A legionella risk assessment app for rented homes.

Five steps, on the phone in your hand.

• 1. Open it on your phone. Any phone or tablet with a camera and a web browser. There is nothing to install. Start free; no card is asked for.
• 2. Answer one question at a time. At the property, the app asks what is there: how the water comes in, where it is stored, how it is heated, and each room in turn. The questions follow the house you are standing in.
• 3. Take the readings and the photographs. A temperature at every tap and shower with a probe thermometer, and a photograph of what you find. You are asked what you can see and measure, never whether something is a risk.
• 4. The AI checks it while you are still there. It reads the whole survey and asks about anything that does not hang together, so a second visit is not needed.
• 5. The AI writes the report. The risk assessment, a sheet for the tenant and the written scheme of control, with a drawing of the water system and the guidance behind every recommendation.

Everything saves on the phone as you go, so it works with no signal. Only submitting at the end needs a connection. For fourteen days after you start, you can reopen the survey, change it and issue the report again at no extra cost. How it works, step by step.

Seven things a legionella risk assessment app should do.

Judge any app against these, including ours.

• It records readings, not ticks. HSE says to look for water between 20 °C and 45 °C, where legionella grows. An app that lets you tick "hot water satisfactory" has not found out. It should ask for the temperature at each outlet.
• It takes a photograph beside each finding. So the record shows what was there on the day.
• It tells you why. Each recommendation should name the guidance it comes from, so the landlord can see it is not somebody’s opinion.
• It gives you the routine as well as the assessment. HSE’s list of what the records should hold includes the written control scheme: what will be done, week to week, to keep the risk down. Many apps stop at the assessment.
• It works with no signal. Tanks are in lofts and stopcocks are in cellars. An app that needs a connection to save an answer will lose them.
• It keeps the record and reminds you. HSE says to review the assessment periodically and when anything changes. The app should hold the date and tell you when it comes.
• It is built for the building you have. Software written for cooling towers and hospitals asks a landlord a hundred questions that do not apply to a two-bedroom flat.

One thing no app does: go to the property for you. Somebody still has to look, measure and photograph. The app makes sure they are asked the right things and that what they find is written up properly.

Short answers.

• Is there an app for legionella risk assessments? Yes. DwellFlow is a legionella risk assessment app for rented houses and flats. You answer questions and take photographs at the property on your phone, and AI writes the report.
• Do I need to download the app? No. It runs in the web browser on any phone or tablet with a camera. There is nothing to install from an app store.
• Does the app work without a phone signal? Yes. Every answer is saved on the phone as you go, so a loft or a cellar loses nothing. Only submitting at the end needs a connection, and Wi-Fi or mobile data will do.
• Can a landlord use an app to do their own legionella risk assessment? Yes. HSE says most landlords can assess the risk themselves and do not need to be professionally trained or accredited. The app asks the questions and writes the documents; you still have to go to the property and take real readings.
• How much does a legionella risk assessment app cost? DwellFlow is free to start and £9.99 ex VAT a property for the report. There is no subscription and no charge per user.
• What do I need to use it? A phone and a digital thermometer with a probe. The survey takes thirty minutes to an hour, depending on the size and type of the water system.
• Does the app work for commercial buildings? No. DwellFlow is for domestic property only: rented houses and flats, HMOs and holiday lets. It is not for offices, care homes, hotels or anything with a cooling tower.
• Can a letting agent or a tradesperson use the app for clients? Yes. Letting agents use it on inspections, and gas engineers and plumbers use it on visits they already make. The report carries your firm’s name.

Related: How to do your own legionella risk assessment · Is a template enough? · Price