If you are a landlord, you have many duties to keep your property safe and free from health hazards.
One of these is managing the risk of Legionella bacteria in water systems. When water is left alone or not heated properly, harmful bacteria can grow and cause serious health issues for tenants.
This resource gives an in-depth look at landlord Legionella risk assessment, including basic control measures and what the law expects. It is important to follow safety laws to protect everyone who lives in your premises from exposure.
What is a Landlord?
A landlord is a person or group who rents out commercial buildings or domestic properties to others, known as tenants. This can include private owners, councils, or housing groups. When renting out a property, you have a legal duty to make sure it’s safe for people to live in. Landlords must take care of the premises, deal with any possible safety problems, and make sure the tenants are not at risk. Keeping people safe on your property is a key part of being a landlord.
Keeping people safe on your property is a key part of being a landlord.
What Landlords Must Do Under the Law:
Legal Requirements
According to health and safety law, every landlord must check and control the risk of people being exposed to Legionella bacteria. You need to have a Legionella risk assessment done for each property. If your property has simple water systems, you do not always have to call for a professional inspection, but you do need to feel competent to spot possible sources of risk. It’s also your job to put in place simple control measures that keep the water system safe and meet the rules.
What the Tenants Need to Know and Do?
Tenants help keep water systems in good shape by following a few simple steps. They should know why control measures matter and follow what is in place. It is important not to change the hot water settings or touch the combi boilers. Shower heads need cleaning often to stop debris from building up. If hot water taps are not warming up as they should, tenants should let the landlord know so things can be sorted quickly.
The Risk of Legionella:
Legionnaires Disease
Legionella bacteria can be found in nature, but they turn into a real danger in manmade water systems like cold water tanks and hot water taps. If water is not heating properly or sits still, these bacteria may grow fast, leading to health hazards for anyone in the building.
Breathing in small droplets from water contaminated with Legionella can give someone Legionnaires’ disease, a type of pneumonia caused by this bacterium, a potentially fatal form if not treated. To reduce the risk of Legionella, you must stay alert and take steps to control it.
Legionella Testing and Actions for Properties Left Vacant
If your property is empty for a while, you need to pay extra care to the water system.
With no one using the water, it can sit in pipes and tanks, giving Legionella bacteria or other biological agents a chance to grow.
Before letting new tenants move in, you should check both cold water systems and hot water tanks.
Take action to remove any possible risks by following the recommended steps.
Flushing Unused Outlets
If a property has been empty, water stays still in the system. It’s important to flush every hot and cold water tap to clear out old water. Let each tap and shower run for several minutes to push out any build-up. Do this once a week while the property is not being used. Flushing the outlets regularly is a simple way to limit the risk of Legionella growing in pipes and tanks.
Sampling the Water System for Legionella
If water has been standing for a long time, just running it may not be enough to keep people safe from Legionella risk. In these cases, you should arrange specialist Legionella testing. This involves sending samples from both hot water taps and cold water tanks to a lab. The results will show if there are any Legionella bacteria present. With this check, you can take action to treat the water system before letting tenants move in.
Professional Legionella Risk Assessments
If you’re not sure how to check your properties, a professional Legionella risk assessment is a smart choice. Some places might be low risk, but water hygiene is a specialist area and mistakes can be costly. Comfort Services Group offers in-depth inspections of your water system. Our assessors know what to look for, like redundant pipework or cold water tanks with missing lids. We look out for all safety obligations to make sure your risk assessment meets health and safety law.
Keeping a Record of the Risk Assessment
Whenever you finish a risk assessment, make sure you write down the details. If your business has five or more staff, the law says you must keep a record of each risk assessment. Still, it’s a good idea for every landlord to keep these records, even if you only let out one property. Writing down what control measures you take shows you are dealing with the risk of Legionella seriously. Keeping these notes helps prove you meet your safety duties and makes it easier to plan checks in the future.
What Our Customers Say
“The team at Comfort Services Group were awesome when they carried out the Legionella Control works at our offices, they were very accommodating, Tom and the guys on site were a pleasure to work with. I would recommend the services of Comfort Services Group without reservation. Excellent First impressions with the Office Team, which was mirrored by the guys who did the work. Thanks guys.”
Michael Green
“I have had Comfort commissioning working on different projects for the companies i have worked for over the past 15 years. They have assisted in many difficult projects throughout the country. Andy and Lawrence have been very professional and helpful. i found their attitude, and pro-active approach to be of very high standard. i will always push to use them on future projects”
Chris Richards
“Comfort commissioning are a great company, they deliver great services and the team there are very helpful and efficient. They really do care about their customers and take a keen interest in ensuring a high level of customer service is maintained at all times.”
Gary Clatworthy
“Fantastic service from Comfort from start to finish. Very responsive, friendly, reliable and professional.”
Sarah
“Contacted Comfort Commissioning Services Ltd for advice about unusual deposits in the header tank of an open vented domestic heating system. Not core business for them, but one of their directors responded to me really quickly via email with some excellent free advice which was greatly appreciated. Very impressed.”
Pete Davies
Water Health and Safety Services We Offer for Residential and Domestic Properties
Looking after water safety isn’t just a one-off job. It covers many checks and tasks, from the first inspection to regular follow-ups.
