CONTROL 
LEGIONELLA

Legionnaires' disease is a potentially fatal form of pneumonia caused by the inhalation of small droplets of contaminated water containing Legionella bacteria. All man-made hot and cold water systems are likely to provide an environment where Legionella can grow. Where conditions are favourable (ie suitable growth temperature range, source of nutrients 'food' for the organism to grow such as rust, sludge, scale, biofilm etc and also stagnant water conditions) then the bacteria may multiply thus increasing the risk of exposure where there is a potential for water droplets (aerosols) to be produced and dispersed;.  It is a simple fact that the organism will colonise both large and small hot and cold water systems so both require the risks to be managed effectively.

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Approved Code of Practice (ACOP L8 2013 and Guidance HSG274 parts 1,2,3)

This Code has been approved by the Health and Safety Executive, with the consent
of the Secretary of State. It gives practical advice on how to comply with the law. If
you follow the advice you will be doing enough to comply with the law in respect of
those specific matters on which the Code gives advice. You may use alternative
methods to those set out in the Code in order to comply with the law.
However, the Code has a special legal status. If you are prosecuted for breach of
health and safety law, and it is proved that you did not follow the relevant provisions
of the Code, you will need to show that you have complied with the law in some
other way or a Court will find you at fault.

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Duties under the HSW Act apply to the risks from exposure to legionella
bacteria that may arise from work activities. The Management Regulations provide
a broad framework for controlling health and safety at work. As well as requiring
risk assessments, they also require employers to have access to competent help in
applying the provisions of health and safety law; to establish procedures for
workers if there are situations presenting serious, imminent danger; and for
co-operation and co-ordination where two or more employers or self-employed
people share a workplace. More specifically, COSHH provides a framework of
actions designed to control the risk from a range of hazardous substances,
including biological agents.

What is a landlord?

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A landlord is anyone who rents out a property they own under a lease or a licence that is shorter than seven years.  Landlords' duties apply to a wide range of accommodation, occupied under a lease or a licence, which includes but not exclusively, residential premises provided for rent by:

• local authorities

• housing associations

• private sector landlords

• housing co-operatives

• hostels

The LAW and YOU

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The law is clear that if you are a landlord and rent out your property (or even a room within your own home) then you have legal responsibilities to ensure the health and safety of your tenant by keeping the property safe and free from health hazards however elaborate control measures are not always necessary and it may be that a one off risk assessment is required. 

Section 3(2) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (HSWA) makes provision for relevant health and safety legislation to apply to landlords to ensure a duty of care is shown to their tenants’ with regard to their health and safety.  The general duties require under section 3(2) that "It shall be the duty of every self-employed person to conduct his undertaking in such a way as to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that he and other persons (not being his employees) who may be affected thereby are not thereby exposed to risks to their health or safety.".   Landlords, under Section 53 of HSWA are regarded as being self-employed and tenants fall into the class of “other persons (not being his employees)”.  If you rent out a property, you have legal responsibilities to ensure you conduct your undertaking in such a way that your tenant(s) are not exposed to health and safety risks.

The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH) provides a framework of actions to control the risk from a range of hazardous substances, including biological agents (e.g. Legionella) - to identify and assess the risk, and implement any necessary measures to control any risk.

There has been no change to UK legislation. Since the L8 Approved Code of Practice (3rd edition) (ACOP) was published in 2001, there has been a requirement for landlords of both domestic and business premises to assess the risks from exposure to Legionella to their tenants.

L8 Approved Code of Practice (ACOP) was revised and republished in November 2013 and retained the guidance on the requirements of HSWA and COSHH for employers AND those with responsibilities for the control of premises including landlords (L8 ACOP, paragraphs 1 and 2).  It applies to the control of Legionella bacteria in any undertaking involving a work activity AND applies to premises controlled in connection with a trade, business or other undertaking where water is used or stored and there is a reasonably foreseeable risk of exposure to Legionella bacteria (L8 ACOP, paragraph 22).

You can be prosecuted for failing to comply with any one of these regulations, even if there hasn’t been a case of legionnaire’s disease. The HSE can prosecute under negligence if they randomly inspect your property.

