How much does a legionella risk assessment cost in the UK?
A legionella risk assessment costs £80 on average in the UK. Most jobs fall between £45 and £175 per property. Property type: Flat or small house £45 to £100, House £65 to £150, HMO or a larger house £100 to £175. Prices reviewed October 2026.
A legionella risk assessment for a rented home usually costs £45 to £175 in the UK, with about £80 typical. Health and safety law does not require a legionella certificate, testing the water is not usually needed, and HSE says most landlords can assess the risk themselves.
Legionella risk assessment cost calculator
Use the calculator to price your legionella risk assessment in 2026. Adjust the options and area for a UK cost range. Nothing is sent anywhere.
Legionella risk assessment cost breakdown
Typical legionella risk assessment costs, by option:
| Property type | Typical UK cost |
|---|---|
| Flat or small house, 1 or 2 bedrooms | £45 to £100 |
| House, 3 or 4 bedrooms | £65 to £150 |
| HMO or a larger house | £100 to £175 |
What's included in the price?
Typical legionella risk assessment prices include:
- A visit to look over the hot and cold water system: the boiler or hot water cylinder, any cold water tank, the pipework, and every tap and shower
- Temperature checks at the taps, because HSE calls temperature the most reliable way to keep the risk down in a home
- A look for anything that lets water sit still, such as little-used taps, redundant pipework or a cold water tank without a tight-fitting lid
- A written assessment with a risk rating and any control measures, often emailed the same day or within two days
- Advice to pass on to tenants, such as cleaning showerheads and reporting hot water that is not heating properly
What changes the price?
The things that move legionella risk assessment prices most:
The size of the property and how many bathrooms, taps and showers there are to check
Whether it is an HMO or a larger house, which takes longer and needs more detail
Who you book: a few London certificate firms charge £250 to £350 for a check most firms do for under £120
Whether you add water sampling, which HSE says is not usually needed in a home
Booking it with an EPC, a PAT test or other landlord checks, which some firms discount
Travel, since some firms add a charge for properties outside their area
How the price is built up
The fee covers a short visit and the write-up. A flat or small house is the quickest, usually well under an hour, which is why it sits at the bottom of the range. A larger house with a hot water cylinder and a cold water tank, or an HMO with many taps and showers, takes longer and sits higher. Who you book matters as much as the property: most firms charge £60 to £120, while a few London certificate firms charge £250 to £350. Water sampling, travel outside a firm's area and a faster report can be extras. A legionella risk assessment is a fee for the assessor's time and the written report. There are no materials, unless you also pay for a water sample to go to a laboratory.
Ways to keep the cost down
- Check whether you can do it yourself: HSE says most landlords can assess the risk without being trained or accredited
- Book it with an EPC, a PAT test or other landlord checks, which some firms discount
- Do not pay for water sampling unless the assessment finds a reason for it, since HSE says it is not usually needed
- Compare two or three firms, because the same check can cost under £80 or over £300 depending on who you book
- If you let several properties, ask for a portfolio price
Does where you live change the cost?
In London, a legionella risk assessment typically costs around £95 per property, about 20% above the UK average of £80. In the North, Scotland and Wales the guide figure is nearer £80.
| Region | From | Typical | Up to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Midlands / East (UK average) | £45 | £80 | £180 |
| London | £55 | £95 | £210 |
| South East / South West | £45 | £85 | £180 |
| North / Scotland / Wales | £45 | £80 | £170 |
Guide prices per property, scaled with the same regional multipliers as the calculator. Not quotes.
Legionella risk assessment cost in major UK cities
| City | From | Typical | Up to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belfast | £45 | £75 | £170 |
| Birmingham | £45 | £80 | £180 |
| Bristol | £45 | £85 | £180 |
| Cardiff | £45 | £80 | £170 |
| Edinburgh | £45 | £80 | £170 |
| Glasgow | £45 | £80 | £170 |
| Leeds | £45 | £80 | £170 |
| Liverpool | £45 | £80 | £170 |
| London | £55 | £95 | £210 |
| Manchester | £45 | £80 | £170 |
| Newcastle | £45 | £80 | £170 |
| Sheffield | £45 | £80 | £170 |
City guide estimates, scaled by local labour costs. Indicative averages for legionella risk assessment, not quotes.
Prices vary more by firm than by region. Several Scottish firms charge £45 to £90, London ranges from about £75 to £350 depending on who you book, and most of England and Wales sits around £60 to £120.
Compare this with a real quote
The figures above are guide prices. Two or three quotes for your legionella risk assessment tell you what it costs where you live.
Free and no obligation. You answer a few questions on Bark, local pros get in touch, and you decide who, if anyone, to hire. We may earn a fee, at no extra cost to you.Common questions
How much does a legionella risk assessment cost in 2026?
