Is there such a thing as a legionella certificate?

Not in law. HSE says health and safety law does not require landlords to obtain or produce a legionella test certificate. Anyone insisting on one is asking for something that does not exist as a legal document.

What is the difference between a test and a risk assessment?

A test sends a water sample to a laboratory and reports what was in it on that day. A risk assessment looks at the system itself: the temperatures, the stored water, the outlets that are rarely used, and whether bacteria could grow. The assessment is what the law asks for.

How much does a landlord legionella assessment cost?

A firm that visits charges roughly £75 to £150. Doing it yourself with DwellFlow costs £20 a property including VAT, and takes thirty minutes to an hour.

What does the assessment have to record?

How the water is stored and heated, a temperature at every outlet, anything that could let bacteria grow, what will be done about each finding and by when, and the written scheme of control.

For landlords

Do I need a legionella test for a rented property?

No. HSE says testing is not usually required for domestic hot and cold water systems, and there is no legionella certificate in law. What a landlord needs is a risk assessment: a look at how the water is stored, heated and used, written down.

Where the confusion comes from

Someone told you that you need a certificate.

Usually a letting agent, sometimes a website selling one. HSE is unusually direct about it: “health and safety law does not require landlords to obtain or produce a ‘legionella test certificate’.” The duty is to assess and control the risk. A certificate is a piece of paper somebody sells; an assessment is a thing you do and record.

The same page says testing “is not usually required for domestic hot and cold water systems.” A laboratory sample tells you what was in the water on one day. It cannot tell you that the cylinder is set to 45 °C, that the en-suite has not been run since March, or that the loft tank has no lid. Those are the things that grow legionella, and those are what an assessment finds.

Both lines are on HSE’s page on legionella and landlords’ responsibilities.

What you actually need

A risk assessment, competently done, and a record.

Health and safety law requires a landlord to assess and control the risk of exposure of tenants to legionella. For most houses and flats HSE says “a simple assessment may show there are no real risks and these are being properly managed so no further action is needed.” Simple does not mean a form with ticks on it. It means proportionate to the system: short for a combi flat, longer for a house with a tank and a cylinder.

Temperatures, measured. Hot water stored at 60 °C; 50 °C at the tap within a minute; cold below 20 °C within two. A probe thermometer in the water, not a guess.
Stored water, looked at. A tank with a lid, clean and insulated; a cylinder that gets hot enough; nothing that stands still for weeks.
Outlets that are rarely used, and what will be done about them: flushed weekly, or removed.
A photograph beside each finding, a recommendation with the guidance clause it comes from and a date, and the written scheme of control that ACoP L8 also asks for.
A record, kept while the assessment is current and after, and reviewed when the system, its use or the occupants change.

Who does it, and what it costs

A visit costs £75 to £150. Doing it yourself costs £20.

Firms that send someone out charge from about £75 for a small flat to £150 or more, often for fifteen minutes and a photocopied sheet. HSE expects most landlords to be able to assess a simple domestic system themselves, and the part they lacked was the knowledge and the write-up.

DwellFlow gives you both. Your phone asks the questions at the property, you take the readings and the photographs, and the AI does the write-up: press submit and the assessment, a sheet for your tenant and the written scheme of control are produced, with the guidance clause under every recommendation. Thirty minutes to an hour, £20 a property including VAT, and a probe thermometer is the only thing to buy.

Questions landlords ask

Short answers.

Do I need a legionella test for a rented property? No. HSE says testing is not usually required for domestic hot and cold water systems. A landlord needs a legionella risk assessment, which looks at how the water is stored, heated and used, and a record of it.
Is there such a thing as a legionella certificate? Not in law. HSE says health and safety law does not require landlords to obtain or produce a legionella test certificate. Anyone insisting on one is asking for something that does not exist as a legal document.
What is the difference between a test and a risk assessment? A test sends a water sample to a laboratory and reports what was in it on that day. A risk assessment looks at the system itself: the temperatures, the stored water, the outlets that are rarely used, and whether bacteria could grow. The assessment is what the law asks for.
How much does a landlord legionella assessment cost? A firm that visits charges roughly £75 to £150. Doing it yourself with DwellFlow costs £20 a property including VAT, and takes thirty minutes to an hour.
What does the assessment have to record? How the water is stored and heated, a temperature at every outlet, anything that could let bacteria grow, what will be done about each finding and by when, and the written scheme of control.

Do I need a legionella test for a rented property?

Someone told you that you need a certificate.

A risk assessment, competently done, and a record.

A visit costs £75 to £150. Doing it yourself costs £20.

See what an assessment looks like.

Short answers.

Do the assessment, not the test.