Domestic Legionella Risk Assessment

Firstly, to bust a myth… A Domestic Legionella Risk Assessment is not the same as a Legionella Test. Many people are misled and believe they need to have a very expensive Legionella Test carried-out, when all they require to legally comply is a Legionella Risk Assessment!

The Assessment helps Landlords and Duty Holders to mitigate any risks of their tenants, families and visitors contracting the potential life-threatening Legionnaires Disease from within their domestic rental or leased properties!

The survey is carried out by a competent, fully trained member of our team, who will identify the risk of Legionnaires’ Disease being present within your domestic hot and cold-water systems.

The Assessment includes:

• An on-site property inspection
• A Domestic Risk Assessment Report
• A hot & cold-water system schematic diagram
• Recommendations to minimise Legionella risks

Our Domestic Maintenance team will be happy to quote you for carrying-out any remedial action that may be required to ensure the Legionella Risks are minimised.

Since the L8 Approved Code of Practice (3rd edition) (ACOP) was published in 2001, there has been a requirement for landlords and/or Duty Holders (e.g. Letting Agents) of residential properties to assess the risks from exposure to Legionella to their tenants.

If a tenant or a visitor within a domestic property were to contract Legionnaires Disease, the landlord or Duty Holder (or both) may be liable to prosecution. The landlord or Duty Holder would then have to demonstrate to a court that they have fulfilled their legal duty by submitting a valid Legionella Risk Assessment.

It is important that you employ a suitably qualified and insured competent person to assess and record the Legionella risks within your domestic property. It is recommended that a Domestic Legionella Risk Assessment is carried out every two years or at the change of a tenancy, whichever is the soonest.

Legionnaires Disease is a potentially fatal form of pneumonia caused by the inhalation of small droplets of contaminated water (or mist) containing Legionella bacteria.

Many people living or visiting domestic properties can be affected by Legionella. People most at risk are the old and the young, especially if they suffer with a low immune system, have on-going respiratory conditions, are frail, smoke or have just been in hospital or recovering from surgery.

All man-made domestic hot and cold-water systems within a residential property are likely to provide an environment where Legionella bacteria can grow. Conditions that are favourable for the bacteria to multiply include, the correct temperatures, stored water, rust, sludge or slime.

In short, any outlet that omits hot or cold water such as showers, taps, faucets, spa pools, hose pipes etc. are at risk of harbouring Legionella.

To produce a Domestic Legionella Risk Assessment, one of our fully qualified Legionella Risk Assessors will visit your property to carry-out the assessment. It will usually take between 30 minutes to an hour to complete, dependent upon the property size.

We will require access to the boiler, all the water outlets, water systems and storage tanks within the residential property. Please notify us if you have water tanks etc in the loft or other ‘hidden’ locations. Also please ensure that the Gas, Electricity and Water services are all switched on and have credit on the meters, this is especially relevant when surveying empty or void properties.

Our Domestic Legionella Risk Assessors will be diligent and courteous, whilst ensuring the correct information and data is collected, to ensure an accurate Legionella Risk Assessment is produced for your property.

Our Assessors are duty bound to take a limited number of photographs of the domestic property to evidence their work, for audit purposes.

Once our assessor has completed the survey, they will upload the data into our accredited software program to generate the Legionella Risk Assessment. The report will then be issued to you, along with any recommendations to help reduce the risks of Legionella within the property.

To order a Domestic Legionella Risk Assessment for your property in Stockton on Tees, Middlesbrough, Durham, Sunderland or Newcastle, or if you would like more information, simply get in touch by giving us a call or sending us a message.