Health and safety
It is of primary importance for surveyors to take responsibility for the health and safety of themselves and those under their duty of care. All professionals should be familiar with the current edition of the RICS professional standard Surveying safely and adhere to the principles.
Residential property managers should also be familiar with Health and safety for residential property managers. This provides practical guidance around health and safety management for most types and configurations of residential properties.
Legal responsibilities for health and safety may arise for a surveyor providing health and safety advice and/or who is considered to be in control of a building or workplace. This will include advice given to owners, landlords and tenant/occupiers.
The main statutory provisions in the UK are:
- Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HSWA)
- The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992
- The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 and
- Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007.
Specific regulations to be aware of include (but are not limited to):
- Occupiers' Liability Act 1957
- Occupiers' Liability Act 1984
- The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012
- The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015
- The Smoke-free (Premises and Enforcement) Regulations 2007
- The Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998
- Housing Act 2004
- Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018
Good health and safety management means applying appropriate and proportionate controls for risk and injury in a way that supports business and ensures legal compliance.
Health and safety obligations and responsibilities arise in both criminal and civil law. Breaching legislation carries criminal penalties, including a fine and/or imprisonment.
Health and safety requirements for residential buildings are stringent, primarily because they provide living and sleeping spaces for occupiers. It is our legal, ethical and moral duty as surveyors to keep users of residential buildings safe from harm.
This section is maintained by Jen Lemen of Property Elite.