There’s nothing more important than a safe and secure home. For that reason, it’s essential for you to ensure your residents’ living space stays protected and secure at all times.
Your block’s property health and safety requirements fall under property management. As a form of risk management, the property owner (you) has to ensure all the necessary property health and safety measures are in place. Likewise, block managers need to look after a block’s health and safety requirements by taking the necessary precautions and covering all types of risks in compliance with the UK’s laws. The various assessments for evaluating and mitigating risks cover health, safety, and fire risks, lift inspections, asbestos surveys, and fire/smoke detection systems.
As a property management firm, Habitare takes matters of property management in health and safety very seriously. Our processes follow the highest standards of protection for your property whilst adhering to the legal and regulatory requirements. In this blog, we explore the role of property management in matters of property health and safety.
Is Property Health and Safety a Legal Requirement?
Property owners, landlords, and residents must comply with various statutory safety and health requirements for their premises. This responsibility either falls solely on the owner or the resident or is shared between them.
The Building Safety Act (2022) is the legislation governing the safety and protection of residential buildings and properties in the UK. The recent updates to this act place more emphasis on building owners and their responsibilities towards residential safety.
Under this act, all building and property owners need to:
- Register with the Building Safety Regulator (BSR)
- Carry out regular safety inspections
- Comply with the statutory safety measures
Not complying with these laws could result in fines, penalties, or criminal proceedings. It may also affect the image and reputation of your block or property.
Why Are Health and Safety Regulations Important in Property Management?
It’s essential that you understand the impact of health and safety risks in your property. Taking all the necessary precautions and measures can ensure you continue providing a safe and secure living environment without the risk of exposing your tenants to health hazards and preventable accidents, and without unwanted damage to your property.
This is where property management firms like Habitare step in. Our property management experts coordinate with property owners and block managers to deliver inspections and maintenance checks and take the necessary measures to ensure your property is legally and statutorily compliant with the health and safety norms. Contact us to learn how we can help you with property health and safety matters.
What Are the Essential Property Health and Safety Areas to Check?
Fire Risk and Safety
Fire safety and risk in all types of residential properties are covered by The Housing Act 2004, the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm Regulations 2015, the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, and the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire Safety) Regulations 1988/89, 1993, 2010.
Under these legislations, the necessary steps to be taken are as follows:
- Ensure all electrical and gas appliances are in working order and have the kitemark and gas register symbols.
- One smoke alarm should be present on every building level
- One carbon monoxide alarm should be present in the building
- Conduct a yearly check of all appliances
- Carry out timely fire risk assessments
All property managers are legally responsible for ensuring fire risk assessments are duly carried out. Habitare’s expert-led services assist block managers and property managers can handle this task on your behalf. If you’re unhappy with your existing property management services, here’s how to switch to Habitare.
Health Hazards
The local council refers to the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) when inspecting your property for safety and health hazards. They monitor the housing conditions of owner-occupied properties and privately rented flats or apartments. An environmental health officer checks for health hazards from chemicals and metals like asbestos and lead, and infestations such as mould and legionella (for common tanks, pumps, and fountains).
Lifts
Lifts are one of the most important communal living amenities in an apartment complex or block of flats. Alongside the required regular maintenance, lifts also need to be assessed for risks every six months to prevent unintentional mishaps and accidents that could affect the safety of residents.
In addition to lift repair and maintenance, Habitare takes charge of ensuring your lift functioning complies with regulatory standards.
Contact Habitare for All Property Health and Safety Matters
The key to avoiding preventable risks and hazards to your property is keeping all the property health and safety measures in check. Habitare’s team of experts have extensive experience in ensuring your property ticks all the checkboxes when it comes to residential safety and health.
When you partner with us, we’ll provide property management services that ensure you reduce the risks of injuries, limit property damage, build protection against insurance claims, stay compliant with legal and regulatory requirements, and create a safe living environment for all your tenants.
We can also help you with financial management, contractor management, and hiring on-staff, for the smooth functioning of your block.
Get in touch with us to get a professional health and safety risk assessment for your residential property.