Comfort Services Group gives landlords all the water treatment help they need across the UK. No matter if you’re responsible for large buildings or smaller homes,
we have ways to keep your water system safe and clean. Our work helps lower risks and makes sure you meet all safety obligations.
Legionella Risk Assessment for Residential Buildings
Our team delivers a landlord legionella risk assessment tailored to residential buildings. We check all hot water cylinders, cold water tanks, and pipework. Tanks get checked for a tight-fitting lid to stop debris. When done, you get a report outlining any legionella risk and the condition of the system. The document lists any easy control measures that should be taken so tenants stay protected from exposure on your premises.
Chemical Water Treatment
In some cases, just cleaning pipes or tanks by hand will not remove all biological agents from the water. Chemical water treatment is another way to make your water system safe. Our team uses controlled doses of certain substances to target bacteria and other harmful organisms that may be present in water contaminated by Legionella. With the right method, the water supply can be restored to a safe level for you and your tenants, and other problems will not be caused.
Chemical Descaling
Over time, scale in pipes and heaters makes systems less efficient and gives Legionella bacteria places to grow. Our chemical descaling work targets and clears these hard deposits from the inside of your water system. By removing scale, there are fewer chances for bacteria to hide and multiply. Regular descaling also helps domestic hot water heat up well and quickly, lowering the risk of bacteria getting out of hand.
Legionella Monitoring
Looking after your water system is not something you do once and ignore. Our Legionella monitoring service checks how your water system is doing over time. We keep an eye on the temperature in both your hot and cold water, making sure it is set away from the danger zones. Regular checks let us spot important changes early. Checking often means your simple control measures keep working and your properties continue to meet safety rules.
Water Sampling for Legionella
If we notice something odd during our checks, we carry out water sampling for Legionella. Our team will carefully take samples from different places in the water system. These samples are then sent to a separate laboratory for proper analysis. The results tell us which biological agents, like Legionella bacteria, are in your water. Testing this way gives you clear proof about water safety and helps decide if any further action should be taken.
Remedial Works
If a risk assessment highlights problems in your system, we handle the needed remedial works. This could mean getting rid of redundant pipework where water can collect and go stagnant. We are also able to update cold water tanks and add proper insulation so they follow current rules. Sorting out these issues lowers the risk of Legionella straight away. Our team works quickly to make sure your property is safe for everyone.
Legionella Training
Learning about water safety matters for anyone who looks after property. Landlords and managers can enrol in Legionella training sessions arranged by us. In these, you get clear information about health and safety laws and what is expected of you. You will go over the basic control measures, how to spot risks, and how to act on them. This knowledge makes it more likely you’ll feel competent and confident in keeping your water systems (and your tenants) safe.
What does a Landlord Legionella Risk Assessment Involve?
A landlord Legionella risk assessment is a hands-on check of your water system’s safety.
It means looking at every part: how water is kept, how often it is used, and who is using it.
The aim is to find issues early, before they become a problem for anyone in the property.
The steps below show what’s normally involved, making sure no risk or hazard is missed.
Spotting potential hazards and checking the risk level
This starts by finding things like water not being hot enough or old, unused pipes where Legionella could grow. After these hazards are found, we think about how likely it is that these will put someone in danger inside the property.
Who might be at risk
We look at all the people using or working with the water system. That often includes tenants, anyone coming over, and workers who might use the showers or taps, possibly breathing in tiny water droplets by mistake.
Making sure good control measures are in place
The next step is choosing what can be done, such as making sure the hot water is hot enough, giving clear advice about cleaning shower heads, and removing pipework that is not needed. The aim is to keep the system clean and simple.
Writing down what is found during the check
Every time an inspection is carried out, all findings are written up. This report lists dangers, current risks, and what actions need to be taken so everyone understands what is required.
Checking again when something changes or after a while
An assessment is not just a tick-box task. It has to be looked at again when the water system changes, or if there is any reason to think the control measures are no longer working well.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is a Legionella risk assessment mandatory for landlords?
Yes, every landlord must arrange a Legionella risk assessment—it is part of your legal duty under health and safety law. You should look for risks of exposure to Legionella bacteria in any property you rent out. Checking for potential risks and setting up simple control measures are both needed to protect tenants and stay within the law.
Do landlords need to hire a professional to carry out the Legionella risk assessment?
No, safety law does not say you always need a professional inspection. If your property has simple water systems and you feel competent, you can choose to do the Legionella risk assessment yourself. For larger premises, or if you do not feel confident, it’s better to have a professional carry out the assessment. That way, you know an in-depth check is done, meeting all your legal requirements.
What happens if a landlord fails to carry out their obligations?
If a landlord does not deal with the risk of Legionella, there can be serious consequences. Breaking health and safety laws can mean large fines or even legal trouble. If someone gets Legionnaires’ disease because proper action was not taken, the landlord could be held responsible. In some cases, this illness can be fatal, so not meeting these duties may lead to criminal charges as well as harm to tenants.
When and how often should a Legionella risk assessment be carried out?
An initial risk assessment should be done before you let out your property. Once tenants move in, keep the assessment up to date by reviewing it from time to time. You will also need to carry out a new check if there are any significant changes to the water system, if the property stands empty for a period, or if the existing control measures are not working as expected.
