What does a completed legionella risk assessment look like?
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Key points
- A completed assessment is a description of a real system, not a form with boxes ticked: it names the premises, the duty holder, the tanks and pipework, and what was actually found on the day.
- Every finding lands in an actions table with an owner and a date — including the small ones, like the 1.2 m dead leg left behind when a washing-machine point was removed.
- The example below is illustrative, not a real property. Copy the structure, never the findings.
- A finished assessment only counts if it is kept up and acted on: review it on change or roughly every two years, and record the controls it sets in a log book.
A completed legionella risk assessment names the premises and duty holder, describes the water system as it actually is, lists the risk factors found on inspection, and turns each one into a dated action with a named owner. Below is a filled-in example for a six-flat HMO, so you can see what "good" looks like before you write your own. It is an illustrative example, not a real property.
The example property: 14 Mill Road, Bristol
Illustrative example — not a real property. 14 Mill Road is a converted Victorian terrace in Bristol, let as six self-contained flats over three floors and licensed as an HMO. It has the kind of simple hot and cold water system a small landlord typically has to assess: one cold water storage tank in the loft feeding a vented hot water cylinder in the first-floor airing cupboard, with mains cold direct to the kitchen taps. No cooling tower, no spa pool, no thermostatic mixing valves. The residents are working adults with no known vulnerability.
This is the same worked example used throughout the Pro Pack Handbook, shown here so you can judge the finished product before you buy anything.
Section 1: premises and duty holder
The opening section of the assessment fixes who is responsible and what is being assessed. If this section is vague, everything after it floats free of any legal duty.
| Field | Entry |
|---|---|
| Premises | 14 Mill Road, Bristol — six self-contained flats (HMO), three floors (illustrative example, not a real property) |
| Duty holder | The landlord, as the person in control of the premises |
| Responsible person | The landlord's managing agent, named in writing, carrying out day-to-day monitoring |
| Assessment date | 12 June 2026 |
| Assessor | The landlord (competent for a simple, low-risk system); next review by June 2028 or sooner on change |
| Water system | Mains cold to kitchen taps; ~230 litre cold water storage tank in loft feeding a 180 litre vented cylinder (first-floor airing cupboard) serving all bathrooms |
| Occupants | Six adult tenants, no known increased susceptibility |
Section 2: risk factors found
This is where the assessment earns its keep. Each finding is written as what was seen, where, and why it matters — not as a generic statement copied from guidance.
| Finding | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Dead leg, 1.2 m, ground-floor utility room. A capped-off branch left when a washing-machine point was removed during the last refit. The 1.2 m of pipe between the live cold feed and the cap holds permanently stagnant water. | A dead leg is a standing volume of water in the growth range that flushing never reaches. It can seed the live pipework it branches from. See what counts as a dead leg. |
| Hot water at 46°C at the furthest outlet. Flat 6's basin tap reached only 46°C after one minute. The cylinder thermostat was found set at 55°C, below the 60°C storage target. | Hot water should reach at least 50°C at outlets within one minute, stored at 60°C. At 46°C the water sits inside the 20–45°C growth range at the point of use. |
| Cold tank: ill-fitting lid, unscreened overflow, 21°C. The loft tank lid did not seal, the overflow had no insect screen, and the stored water measured 21°C on a mild June day. | Cold water should stay below 20°C. An open tank admits debris and insects, and a warm loft pushes stored water into the growth range. |
| Shower scale and a void flat. Scale was visible on two shower heads, and flat 2 was empty between tenancies, leaving its en-suite unused. | Scale and biofilm on shower heads shelter legionella at the outlet that produces the finest aerosol; an unused outlet stagnates within days and needs weekly flushing while void. |
| No existing records. No written scheme of control and no monitoring records existed before this assessment. | Controls that are not written down cannot be evidenced. The assessment itself becomes the first record, and everything it sets must be logged from here. |
Section 3: the actions table
Every finding converts into an action with an owner and a date. This is the part most DIY assessments skip, and it is the part that turns a description into management. Dates shown are from the illustrative example.
