UK Landlord Forum / Life

Hi,

I'm a Legionella Control Consultant based in beautiful North Yorkshire. Thought it might be useful if I put down a few words on the subject of Legionella Control and your responsibilities as Landlords.

The HSE's approach:
"Organisations, or self-employed individuals, who provide residential accommodation or who are responsible for the water system(s) in their premises, are responsible for ensuring that the risk of exposure to legionella in those premises is properly controlled.

This means that they have a duty to assess the risk from exposure to legionella to their staff, residents, guests, tenants and customers by implementing appropriate control measures. This is especially important in residential buildings, where vulnerable people may be at risk, such as retirement flats, or where the accommodation is provided specifically for a group who may be susceptible to legionelloses."

What this means for Landlords is that you should have a "suitable and sufficient" Legionella Risk Assessment and Management Plan for all your domestic water systems.

Specific areas of concern in small domestic systems are mainly to do with stagnation.
Although your properties are likely to have adequate throughput when occupied, there may be times when outlets are unused for extended periods.
A case in point was the unfortunate death of an elderly gentleman in Barnsley who had been in hospital for 3 months, returned home and was exposed to sufficient contaminated aerosol in his flat for him to contract Legionnaires Disease. The system in his home consisted of just Mains Cold Water and a Combination Boiler.

Your Risk Assessments should be compliant with current legislation (HSE ACop L8)

Other risks associated with small domestic water systems are:
Poorly designed and maintained Cold Water Storage Tanks/storage at >20'C
Hot water vessels (Calorifers) not achieving >60'C
Shower heads fouled with scale and/or microbiological growth.
Poor disinfection procedures after refurbishments or new installations.
Non-WRG compliant materials (ie: natural rubber liners in flexible fittings)
The presence of susceptible people, particularly the elderly and those with compromised immune systems.

I hope this helps somewhat. Your first step in becoming compliant is the commissioning of a Legionella Risk Assessment.

Best regards,
Nigel.