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Introduction
Acknowledgements
We are grateful to HSE in allowing the use of source material.
Crown Copyright material is reproduced with the permission of the Controller of HMSO and the Queen's Printer for Scotland.
Introduction to Subject
Falls from height are the biggest cause of workplace deaths and one of the main causes of injury. Regulations have been made to help prevent these deaths and injuries, and this section outlines your responsibilities.
The Work at Height Regulations 2005 apply to all work undertaken at a height where there is a risk of a fall, liable to cause personal injury. This places a duty on employers, the self-employed and any person who controls the work of others, including building owners who may contract others to work at height. This is to make sure the work is planned properly and sensible measures taken, so that workers are not exposed to unacceptable risks either during the work, or in future cleaning and maintenance of the area.
Whilst this would be a more formal process in larger companies, as a landlord undertaking the business of renting out the property, you do fall under the general responsibilities.
These regulations are made under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, where landlords have a general duty to ensure that their premises are free from an unacceptable level of risks to health and safety through the operation of their business undertaking. This duty is reiterated in the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. You have responsibilities whether you employ people, or take on contractors to undertake work on your behalf and you must assess the risks posed by the work. Unless you actually directly employ five or more people, you don't need to write these risk assessments down, but you would need to be able to demonstrate that you had taken all necessary precautions if a problem occurred.
Contractors should carryout risk assessments themselves, but you are still required to check that they have and that you are happy with the measures in place.
Legislation
Resource 1 of 8 in Working at Height