A written legionella risk assessment for a rented or managed property, carried out on site, so that the duty sitting on the landlord is discharged and there is a document on file that proves it.
If you let residential property, you have a duty to assess and control the risk of exposure to legionella bacteria in the water system. It is not a certificate and there is no annual test to buy. What is expected is that a suitable assessment has been carried out, that any risks found are being controlled, and that this is written down.
In the overwhelming majority of ordinary domestic lets the risk turns out to be low, and the assessment says exactly that. The value is not in discovering a crisis. It is in having a dated, competent, independent document to produce if a tenant, an insurer, a lender or a local authority ever asks the question.
The water system is walked from the incoming main to the outlets. That means the type and condition of the hot water system, stored water and any tanks, the temperatures being achieved at the cylinder and at the taps, pipework runs that are redundant or rarely used, showerheads and spray outlets, and any part of the system where water can sit and warm up.
Where the property has been empty, or a tenancy is changing over, that is flagged specifically, because standing water in a void is the single most common way a low risk property becomes a higher risk one.
What the water system actually is, recorded properly, with photographs, so the next assessment has a baseline.
Measured at the cylinder and at outlets, since temperature is the main control in a domestic system.
Where risk exists, where it does not, and the reasoning, rather than a generic template with your address typed into it.
What you or the tenant should do, written so a tenant can follow it without a technical background.
Specific guidance for empty periods and tenancy changes, which is when domestic risk actually rises.
A document with a date, a named assessor and a clear scope, which is what you need if anyone ever asks.
Private landlords, letting and managing agents, HMO operators, housing associations, and anyone with a portfolio who wants the same assessment done consistently across every property rather than differently by whoever was available.
Frequently combined with a damp and mould survey or a changeover audit in the same visit, which is much cheaper than two separate attendances. Ask when you call.
No, and be wary of anyone selling you one. The legal expectation is a suitable and sufficient risk assessment that is written down and kept up to date, not a certificate.
There is no fixed statutory interval for a domestic let. It should be reviewed when something changes, such as the water system being altered, a long void, or a change in who occupies the property. Many agents review every two years as a matter of policy.
Yes, and that is where the price per property falls the most. Send the address list when you call.
No payment to book. Tell us what you need and Rory will call you back, usually within a couple of hours, to talk it through and confirm a fixed price.