Free · Validity guide · Great Britain
How often do you need a legionella risk assessment?
No fixed expiry
A legionella risk assessment has no expiry date. HSE says the law does not require an annual or two-yearly review, only a periodic one and a fresh look when anything changes. Landlords must assess the risk, but a legionella test or certificate is not required.
Work out your next legionella risk assessment re-check
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HSE: the law does not prescribe an annual or two-yearly review. We preselect 2 years only as a planning reminder. Review sooner after any change to the water system, a long empty period or a change of occupants.
Enter a date to see when the next re-check is due, how many days are left, and to add reminders to your calendar.
Who needs a legionella risk assessment
Landlords of residential property, and employers or anyone in control of premises with water systems. For an ordinary rented home with a simple hot and cold water system, HSE says most landlords can assess the risk themselves without professional training. Premises with cooling towers or evaporative condensers have further duties, including notifying the local authority.
What happens if you miss a re-check
- There is no expiry date to miss. What matters is whether the assessment still describes the system and whether the risk is controlled.
- If the system has changed and the assessment has not, you may not be able to show that you controlled the risk under health and safety law.
- Sampling or testing the water is not usually required for domestic hot and cold water systems. Paying for a “legionella certificate” does not replace the assessment.
How to renew
Note what has changed
A new boiler or cylinder, a removed bathroom, a long empty period, or new occupants who may be more at risk. HSE lists people over 45, smokers and heavy drinkers, and people with chronic respiratory or kidney disease or a weakened immune system.
Check temperatures
HSE says stored hot water should be at 60°C, and hot outlets should reach at least 50°C within one minute of running.
Look for stagnant water
Secure the lids on any cold water tanks and remove redundant pipework where water can sit.
Flush before a new let
Run the system through before tenants move in, especially after the property has been empty.
Brief the tenants
Ask them not to turn down the hot water temperature, to clean showerheads regularly, and to tell you if hot water is not heating properly.
Write down what you did
Record the system, the risks, the controls and the date you plan to review. HSE lists a review date among the things to record.
When to book
2
weeks
If you do the review yourself, block out time about 2 weeks ahead, or book a contractor sooner for a larger building. Plan it before a new tenancy or after a long empty period. This is our suggestion, not a legal rule.
A simple reminder plan: 30 days, 7 days before the re-check date. The calculator above puts these in your calendar.
Evidence to keep
- The written assessment: the system description, risks, controls and review date.
- Any temperature checks and what you did about readings that were too low.
- What you told tenants about water safety.
- Employers: monitoring and inspection records. HSE says to keep them while they are current and for at least 2 years after.
Common mistakes
- Paying for water sampling in an ordinary home. HSE says testing is not usually needed.
- Believing there is a legal renewal date. There is not, which makes it easy to forget the review altogether.
- Not reviewing after a property sits empty, when water stagnates in the pipes.
- Turning hot water down to save energy without checking outlet temperatures.
When you would rather not remember
What this looks like when it runs itself
Add the date once and give it an owner. ExpiryEdge reminds them before it lapses, on the channel they actually read, and keeps the certificate and a record of who did what.
Try it with your own dates, free for 14 days, no cardExpiryEdge · Tracked item
Legionella risk assessment · 5 Orchard Street
ValidOwner
Lettings manager
Next re-check due
2 years after issue
Reminders before the re-check
30d
7d
Due
Legionella risk assessment questions, answered
The law sets no fixed interval. HSE says it does not prescribe an annual or two-yearly review. You should review it periodically and whenever something changes, such as new plumbing or a long empty period.
No. HSE says health and safety law does not require landlords to obtain or produce a legionella test certificate. What the law expects is that you assess and control the risk.
Yes. HSE says most landlords can assess the risk themselves and do not need to be trained or accredited. If you do not feel competent, you can ask someone else to do it.
Not usually. HSE says testing or sampling is not usually required for domestic hot and cold water systems.
Only employers with 5 or more employees have a legal duty to record the findings. HSE still advises landlords to keep a record of what was done.
Sources
Every rule on this page comes from these official sources.
1.
Legionella and landlords’ responsibilitiesHSE · hse.gov.uk · checked 28 Sep 2026
2.
Legionnaires’ disease: a brief guide for dutyholders (INDG458)HSE · hse.gov.uk · checked 28 Sep 2026
3.
Legionnaires’ disease: what you must do, reviewing what you doHSE · hse.gov.uk · checked 28 Sep 2026
Guidance, not legal advice. This covers Great Britain and reflects the sources as checked on 28 Sep 2026. Check the official source or take professional advice for your situation.