°C and 45°C, particularly where the water is still. If not cleaned or treated regularly, it’s found normally in tanks, pipes, taps, showers, and air conditioning systems.
For the majority of healthy people, the risk is low. But for vulnerable tenants — such as the elderly, those with respiratory disease, or those with compromised immune systems — exposure can have serious implications.
Legal Duties for Landlords and Agents
Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH), landlords are responsible for evaluating and controlling the risk of Legionella in letting properties.
This includes:
- Private landlords
- Letting agents
- Housing associations
- Block managers (in communal water systems)
A professional risk assessment must be undertaken. Although the legislation does not specify regular testing of domestic premises, it does state that a qualified person must assess the risk and take necessary action to control it.
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