Most firms charge £60 to £120 for a standard rented flat or house, and about £80 is typical, from the prices 35 UK firms publish on their own websites. A small flat can cost under £60, and an HMO or a larger house £100 to £175. A few London firms charge £250 to £350 for the same kind of check, so it pays to compare. The figures include VAT where the firm charges it.
Do landlords legally need a legionella risk assessment?
Yes. HSE says landlords have a duty to assess the risk from legionella to keep their tenants safe, under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the COSHH Regulations 2002, and that covers renting out even a room in your own home. HSE is also clear that the duty does not require an in-depth, detailed assessment. For most homes it is a short, simple check of the water system.
Is a legionella certificate a legal requirement?
No. HSE says health and safety law does not require landlords to obtain or produce a legionella test certificate. What the law asks for is the risk assessment and any simple controls it finds. A report from an assessor is a useful record, but it is not a certificate the law demands. HSE and council inspectors do not routinely inspect rented homes or ask to see an assessment, but a landlord could be prosecuted if a tenant caught Legionnaires' disease from the water system.
Can I do a legionella risk assessment myself?
Usually, yes. HSE says most landlords can assess the risk themselves and do not need to be professionally trained or accredited. Whoever does it must be competent, which HSE describes as having enough training, experience or knowledge to do it properly. If you would rather not, or the system is more involved, such as a large house with tanks or an HMO, an assessor typically charges £60 to £120 for a standard flat or house.
How often should a legionella risk assessment be reviewed?
In England and Wales there is no fixed interval. HSE says the law does not require a review every year or every two years: review it periodically, and straight away if something changes, such as alterations to the pipework or the hot water system. Scotland is different. The statutory Repairing Standard guidance for private landlords says to review it at intervals of no more than two years. Some firms suggest every two years for a combi boiler and every year where water is stored, but that is their advice, not the law.
Does the water need testing for legionella?
Not usually. HSE says testing or sampling for legionella is not usually required for domestic hot and cold water systems, and is only needed in specific circumstances, such as doubt that the controls are working or temperatures that are not being reached. Checking the water temperature is the routine check. If sampling is needed, HSE says a UKAS-accredited laboratory should test it. The three firms we found that publish a price charge about £55 to £100 a sample, including VAT.
What does a legionella risk assessment check?
The assessor looks over the whole hot and cold water system and checks the temperatures. HSE's guidance is that hot water should be stored at 60°C or more and reach 50°C at the tap within a minute, and cold water should stay below 20°C. They also look for a cold water tank without a tight-fitting lid, pipework that is no longer used, and taps or showers that are rarely run, because standing water raises the risk.
Is a home with a combi boiler lower risk?
Yes. HSE says the risk is further lowered where water is heated as it is used, for example by a combi boiler or an electric shower, because there is no stored water. A flat on mains cold water with a combi boiler is the simplest case. It still needs assessing, but there is less to check.
Do I have to keep a written record of the assessment?
Not as a legal duty unless you employ five or more people. HSE says landlords are not necessarily required to record the findings, but it is wise to keep a record of what was done, and if a tenant ever fell ill you would have to show you had met your duty. In Wales, Rent Smart Wales also tells landlords to keep records of the control measures they put in place.
Official guidance and sources
The rules and schemes referenced on this page come from these official UK sources. The price figures are Costwise's own; see how we price.
- Legionella and landlords' responsibilities Health and Safety Executive · Landlords must assess the risk, no legionella test certificate is required, and most landlords can do the assessment themselves.
- Testing and monitoring water systems Health and Safety Executive · Sampling is not usually needed for hot and cold water systems; when it is, a UKAS-accredited laboratory should test the samples.
- Hot and cold water systems Health and Safety Executive · Store hot water at 60°C or more, reach 50°C at outlets within a minute, and keep cold water below 20°C.
- COSHH Regulations 2002, regulation 6 legislation.gov.uk · The risk assessment must be reviewed regularly, and straight away when there is reason to think it is no longer valid.
- Repairing Standard statutory guidance for private landlords Scottish Government · In Scotland, private landlords should review the assessment at intervals of no more than two years.
Cite this data
These figures are free to use in articles, reports and research under a CC BY 4.0 licence. All we ask is a credit to Costwise, and online a link. Where your style allows, please make "Costwise" the linked word so readers can check the figure for their own region.
Costwise (2026): A legionella risk assessment typically costs £80 in the UK, ranging from £45 to £175 per property. Reviewed October 2026. costwiseuk.co.ukSource: Costwise (costwiseuk.co.uk)Costwise (2026). Legionella risk assessment cost. Costwise UK cost data, version 2026-10-01. https://costwiseuk.co.uk/legionella-risk-assessment-cost/2026-10-01 (158 jobs)Dataset DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.21159943 · also on Kaggle, Hugging Face and Figshare. Method: how we price. Downloadable CSV.
These are independent guide prices based on typical UK jobs in 2026. Your actual cost depends on your property, spec, access and where you live. Always get at least three written quotes before committing.