Health and safety plays an important role in flats because apart from being a home for flat owners and their tenants, it is also a place of work for many people, such as managing agents, porters and contractors.  There is a host of legislation designed to ensure that the premises are safe and that precautions, where necessary, are taken to minimise and reduce accidents.

Here you can learn about all the health and safety risks in flats and what to do about them.  If you have more questions, require further clarification, or want to suggest an article don’t forget to contact us, comment on an article or leave a comment in our forum.

Accidents Happen

Communal areas of residential blocks are comparatively low risk, however accidents will happen. There will undoubtedly be a collective yawn and audible sigh from Landlords, Block Managers and RMC Directors everywhere. Just the thought of Health & Safety will be enough to make the eyes glaze over with the perceived complex and frankly soporific bureaucracy of legislation and regulation.

Fire Safety in Flats 'Critical'

The recent tragic fire in Shirley Towers, a Southampton block of flats, where two firefighters died whilst responding to the emergency, has led to calls for block managers and flat owners to review their fire safety responsibilities.

Don't Fan the Flames in your Flats!

Most people would accept that fire prevention is ‘common sense'. However, here are some true statements made by residents complaining about fire risk assessments -"We've been living here for years without an incident why should we bother?"....

Asbestos - Do we care?

As the diseases attributed to asbestos do not appear in exposed individuals for many years after exposure, the true impact on the nations health will not be known for some time. The danger is complacency: asbestos can kill.

Don’t Mention the Water Tank!

Times have changed since Basil Fawlty worried about the pigeons in the water tank in “Basil the Rat” in 1975. The following year the bacterium Legionella pneumophila was identified after a large outbreak at a convention of the American Legion. Since 1976, building managers have become aware that “Stick some ply over it” as a precaution against vermin and “Brush your teeth in it but don’t drink any” are inappropriate to the problem

Has Health and Safety in flats gone mad?

4site consulting explains the importance of health and safety. It is not surprising that we question the sanity of Health & Safety when it seems to impinge on activities we all enjoy by enforcing what appears to be unreasonable and bureaucratic restrictions.

First Landlord jailed over fire safety

Is your contractor covered?

We read about people being sued in the papers, see it on the news, watch television programs about it and it is even used in plot lines on films but we never think it will happen to us – do we? We discussed the situation of health & safety with Pete Gilgallon, operations manager, The GOL Group.

Health & safety advice – part 1

You will be pleased to know you are not the only people who find dealing with health & safety (H&S) issues time consuming and occasionally irritating. Anyone who manages any type of property has to deal with the issues you are facing; whether it is commercial property, offices, shops, hospitals or councils, you have to comply.

Block security

Daren Wood, Northern Regional general manager at the British Security Industry Association (BSIA), looks at the ways that homeowners can protect their flats and why resident groups should be taking a holistic approach to security...

   Our Latest Issue:

Read Now                 Register

     Editor's Choice:

How Far Eastern Quality Beat the Credit Crunch

If you're going to fall victim to the recent credit crunch, you might as well do it in style. Fallout from the financial downturn was felt across London's Canary Wharf district, but nowhere was it more obvious than at Ballymore's flagship residential development, Pan Peninsula.

The Common Wasp: Friend or Foe?

For many people, the summertime means enjoying relaxing picnics in the sun. There is one particular insect associated with this season however, which evokes fear, distress and annoyance in many picnic goers: the common wasp. Despite being a pest species, many people don't realise how interesting and complex these social insects are. So should we treat wasps with fear or admiration?

Tax for flats

The recent hike in capital gains tax to 28% by the new coalition Government has been met with caution by the property industry, as it will affect many who have invested in flats.

IFAS Prefer Commercial to Residential property

More financial advisers think their clients should consider commercial property as an investment compared with residential property, according to the latest survey of Independent Financial advisers (IFas) by rEITa.

Flats Rise - slowly

The latest Government house building data shows that the number of starts rose in the first three months of this year to the best level since the second quarter of 2008. Despite this, starts are currently only running at around 50% of the level achieved at the high water mark of the previous cycle.

Leaseholders group won't be left in the cold

The Federation of Private Residents Associations has called for a change to the Landlord and Tenant Act that would allow for ‘reasonable' insulation to be carried out to blocks of flats as part of the service charge.

Mainstay acquires Market Focus

Mainstay group , the national property management and facilities company, has purchased Market Focus Asset Management (MFAM) based in London. MFAM specialise in the management of mixed use, residential and commercial property.

Managing to Win

Over 50 property managers celebrated together in London as England beat Slovenia in the FIFa world Cup 2010. The event was jointly hosted by News on the Block and Sky Homes.

RMG wins £400k of Business in North

RMG property management has successfully generated over £400k worth of business from the north of England.  Justin Herbert, RMG's Operations Director for the North, said: "Customers recognise the benefi t of regular site visits, full transparency and accessibility to Property Managers, quarterly meetings and site audits, as well as the value for money and customer service provided by RMG."

New Home, New Leader for Stonedale

Stonedale, the specialist London based property management company has appointed Andrew Lyle as its new Head of Operations. Andrew boasts a career that spans over 20 years in property management, having worked for a number of high profi le managing agents in London. In the 18 months since joining the Stonedale team as a Senior Property Manager, he has managed developments in Docklands, Limehouse and Clerkenwell.