Legionella Risk Assessments and Water Hygiene
Helping landlords, property managers and businesses manage their water-hygiene responsibilities.
Legionella bacteria occur naturally in water. In the wrong conditions, such as stagnant water, incorrect temperatures or poorly designed pipework, they can multiply to dangerous levels and cause Legionnaires’ disease, a serious and potentially fatal form of pneumonia. UK law requires anyone responsible for a building’s water systems to assess and control this risk.
Ubertek Maintenance helps landlords, property managers and businesses across Central London, West London and selected locations in the South East manage their water-hygiene duties. The service is adapted to the property and the responsibilities of the dutyholder.
Our Water Hygiene and Legionella Services
Our services can include:
- Water-system inspections
- Temperature monitoring
- Flushing programmes
- Outlet and showerhead maintenance
- Cold-water storage-tank inspections
- Written schemes of control
- Record keeping and logbooks
- Coordination of risk assessments
- Recommended remedial works
The Legal Requirement
Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations 2002, people in control of premises must identify and manage the risk from legionella. The HSE’s Approved Code of Practice L8 and its technical guidance HSG274 explain how. These duties apply to employers, facilities managers, managing agents and landlords, including landlords of residential rental properties.
The duty applies to almost any building with a water system: offices, shops, restaurants, hotels, schools, healthcare premises, residential blocks and rented homes. Failing to manage legionella risk properly can lead to enforcement action. More importantly, it can put people’s health at risk.
Risk Assessment and Written Scheme of Control
Legionella risk assessment. This is a survey and evaluation of your water systems. It identifies possible sources of risk, such as storage tanks, hot-water cylinders and calorifiers, showers, little-used outlets and dead legs, and assesses the likelihood of legionella growth and exposure. Ubertek coordinates risk assessments with suitably qualified assessors.
Written scheme of control. Where the assessment identifies a reasonably foreseeable risk, a written scheme sets out exactly how that risk will be controlled: what is checked, how often, by whom and what happens if results are outside safe limits. It must be put into practice and kept up to date. It is not a document to file away and forget.
Putting the Controls Into Practice
A risk assessment only protects people if its recommendations are carried out. Ubertek helps you put the control measures into practice with routine water-hygiene tasks, including:
- Temperature monitoring: checking that hot water is stored and distributed hot enough, and cold water stays cold enough, to limit bacterial growth.
- Flushing programmes: regularly running little-used taps and showers to prevent stagnant water.
- Outlet and showerhead maintenance: cleaning and descaling showerheads and outlets where bacteria can build up.
- Cold-water storage-tank inspections: checking tanks for debris, contamination, damaged lids and poor insulation.
Recommended Remedial Works
Risk assessments often identify work needed to reduce risk. Examples include removing dead legs, insulating pipework, replacing or covering storage tanks, adjusting water temperatures or fitting thermostatic mixing valves. Because Ubertek also manages plumbing and building maintenance, we can arrange and complete these recommended remedial works for you, rather than leaving you with a report and no one to act on it.
This joined-up approach means the risk is actually reduced, with the paperwork as evidence that it is being properly controlled
Record Keeping and Logbooks
Good records are a key part of legionella control. They show that the written scheme is being followed and that problems are spotted and dealt with. We keep clear records and logbooks of temperature checks, flushing, inspections and remedial works, so you have the evidence ready when an insurer, auditor, letting agent or enforcing authority asks for it.
Risk assessments should be reviewed regularly, and straight away if anything changes, such as alterations to the water system, a change in how the building is used or a change in occupancy. We help you keep track of when a review is due, so your written scheme always reflects how the building and its water systems are actually used today.
Water Hygiene for Landlords and Rental Properties
Many landlords don’t realise that the legal duty to manage legionella risk applies to residential rental properties too, not just commercial buildings. A landlord must assess the risk from hot and cold water systems and take steps to control it. In many homes with simple, regularly used systems, the risk is low and the controls are straightforward. It still needs to be assessed and recorded.
Periods when a property stands empty are a particular concern. During void periods between tenancies, water can sit unused in pipes, tanks and showers, creating the conditions bacteria need. Our flushing programmes and pre-tenancy checks help make sure the water system is safe before a new tenant moves in.
For landlords and letting agents managing several properties, we coordinate water-hygiene requirements alongside other maintenance and compliance work. Risk assessments, flushing, temperature checks and records are all managed by one team, and the information stays together for each property.
Who This Applies To
Legionella duties apply to a wide range of properties and dutyholders:
- Private landlords and letting agents: residential rental properties, including flats and houses in multiple occupation.
- Managing agents and residential management companies: blocks with shared tanks and communal water systems.
- Businesses and employers: offices, shops, restaurants and hospitality venues.
- Higher-risk premises: hotels, care settings, schools and buildings with complex hot-water systems or little-used outlets.
If you are not sure whether you are the dutyholder or what your obligations are, we can help you work it out.
Get in Touch
If your legionella risk assessment is out of date, was never followed by a written scheme, or you’re simply not sure of your current position, now is the time to act. Tell us about the property and its water systems, and we will assess the requirement, explain the next step and arrange the appropriate response.
Ubertek Maintenance serves London and surrounding areas, with a particular focus on Central London, West London and selected locations across the South East.