| Action | Owner | Target date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cut the 1.2 m dead leg back to the live cold feed and remove the capped branch | Plumber (booked) | 26 June 2026 | Open |
| Raise the cylinder thermostat to 60°C and re-check the furthest outlet reaches 50°C within one minute | Landlord | 19 June 2026 | Done 16 June 2026 |
| Fit a close-fitting tank lid and insect screen to the overflow; lag the tank | Handyman | 3 July 2026 | Open |
| Descale and disinfect both scaled shower heads and hoses; add all six to a quarterly cleaning rota | Managing agent | 1 July 2026 | Open |
| Flush flat 2's en-suite weekly while the flat is void, and log each flush | Managing agent | Weekly from 15 June 2026 | Ongoing |
| Start monthly temperature checks at sentinel outlets (nearest and furthest) and keep the log | Managing agent | From July 2026 | Ongoing |
| Review this assessment | Landlord | June 2028, or immediately on any change to the system, the building or its use | Scheduled |
Note what the table does: the biggest fix (the dead leg) and the smallest habit (logging a weekly flush) sit side by side, each with a name and a date against it. A temperature that was too low gets an action even though it was corrected the same week — the record shows the fault was found and closed. That is the difference between an assessment that manages a risk and one that merely mentions it.
Free legionella risk assessment template
A structured Word document following the five-step approach in ACOP L8. Covers risk identification, written scheme, monitoring, and records. If it isn't written down, you can't evidence it.
Follows ACoP L8 and HSG274 Part 2. Free. No spam.
What this example is — and is not
It is a model of structure and thoroughness: the level of detail that makes an assessment useful to you, defensible to an inspector, and honest to a tenant. It is not your assessment. Your building has its own tanks, its own dead legs, its own temperatures, and only a document written against your system records your risk. Start with our free template or the risk assessment builder, walk your own system, and check your own figures with the temperature checker.
The LegionellaCheck Pro Pack — £29
Everything above, as a working kit. The Pro Pack is for landlords and small duty holders assessing a simple, low-risk system themselves. It contains the 20-page Handbook (which walks through your own assessment section by section using this 14 Mill Road worked example), three editable Word documents so you fill in your own premises rather than starting from a blank page, and an Excel log book with 871 built-in formulas that flag out-of-range temperatures and missed checks for you.
It gives you the structure, the worked example and the recording system. What you write in them is yours — it records, it never certifies. A completed pack is an indicative starting point and a record of your own assessment, not proof that your system is safe or compliant.
If your system is more complex than this example — a cooling tower, a spa pool, a large building, or vulnerable occupants — a DIY pack is not the right route, and you should use a competent professional assessor. The legionella risk assessment guide explains the duty itself, and can I do my own legionella risk assessment sets out where the DIY line sits.
Free legionella risk assessment template
A structured Word document following the five-step approach in ACOP L8. Covers risk identification, written scheme, monitoring, and records. If it isn't written down, you can't evidence it.
Follows ACoP L8 and HSG274 Part 2. Free. No spam.
Frequently asked questions
Is 14 Mill Road a real property?
No. 14 Mill Road, Bristol is an illustrative example built for this page and the Pro Pack Handbook. It is not a real address, not a real landlord, and not a real assessment. We made it a six-flat HMO in a converted Victorian terrace because that is one of the most common buildings a small landlord has to assess, so the findings and actions are realistic for that kind of property. Nothing in it should be read as a record of a real building or its water system.
Can I copy this example for my own risk assessment?
You can copy the structure, but not the content. The sections, the order, and the way findings are written up are a sound model to follow. The findings themselves describe a fictional water system: your assessment has to describe your premises, your pipework, your tanks and your outlets, because those are what an inspector, insurer or tenant would check it against. An assessment that repeats someone else's findings is not a record of your system and would not stand up to scrutiny.
Does seeing a filled-in example mean I do not need my own assessment?
No. The example shows you what a finished assessment looks like so that completing your own is easier. The legal duty under ACOP L8 is to assess the risk in your water system, and only a document written against your building can do that. Use the example to understand what good looks like, then walk your own system and record what you actually find. Our free risk assessment builder and free template are the starting points for that.
What if my building is more complex than this example?
The example is deliberately a simple, low-risk system: one cold water tank, one cylinder, ordinary taps and showers. If your building has a cooling tower or evaporative condenser, a spa pool, a large or complex distribution system, or vulnerable occupants such as elderly or immunocompromised residents, a DIY assessment is unlikely to be appropriate. In those cases use a competent assessor, usually one working for a Legionella Control Association registered company, and use the example only to understand what the finished document should contain.
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