Belinda Thorpe, MD of Residentsline looks at the primary concerns for all those looking after buildings.
Health and Safety is a primary concern for all residential (as well as commercial) buildings. This includes your block of flats – should any accidents happen, steps will normally be taken to judge whether the reason behind the accident could have been prevented. This means that those in charge of the maintenance of the block, i.e. the Residents’ Management Company (RMC) or Right to Manage (RTM) Company, could be held accountable. Health and safety standards are of the utmost importance to the successful running of a block of flats, and when these standards are broken, it can lead to serious consequences.
Who is responsible?
The RMC are responsible for anybody they choose to employ on either a part-time, full-time or casual basis. However, this responsibility also extends to anybody visiting the property, meaning RMC’s need to be incredibly vigilant in their efforts to maintain sufficient health and safety checks, reviews, attention to requirements and documentation of the same.
According to Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, risk assessments must be carried out to ensure that the property is safe for any contractors or workers, meaning it is very important for RMC’s to be aware of their obligations. If you are unsure as to the full extent of your responsibilities, you can contact your local authority to find out more. Flat Living has an assessment and audit guide available to purchase online.
Keeping employees safe
In a block of flats, working at height is inevitable. However, it can also be very dangerous. To ensure proper health and safety standards are maintained at all times, the RMC must ensure the following steps are addressed to ensure the health and safety of all employees:
- All work at height is properly planned and organised.
- Those involved in work at height are competent.
- The risks from work at height are assessed and appropriate work equipment is selected and used.
- The risks from fragile surfaces are properly controlled.
- Equipment for work at height is properly maintained and inspected.
Slips, trips and hazards
It is important to remember that maintenance and health and safety standards often go hand-in-hand. Most health and safety-related accidents are a result of a slip or trip and can be very serious. Now, whilst RMC’s cannot be liable for mere clumsiness, they must ensure that they are doing everything they can so as not to cause somebody to fall. This means ensuring that pathways, rooms, corridors, halls, driveways, roads and courtyards etc. are clear of any debris or tripping hazards, as well as any spillages.
Tripping hazards could be defined as anything from rickety stairs or a misplaced box to broken handrails and insecure carpets. For outside the premises, branches and rocks must be removed from footpaths, and trees must be maintained to avoid injury (especially following severe weather). It is also important to note that loose tiles may pose a risk to anybody using the outdoor area or walking past.
In a similar way, poor lighting can contribute to accidental falls, slips or trips. Thus, it is crucial to ensure that pathways, corridors or outside areas are always lit properly to allow residents or visitors to properly navigate their way around the premises. These issues must be addressed as soon as possible by the RMC, as they can become very difficult situations if not handled with care.
Fire Safety
Since 1st October 2006, every block of flats is legally required to undertake a fire safety risk assessment. Again, this applies to common parts, not to the inside of any flats and is an obligation on the landlord. Fire Officers will be able to enter any block of flats to inspect, ask to see the risk assessment and issue enforcement notices to improve fire safety should the need arise.
Electrical Equipment Safety
If electrical equipment is supplied by the landlord or agent to say a cleaner, then it must be regularly tested and properly maintained.
A visual inspection and a more formal test should be carried out at the intervals recommended by the Institution of Engineering and Technology.
Legionella
Legionella is a bacterium commonly found in water systems. Infection can result in Legionnaires’ disease, which can be fatal. Keeping the risks of Legionella at bay are crucial to the health of the block, and every step should be taken to ensure contamination is avoided.
Once again, the landlord or agent of a block of flats has a duty to control the risks of Legionella in any pipes, tanks and taps in common parts (including a cleaner’s cupboard).
Cold water tanks, taps and showers within lessees’ flats are the responsibility of the lessees, unless the lease places repairing responsibility for them on the landlord.
The starting point to ensuring health and safety measures are upheld is a risk assessment, usually carried out by an expert. If any risks are identified, then a written action plan should be produced to reduce the risks.
An annual review of the risk assessment should also be made.
Do we need an asbestos report?
The short answer to this question is likely to be yes. If your building was built before the year 2000 then it almost certainly should have an asbestos survey completed to allow you to comply with the Control of Asbestos Regulations.
Currently between 3,500 and 4,000 die every year from asbestos-related diseases. By the year 2020 it has been predicted that 625,000 deaths directly related to asbestos exposure will have occurred.
The disturbance of asbestos-containing materials (ACM) is still occurring but all these incidents and the exposures they cause are avoidable by ensuring that the asbestos is not disturbed.
According to Regulation 4 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations (CAR 2006), if you own, occupy, manage or have responsibility for property, you have a legal duty to assess and manage the risk from ACM.
You must take reasonable steps to identify ACM, if necessary, by presuming the presence of asbestos until proven otherwise.
Where asbestos is located you are required to keep an Asbestos Register which lists where ACM are present, highlight the risks posed and make recommendations.
More often than not, the ACM can remain in situ if it remains undisturbed.
Find out more with advice from 4site Consulting about asbestos.
Signage
For any Residents’ Management Company (RMC) that employs staff, (for example, cleaners etc.) the installation of safety signs is part of their legal responsibility to ensure their employees’ and the general public’s health, safety and welfare at work.
Safety signs are required to alert people to the hazards around them and to show safe working procedures.
There are a number of styles of safety signs. The use of a certain type depends on the message that the sign carries.
Green Signs can either tell people the location of certain safety equipment, like first aid equipment, and where fire exits are located.
Red Signs are used solely to show the location of fire extinguishers and other fire safety equipment.
Blue Circles give orders: you need to do whatever is written on the sign. In blocks of flats, a prime example would be a fire action notice.
Red Circles with a diagonal line through show that you cannot do whatever is shown on the sign. For example, no smoking signs.
Yellow Triangles are used to make people aware of something that is dangerous, for example asbestos.
Many places of work now require health and safety signs by law. Signs are used to ensure that they are “multi-lingual”, so that they can be quickly understood without worrying about language barriers.
Property Owners and Employers Liability Insurance
Poor health and safety standards can very easily lead to accidents taking place within your block of flats. This, in turn, can very easily lead to claims being made against the RMC. Should any situation escalate to this point, it is wise to have legal protection in place to protect the RMC against any claims.
Specialist Flats Insurance policies will normally cover Property Owners Liability, and Employers Liability Insurance. Check your policy to make sure you are protected.
Residentsline’s Flats Insurance Policy automatically provides Property Owners Liability and Employers Liability at £10,000,000. For more information or a quotation, please call us on 0800 281 235, or visit our website at www.residentsline.co.uk.