What you must do

The practical and proportionate application of health and safety law to landlords of domestic rental properties is that whilst there is a duty to assess the risk from exposure to Legionella to ensure the safety of their tenants, this does not require an in-depth, detailed assessment.  The risks from hot and cold water systems in most residential settings are generally considered to be low owing to regular water usage and turnover. A typical ‘low risk’ example may be found in a small building (e.g. housing unit) with small domestic-type water systems, where daily water usage is inevitable and sufficient to turn over the entire system; where cold water is directly from a wholesome mains supply (no stored water tanks); where hot water is fed from instantaneous heaters or low volume water heaters and where the only outlets are within toilet areas and kitchens. 

A simple assessment may show that there are no real risks and are being properly managed and no further action is needed.  It is important to review the assessment in case anything changes in the system.

Implementing simple, proportionate and appropriate control measures will ensure the risk remains low.  For most domestic hot and cold water systems, temperature is the most reliable way of ensuring the risk of exposure to Legionella bacteria is minimised i.e. keep the hot water hot, cold water cold, keep the water moving and keeping the water system clean.

Reviewing your risk assessment

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The law does not prescribe that the risk assessment be reviewed on an annual or biennial basis. It is important to review the assessment periodically in case anything changes but where there are difficulties gaining access to occupied housing units, appropriate checks can be made by carrying out inspections of the water system, for example, when undertaking mandatory visits such as gas safety checks, routine maintenance visits or if there is a change of landlord. The frequency of review is dependent on the risk assessment findings and also can be in agreement with the client.  

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Are domestic properties proactively inspected?

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HSE and Local Authority inspectors do not proactively inspect domestic premises or ask for evidence that landlords have undertaken a risk assessment. However, if a tenant were to contract Legionnaires’ disease from the water system in their home, the landlord may be liable to prosecution under HSWA, and would have to demonstrate to a court that they had fulfilled their legal duty, so it is important that they assess and control the risks.

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This specific service is designed to analyze, confront, and solve your business needs. I provide customized solutions to all of my clients, and am an extremely results-oriented professional. I will work with you throughout the entire decision-making process and guarantee success. Contact me to find out how I can help today.

About what we do

Vast experience has come from previous roles with various large UK and multinational consultancies. Consultancy has been provided in over 40 countries worldwide up to UKAS accreditation (highest accreditation) for undertaking legionella risk assessments and consultancy, combined with the fact that the UK is the world leader in prevention and control of legionella provides us with the competency to provide the best guidance for our clients.  Our consultant is fully trained, competent and highly experienced and will provide you with a suitable and compliant risk assessment or audit. We can also provide general awareness training, responsible persons training and any type of required bespoke training. This ensures any advice given is accurate and complies with UK legislation and guidance. 

For domestic properties. estate agents are beginning to undertake legionella assessments for their domestic landlords, however staff are not trained or competent and can not provide this level of expertise. If someone does contract legionnaire's disease in one of your properties, would you be comfortable defending yourself in a court of law when questioned on your decision to use your current contractor.  We have a number of estate agents now using my services to ensure compliance for their clients and ensure to satisfy some landlord insurance policies.

Legionella risk assessments are a legal requirements for most properties and those smaller properties that fall outside of this criteria still have a duty of care to keep people safe inline with current legislation. Following a risk assessment, guidance will be given on how to manage your water systems to minimise bacterial growth. This guidance is not mandatory however the guidance has special legal status which can be used to prosecute, if you fail to act upon the guidance. Fines are unlimited. 

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Experience

Degree in Evirinmental Geology (2002-2005)

Masters of Geo-Sciences (2006)

15+ years’ experience in Legionella Management and Control.

Expert knowledge of ACoP L8 (2013) and HSG274 part 1, 2 and 3.

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Extensive experience undertaking domestic water and cooling tower risk assessments/Audits in the UK and internationally including Pakistan, USA, Canada, Japan, India, Malaysia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Oman, Kathmandu, Rwanda, Sudan, Egypt and Algeria

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BOHS training P900, P901, P903, P904

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City of Guilds trained for cooling towers

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Full Senior Member of the Water Management Society (WMSoc Snr)

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WMSoc training for undertaking risk assessment of water systems.

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Asbestos awareness

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Manual Handling , Working at Height, Confined Spaces, Ladder Training and Harness training