A Legionella risk assessment is a legal duty for every landlord, not an optional extra. We carry yours out across Birmingham and the West Midlands, AIIC-accredited and fully insured, and we hand you clear proof the job was done properly.
Legionnaires' disease is a serious form of pneumonia. It can be fatal. You catch it by breathing in tiny droplets of contaminated water, the kind a shower or a spray tap throws into the air without you noticing. The bug behind it, Legionella, can grow in any hot or cold water system. It likes still water, stored water, and water sitting at the wrong temperature. Roughly 20°C to 45°C is its comfort zone. Older tenants, anyone with a lung condition, anyone with a weak immune system: those are the people most at risk. That's the whole reason this law exists. And that's why it lands on you, the landlord, not the tenant.
If you let a property, you have a legal duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and COSHH 2002 to assess and control the risk of Legionella in the water system. The HSE's Approved Code of Practice, ACoP L8, and its technical guidance, HSG274, spell out how. They aren't law on their own. But a court treats following them as proof you did your job, and treats ignoring them as something you'll have to explain.
That duty sits with you as the person in control of the property. If a managing agent runs it, the responsibility can sit with them instead. Either way, a competent person has to own it.
Now, in my experience, nine times out of ten the risk in a normal domestic let is low. Water gets used, it turns over, and Legionella never gets a foothold. But low risk is not the same as no duty.
Picture the worst case. A tenant catches Legionnaires' from the water in your property. You're now standing in front of a court being asked to prove you assessed and controlled the risk. No assessment, no proof. That's the gap that catches good landlords out.
And it isn't small money. One housing provider was fined £900,000 after vulnerable residents were exposed to contaminated water. That's the extreme end, granted. But the duty behind it is exactly the same whether you've got one flat in Stechford or fifty across the West Midlands.
Want the plain-English version of who needs one and why? Read the landlord Legionella duty explained.
A proper landlord Legionella risk assessment is a survey of the property's water system, plus a written record of what we found and what to do about it.
Here's what's covered:
That written record is the bit people underrate. It's evidence. It's the document that says you took this seriously, sitting on file ready for an insurer, an adjudicator or a court. There's no legal rule on how long to keep it, but the sensible move is a rolling file for each property.
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The assessment is the start, not the whole job. The good news is that most of what keeps a domestic system safe is simple. Here's the short version worth knowing:
We're AIIC-accredited and fully insured, and our assessments are independent. That independence is the whole point. An impartial report, documented properly and written in line with HSE guidance, is the thing that actually stands up when it's questioned.
We're also straight with you. We won't push water sampling, a monitoring contract, or testing your property doesn't need, because most domestic systems don't need any of it. You get an honest assessment, the right controls, and proof on record.
And if you're a portfolio landlord or an agent, that's one provider handling Legionella across every property, to one standard, with one number to call.
Some properties carry more risk than others. These are the ones where bringing us in pays for itself:
There's no single price, and any honest assessor will tell you the same. It depends on the property: the size, how complex the water system is, whether it's an HMO, and how many properties you need covering. A straightforward single let is quick and inexpensive. A large HMO with stored water takes longer, so it costs a bit more. What you won't pay for is a certificate that doesn't exist, or testing your property doesn't need. Tell us about the property and we'll give you a straight quote.
Ready when you are
Legionella is the kind of thing that's invisible right up until it isn't. Get it done properly, get it on record, and stop carrying the risk yourself. We cover Birmingham, Solihull, Coventry, Warwickshire and the wider West Midlands. So if you've been searching for a Legionella risk assessment near you, you're already on our patch.
It's a survey of a property's hot and cold water systems to work out where Legionella could grow, who could be exposed, and what controls are needed. It ends in a written record with an action plan. For most domestic properties it's straightforward.
By breathing in tiny droplets of contaminated water, for example from a shower or spray tap. It's a serious form of pneumonia. Older people and those with weaker immune systems or lung conditions are most at risk.
Yes. Landlords have a legal duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and COSHH 2002 to assess and control the risk of Legionella in their property's water system. It can be simple for a straightforward property, but it has to be done.
The duty holder, which is normally you as the landlord, or your managing agent if they run the property. Whoever does it has to be competent, whether that's you or a professional you appoint.
No. There's no such thing as a legal Legionella certificate, and the HSE has confirmed it. No test certificate is required for a normal domestic let. You need a risk assessment kept on record. If an agent tells you otherwise, they're mistaken.
There's no fixed legal interval. The accepted standard is to review it at least every two years, and sooner if anything changes, for example a new tenancy, work on the water system, or a long void. Higher-risk properties like HMOs are often reviewed more frequently.
Usually no, and that's the honest answer. Testing or sampling isn't normally required for domestic hot and cold water systems. Temperature control and a proper assessment are what keep the risk down. We only recommend testing where it's genuinely warranted.
It depends on the property: its size, how complex the water system is, whether it's an HMO, and how many properties you need covered. A straightforward single let is quick and inexpensive. Tell us about it and we'll give you a straight quote.
You can, if you're competent to do it on a simple property. Most landlords and agents have us do it for the documented, accredited proof, and to take the liability and the legwork off their plate.
Birmingham and the wider West Midlands, including Solihull, Coventry, Warwickshire, Staffordshire and Worcestershire.
