Risk assessment

[jase222]

Hi I have 6 2-3 bed houses and some are managed by a local agent on a English ast, I recieved a email asking to do a fire and risk assessment on them.

I don't believe I am required to do them but he is using the argument as a business he has to safeguard himself this is the first I have heard anything even tho I been a landlord for 25years

I have looked everywhere for any answer so does anyone know or direct me somwwhere

Many thanks

[JK0]

I would tell him he is free to do that as part of his management duty, but you are not going to pay him any extra money for it.

[leaseholder64]

Are they being let as single family homes? If not, you need a fire risk assessment under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order.

Otherwise, you have to ensure they are safe under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS).

In both cases, the person making the assessment only needs to be competent to understand the safety risks. However, particularly for HMO type situations, it is too easy to over or under engineer solutions if you don't use a specialist

[jpkeates]

I don't believe I am required to do them but he is using the argument as a business he has to safeguard himself this is the first I have heard anything even tho I been a landlord for 25years

As per JKO, I would allow him to set his mind at ease, but don't see why I should pay anything to benefit his peace of mind.

[leaseholder64]

I'd therefore say that the agent has to do some sort of risk assessment, otherwise they could be at civil and criminal risk, so you need to look at the contract to see whether it allows them to charge for professional services in such contexts, or whether it should be included in the price, and consider whether they could safely use assessments prepared by the property owner.