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Do I need a legionella risk assessment for a holiday let?

A short reading of official HSE landlord guidance, and of the Scottish short-term let licence condition. Written by Hastech, which is building Letsafely, a reminder and log tool.

This is not legal advice. It is not a legionella risk assessment. Letsafely does not assess your water system and does not decide what controls you need. The duty sits with the duty holder. HSE says that if a landlord does not feel competent, or inclined, to assess the risk, they can arrange for someone to do it on their behalf.

The short answer

HSE’s page Legionella and landlords’ responsibilities (last checked 11 November 2026, Europe/London) says that if you are a landlord and rent out your property, you have legal responsibilities for the health and safety of your tenant, including assessing and controlling the risk from legionella. It also says that, for most domestic systems, this does not require an in-depth, detailed assessment, and that most landlords can assess the risk themselves.

HSE, Legionella and landlords’ responsibilities

Two points are often overstated on commercial sites:

Scotland is clearer for licensed short-term lets: assessing the risk from legionella is a mandatory licence condition, quoted below.

Whether the HSE landlord page is written with holiday guests in mind is less explicit than HSE’s gas pages. That is explained next. This page does not invent a missing sentence.

Does the HSE landlord page actually cover a holiday let?

HSE’s legionella landlord page (last checked 11 November 2026, Europe/London) defines a landlord as follows:

“A landlord is anyone who rents out a property they own under a lease or a licence that is shorter than 7 years.”

That is the same length-of-occupation test HSE uses on its gas landlord pages. A typical holiday booking is a licence shorter than seven years.

But the examples under “What is a landlord?” on the legionella page are “residential premises provided for rent” by local authorities, housing associations, private sector landlords, housing co-operatives and hostels. Unlike the gas FAQ, this page does not expressly list “rented holiday accommodation” such as chalets, cottages, flats or caravans. The rest of the page talks about “tenants”, and the vacant-property example is “student accommodation left empty over the summer vacation.”

HSE, Legionella and landlords’ responsibilities

So: the official definition would appear to include someone who lets a property under a short licence, but HSE has not, on this page, written a dedicated holiday-let sentence of the kind it uses for gas. This page does not fill that gap. Read the HSE page yourself, and in Scotland also read the licence condition, which is explicit.

GOV.UK’s page for letting out a self-catering holiday home in England (last updated 2 October 2026; last checked 11 November 2026, Europe/London) tells hosts they must follow HSE gas and electrical guidance. It does not, on the wording fetched on that date, mention legionella. A legionella section on that GOV.UK page was not found.

GOV.UK, Letting out a self-catering holiday home in England: rules and regulations

HSE’s legionella landlord page does not split England and Wales into different rules. A Wales-only official page that sets a different holiday-let legionella rule was not found. Last checked: 11 November 2026, Europe/London.

What you must do, in HSE’s own wording

Under “What you must do under the law”, the landlord page (last checked 11 November 2026, Europe/London) says:

“The law is clear that if you are a landlord and rent out your property (or even a room within your own home) then you have legal responsibilities to ensure the health and safety of your tenant by keeping the property safe and free from health hazards.”

On assessing the risk, it says:

“The practical and proportionate application of health and safety law to landlords of domestic rental properties is that while there is a duty to assess the risk from exposure to legionella to ensure the safety of their tenants, this does not require an in-depth, detailed assessment.”

And:

“The risks from hot and cold water systems in most residential settings are generally considered to be low owing to regular water usage and turnover.”

A simple assessment may show there are no real risks and that they are being properly managed, “so no further action is needed.” HSE still says it is important to review the assessment in case anything changes.

HSE, Legionella and landlords’ responsibilities

Who can assess the risk — and who does not

The same HSE page, under “Who can assess the risk?”, says:

“Most landlords can assess the risk themselves and do not need to be professionally trained or accredited. However, if they do not feel competent, or inclined to do so, they can arrange for someone to do it on their behalf.”

That “competent” wording is HSE’s own, for this legionella page. It is not the same as the Home Office fire guide, which uses “feel able” for self-assessment and reserves “competent” for a fire risk assessor you engage.

Letsafely does not assess the risk. A reminder or a blank log is not a risk assessment. The duty holder has to do the assessment, or arrange for someone to do it on their behalf.

Flushing, vacant periods, and temperatures — only what HSE states

HSE lists simple control measures on the same landlord page (last checked 11 November 2026, Europe/London), including:

“flushing out the system prior to letting the property”

“setting control parameters (such as setting the temperature of the hot water cylinder (calorifier) to ensure water is stored at 60°C)”

The 60°C figure appears there as an example of a control parameter, not as a separate sentence that “the law requires 60°C in every holiday let.” This page does not invent a wider temperature rule.

