HRA compliance policies summary

The HRA Compliance Policies cover six vital areas of compliance, these are:

• gas and Heating
• fire Safety
• electrical Safety
• water Safety
• lift Safety
• asbestos

The Policies outline how Dover District Council (the “Council”) will adhere to health and safety legislation in the context of its housing stock.

The Policies purpose of the Policies is to outline how the Council will maintain relevant installations, systems or equipment to provide assurance that there are measures to identify, manage and/or mitigate the risks associated to it. This is done through compliance with safety legislation and applicable guidance, including carrying out routine inspections or assessments.

The Policies apply to properties within the Councils Housing Revenue Account (HRA), this includes Council properties with an active tenancy agreement, void properties within our HRA, and internal and external shared areas of properties owned or partially owned by the Council.

The aim of the Policies is to take all reasonable steps to ensure the health and safety of tenants in their homes and associated communal areas (shared areas), this aligns with the Consumer Standards (Safety and Quality Standard).

The Policies outline legal duties owed to employees (as the tenant's home or shared area temporarily becomes their workplace) and legal duties owed to tenants to ensure their safety in their home and shared areas. The specific legislation and regulations owed or applied to tenants is:

Gas and Heating

The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 were introduced under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 to ensure the safe installation, maintenance, and use of gas systems, including appliances, fittings, and flues within domestic dwellings.

Electrical Safety

The Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016 requires landlords to ensure that any electrical appliances provided as part of a tenancy are safe when first supplied. Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 states that a landlord must keep in repair and proper working order the installations in the dwelling house for electricity.

Fire Safety

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 applies to the common areas of multi-occupied residential buildings. The Fire Safety Act 2021 was introduced to clarify and strengthen fire safety responsibilities in multi-occupied residential buildings, particularly in response to lessons learned from the Grenfell Tower fire.

Water Safety

The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (HSW Act) and Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (as amended) (COSHH) place a duty, as an employer or person in control of a premises (e.g. a landlord), to take suitable precautions, to assess, prevent or control the risk of exposure to legionella. Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) Approved Code of Practice L8 (ACOP L8) provides guidance to duty holders on the legal duties in the HSW Act and COSHH in relation to legionellosis, including risk assessments, control measures, the “responsible person”, and record keeping.

Lift Safety

Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER) places duties on people and companies who own, operate or have control over lifting equipment. In most cases this does not apply to people who are not at work, therefore there is no legal obligation to apply LOLER to domestic lifts within the internal areas of HRA properties. However, these requirements are applied to this Policy to adequately discharge our duties for lifts which we have installed in internal and shared areas.

Asbestos

The Control of Asbestos Regulations (CAR) 2012 aim to ensure that asbestos is managed safely and that exposure risks are minimised, it applies to the shared areas. The Council is responsible for the safety of tenants within internal areas through other legislation and is relevant in the context of responsive repairs, voids and planned works.

The Policies comply with the outlined legislative and regulatory requirements to uphold the safety of tenants. The Policies outline inspections or assessments carried out by employees or contractors of the required competency: