Q: We are a development of 40 flats arranged over three floors and like many others we have the ground and first floors flats’ cold water tank in the roof space in the communal stairwell (the top floor flat has its tank in the loft space above the flat ). Each flat has a hot water cylinder in the confines of the flat itself.
Because the tanks are sited in the communal space, do we as the management company have to do a risk assessment or any tests for Legionnaires’ Disease? From the current information available the infection can only thrive in temperatures of 20-32 degrees and a cold water tank it is never likely to reach that temperature. So do we even need to bother to do any risk assessments or just do one which considers the risk but rules it out in the first instance because of the temperature aspect?
FPRA Chairman Bob Smytherman replies:
The simple answer is yes, as risk assessment will be required as this is a ‘communal’ supply.
As you say, being a cold water supply the risk is likely to be low. However you will need to document and evidence this. My advice would be to seek a specialist in the first instance to provide the risk assessment and then in future, probably annually, (unless circumstances change) just carry out a simple review and document this fact.
The tanks are sited in ‘communal areas’ which are the responsibility of the management company to carry out a risk assessment. It may be that assessment highlights some issues with responsibility? I think you need a legal view on the issue of responsibility of these individual tanks being present in a communal area? Let the office know if you would like our legal officer to review the lease to identify responsibility.