Do I need a legionella Risk Assessment?
Yes, you are legally required to assess the risk of legionella in the water system of any rental property which you own. You have a legal duty to your tenant.
Why should I use your system?
For the small cost involved your report is lodged on our central register with a time and date stamp showing when the assessment was done and when it was lodged. This is to avoid any doubt in the future in the case of any dispute.
Why am I being quoted a high price by my letting agent?
Your letting agent may not know about this service. They may be using an outside company who have quoted this price. If they do not know about our service you should inform them.
What happens if I do not do an assessment?
If your tenant becomes ill, you could be fined/imprisoned for not having completed a simple legionella risk assessment. In June 2014 3 people died as a result of legionella from a dirty jacuzzi, the owner was fined £200,000. Is it really worth the risk for the low cost involved?
How can I do the asssessment myself?
You just need to follow our step by step guide. You will gather some simple information from your rental property and use this to answer the questions on the assessment form. All of the general information you need to provide to your tenant is included in our Legionella Risk Assessment template and is automatically incuded in the completed assessment for you.
What if I do not want to do it myself?
We recommend you use one of our assessors at www.lraregister.com They offer a full service at a fair price and are fully qualified and accredited risk assessors
What if I am not storing hot or cold water in my system, do I still need to carry out a risk assessment?
Yes. There may be other factors within your system that increase the risks of legionellosis, eg deadlegs, showerheads and/or long runs of pipe work containing warm water. Your legionella risk assessment should also consider anyone who could be potentially exposed to any legionella bacteria in your system, and particularly groups that are at a higher risk of contracting legionellosis.
You also need review the assessment regularly in case anything changes in your system. We will remind you to run a new assessment in 2 years time.
Can people catch legionella in domestic properties?
Yes, it can happen.
Important Notes:
From time to time we all know that we can have a 'difficult' tenant. It is now very important to ensure you have undertaken all of your responsibilities as a landlord in order to stop any form of complaint/excuse from your tenant in not paying rent. More and more tenants are now using any reason possible to avoid 'their responsibilities' You should ensure that you are fully compliant with the law and have undertaken all of 'your responsibilities'.
As well as a Legionella Risk Assessment you also should have in place an Energy Performance Certificate and (if you have gas in the property) a Gas Safety Certificate. New laws coming into force soon also state that you should have smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors on each floor of rental properties.
If you need an Energy Performance Certificate please visit www.theepcman.co.uk where you will find local energy assessors near you.