On vacant property, under “Additional actions for properties left vacant”, HSE says:

“It is important that water is not allowed to stagnate within the water system, so there should be careful management of properties left vacant for extended periods (such as student accommodation left empty over the summer vacation).”

“As a general principle, outlets on hot and cold water systems should be used at least once a week to maintain a degree of water flow and minimise the chances of stagnation.”

“To manage the risks during non-occupancy, consideration should be given to implementing a suitable flushing regime or other measures such as draining the system if it is to remain vacant for long periods.”

HSE, Legionella and landlords’ responsibilities

Those are HSE’s words: “should”, “as a general principle”, and “consideration should be given”. This page does not turn them into a fixed legal timetable of its own, and it does not invent a flush duration or a number of minutes.

HSE also says, as a general approach for most domestic systems: “keep the hot water hot, cold water cold and keep it moving.” In its example of a typical lower-risk system, it mentions “low volume water heaters (supplying outlets at 50°C)”. That is part of an example, not a stand-alone duty invented here.

A different HSE page, Hot and cold water systems — things to consider (HSE, Hot and cold water systems — things to consider, last checked 11 November 2026, Europe/London), sets out more detailed monitoring examples, including monthly checks at sentinel outlets and the temperature at those taps should be below 20°C after running the sentinel taps for 2 minutes for cold water, and hot water at least 50°C within one minute. That page is a general “things to consider” list. It is not the same as the landlord responsibilities page requiring a monthly sentinel programme for every small domestic holiday let. Do not copy those frequencies onto a cottage checklist and call them a legal anniversary unless your own risk assessment, or a competent person, says they apply.

Testing, records and review

On testing, the landlord page (last checked 11 November 2026, Europe/London) says:

“Testing or sampling for legionella (sometimes referred to as microbiological monitoring) is not usually required for domestic hot and cold water systems, and is only needed in very specific circumstances.”

And:

“Health and safety law does not require landlords to obtain or produce a ‘legionella test certificate’.”

On records:

“Landlords are not necessarily required to record the findings of the assessment (this is only a statutory duty for employers where there are 5 or more employees), but you may find it wise to keep a record of what has been done for your own purposes.”

On review:

“The law does not prescribe that the risk assessment be reviewed on an annual or biennial basis. It is important to review the assessment periodically in case anything changes.”

HSE, Legionella and landlords’ responsibilities

Scotland: the licence condition is explicit

For a licensed short-term let in Scotland, Schedule 3 of the licensing order (last checked 11 November 2026, Europe/London) says:

“The holder of the licence must assess the risk from exposure to legionella within the premises, whether or not the premises are served by a private water supply.”

The Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (Licensing of Short-term Lets) Order 2022, Schedule 3

That condition does not say a commercial tester must do it, and it does not require a “test certificate”. It does say the licence holder must assess the risk. Letsafely does not do that assessment for you.

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is not covered in detail here. A confirmation, on an official Northern Ireland page, of how HSE’s landlord legionella wording applies to a short-term holiday let was not found. Last checked: 11 November 2026, Europe/London. This is not confirmed — check the official page for Northern Ireland.

FAQ

Do I need a legionella test certificate? HSE says health and safety law does not require landlords to obtain or produce one. Testing or sampling is not usually required for domestic hot and cold water systems.

Can I do the assessment myself? HSE says most landlords can assess the risk themselves and do not need to be professionally trained or accredited. If they do not feel competent, or inclined to do so, they can arrange for someone to do it on their behalf. Letsafely will not do it.

How often must I review it? HSE says the law does not prescribe an annual or biennial review, but it is important to review the assessment periodically in case anything changes.

What about empty periods between bookings? HSE says water should not be allowed to stagnate, outlets should as a general principle be used at least once a week, you should flush the system before letting, and for long vacant periods you should consider a flushing regime or other measures such as draining the system. Use HSE’s words, not a timetable invented by a blog.

Is this definitely written for Airbnbs? HSE’s definition uses a lease or licence shorter than seven years, but the legionella landlord page does not expressly name holiday accommodation, unlike the gas pages. Scotland’s licence condition does expressly require a legionella risk assessment for short-term lets.

Sources

All last checked 11 November 2026, Europe/London.

Related reading: Do I need a fire risk assessment for a holiday let in England?, gas safety checks for holiday lets, and a free smoke and heat alarm test log.

A note about Letsafely

Hastech is building Letsafely, a reminder and log tool for holiday-let safety checks. A full version is planned. There is nothing to join here yet. This article does not take payment, does not carry out a legionella risk assessment, and does not issue test certificates.