Free legionella training for letting agents and property managers

The duty is the landlord’s. The questions come to the agent.

Landlords “have a legal duty to ensure that the risk of exposure of tenants to legionella is properly assessed and controlled”, and using an agent does not move that duty. HSE’s technical guidance, HSG274 Part 2, adds that where a managing or letting agent is used, the management contract should clearly specify who has responsibility for maintenance and safety checks, including legionella.

So an agency needs two kinds of people to understand legionella. The staff who talk to landlords need to explain the duty correctly: no certificate is required, and a simple assessment can be enough. The staff who visit properties need to know what they are looking at in the airing cupboard and the loft. This legionella training for letting agents does both, and it is only about domestic properties.

Free legionella awareness training. Not a qualification.

• Free. No payment, no sign-in, no email address asked for.
• Online, at your own pace. Watch, listen or read, on a phone or a computer.
• Only about domestic properties. Houses and flats that are let, in England, Scotland and Wales.
• Checked against HSE. Each lesson lists the HSE documents it came from.
• Not accredited, and no certificate. It does not, by itself, make anyone competent. HSE’s code of practice says competence comes from training, instruction, experience and knowledge together. The course is the knowledge.

Short answers.

• Do letting agents need legionella training? No qualification is required by law. HSE’s code of practice asks that whoever carries out the risk assessment is competent: that they understand where legionella could grow, the precautions and how to keep them working. Staff who inspect properties, and staff who advise landlords, both need that knowledge.
• Is the letting agent responsible for the legionella risk assessment? The legal duty is the landlord’s. HSE guidance says the management contract should clearly specify who is responsible for maintenance and safety checks, including legionella. If your agreement says the agency arranges it, the agency arranges it.
• Can our own inspector or inventory clerk do the assessment? Yes, if they do it competently. HSE says most landlords can assess the risk themselves, or can arrange for someone to do it on their behalf. The course gives your inspector the knowledge; it does not by itself make anyone competent.
• Is this legionella awareness training accredited? No. It is free, it is not accredited and there is no certificate or pass mark. Every figure in it is checked against HSE’s own guidance, and each lesson lists the documents it came from.
• Does it cover blocks, offices or commercial property? No. It covers houses and flats let as homes, including houses in multiple occupation and holiday lets with ordinary domestic plumbing. Commercial buildings need more than this course teaches.

Related: What a letting agent is responsible for · DwellFlow for letting agents · Legionella risk assessments for HMOs

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