Understanding obligations for landlords can be challenging, and can cover things like property condition and repairs, paperwork, administration and premises safety.
In this industry spotlight, we will focus on safety related topics for Landlords of residential properties:
- Gas safety
- Electrical safety
- Fire safety
- Safety from Legionella hazards
Gas safety
Gas supplies and equipment must be installed and maintained by a Gas Safe registered engineer to ensure they remain safe in use.
Checks on gas appliances and flues must be carried out every 12 months.
Landlords must retain up-to-date gas safety records, copies of which must be issued to new tenants, or provided to existing tenants within 28 days of the safety check being undertaken.
Electrical safety
All electrical appliances provided to tenants, must carry ‘CE’ marking showing that the item meets EU requirements for safety.
Electrical installations must be safe for when the tenants move in, and must be maintained in a safe condition throughout the course of their tenancy.
Electrical installations may include mains wiring, socket outlets, light fittings and switchgear, small kitchen appliances and washing machines, etc.
It is recommended that electrical safety testing is carried out at least every 5 years or on change of tenancy.
An Electrical Installation Condition Report will be issued by a registered electrician upon successful inspection of the electrical installations in the property. This is also known as a ‘periodic inspection’ and is sometimes referred to as an ‘electrical safety certificate’ or a ‘fixed wiring inspection certificate’.
This report should be supplied to tenants upon request.
Fire safety
To help ensure tenants safety in respect of fire, the Regulatory Reforn Fire Safety Order (FSO) 2005, places certain legal obligations and duties on the ‘responsible person’.
One of these duties is to ensure that a fire risk assessment is undertaken for all common areas of the property, including shared hallways and corridors, stairways and entrances/exits, and shared access bathrooms and kitchens.
The ‘Responsible person’ is “the person who has control of the premises in connection with the carrying out of a trade, business or other undertaking”.
In practice this will usually be the landlord, but in the case of absentee landlords where the “carrying on of the business” is undertaken by a managing agent, it may be the managing agent.
A suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment must be carried out on each property that is NOT a single private dwelling. We can help in determining if your property is subject to the Fire Safety Order and therefore requires a fire risk assessment.
The fire risk assessment should comprise of 5 key stages:
- Identify the fire risks (e.g. furnishings, blocked stairways or faulty electrics).
- Consider who is at risk (e.g. the tenants and their visitors).
- Implement appropriate control measures (e.g. improving and maintaining escape routes, installing smoke detectors, alarms, etc.).
- Record the findings of the risk assessment.
- Review and update the risk assessment regularly (e.g. when a new tenant moves in or the building layout is altered)
Landlords should also use appropriate fire safety signage to help tenants know what to do, and where to go in the event of fire. This includes signs indicating the location of fire exits, assembly points, fire alarms, extinguishers and any other fire-fighting equipment.
Signage must be clear and understandable by everyone living in the building.
A fire action notice detailing the actions to be taken in case of fire should be placed prominently in a common part of the building, such as the entrance hall.
A smoke alarm should be provided on each storey of a property and a carbon monoxide alarm should be provided in any room containing a solid fuel burning appliance.
All furniture and furnishings supplied should be fire safe, and made from fire resistant materials
In order to provide a facility for extinguishing small fires in their early stages, a simple multi-purpose extinguisher is recommended on each floor in the common parts of HMOs (Houses of multiple occupancy) and buildings containing flats. It will not usually be practical to train tenants in the use of these, but basic advice should be offered at the start of each new tenancy.
Safety from Legionella hazards
Landlords have a legal duty to ensure all water systems within their premises are correctly operated and maintained so as to control the risk from legionella bacteria.
Legionella bacteria may be found in any water system between 20 – 45° C, such as hot/cold water tanks, pipework, and air conditioning units. The risk can be reduced if hot water is kept hot, cold water is kept cold and if the water system is kept free of impurities such as rust and scale and is used regularly to prevent stagnation.
A legionella risk assessment should be undertaken, where there is a risk of legionella. As with any other form of risk assessment, this will comprise of 5 key steps:
- Identify the risks (e.g. check water temperatures).
- Consider who is at risk (e.g. the tenants and their visitors).
- Implement appropriate control measures (e.g. keeping water hot and removing impurities).
- Record the findings of the risk assessment.
- Review and update the risk assessment regularly (e.g. annually or if changes are made to the water system within the property).
Roger Broadbent, Health and Safety Consultant
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