Who is responsible?
Contract agreements and relationships between tenants and landlords differ across portfolios. Some landlords prefer to take responsibility for all hot and cold water services throughout a building and therefore will be the responsible person for the maintenance of the water services regarding Legionella management. Where tenants add services (i.e. showers), these will typically fall under their responsibility to manage them unless specifically agreed with the landlord to be incorporated into their scheme of management.
If there are cold water storage tanks, under the landlord responsibility, but the outlets are within the tenant demise, it is the landlords’ duty to inspect, maintain and temperature check the stored water. Further to this, the landlord should be carrying out monthly temperature checks of sentinel outlets (nearest and furthest from the water source), as a minimum, to demonstrate that the water is being supplied at recommended temperatures. This should also be carried out if the landlords’ central hot water systems are supplying tenanted areas.
What is the tenant responsibility?
As tenants, it is their responsibility to maintain the water services within their demise as detailed in ‘Legionnaires’ disease - The control of legionella bacteria in the water system, (L8)’. Tenants should have a suitable and sufficient Legionella risk assessment for any water services they have installed in addition to the landlord systems. A written scheme should be implemented on site, detailing all necessary control measures required for effective legionella management.
It is important to note that the general maintenance and cleanliness of the tenants’ systems and outlets can impact on the entire building system, so it is extremely important to ensure that appropriate regimes are in place.
This guide is of a general nature; specific advice can be obtained from Assurity Consulting.
Assurity Consulting is the UK's leading independent compliance consultancy specialising in workplace health, safety and environmental solutions. We have over 35 years' experience of helping customers of all sizes, from across all sectors, manage their compliance responsibilities, making sure that their organisation is compliant, their employees are safe, their processes are cost effective and their management team is in control.
