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HSE inspections up 47% - HSE carried out over 13,200 workplace inspections in 2024/25.

Health and Safety for Property and Real Estate:Building Safety, Fire, Asbestos, Legionella, and Compliance

Qualified property and real estate health and safety consultants · Building safety · Fire risk assessments · Asbestos management · Legionella control · Tenant welfare · Contractor management · Ongoing compliance for landlords, managing agents, and property investors across the UK and 50+ countries.

Property and real estate carries a double compliance load: the employer's own workplace H&S duty under HSWA 1974 and MHSWR 1999, plus the duty holder responsibilities for the buildings themselves under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012, the Building Safety Act 2022, and HSE ACoP L8 on legionella. Landlords, managing agents, and property investors who treat workplace H&S as separate from building safety routinely fail one or the other. Arinite delivers an integrated approach.

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ABOUT

About This Sector

Property and real estate covers commercial landlords, residential landlords, managing agents, REITs and property investment firms, build-to-rent operators, student accommodation operators, property management functions of larger employers, and corporate real estate teams. The compliance profile combines two distinct duty sets: workplace H&S for the firm's own staff (typically office-based), and building duty holder responsibilities for the properties under management.

The Building Safety Act 2022 significantly raised the bar for higher-risk buildings (residential buildings 18m or more in height, or seven or more storeys, with at least two residential units). For property investors and managing agents with stock in scope, the Accountable Person and Principal Accountable Person duties under the Act add a substantial compliance layer.

Arinite provides Qualified consultants and compliance software to property and real estate businesses across the UK and 50+ countries.

COMPLIANCE GAPS

Common Compliance Failures We Find in
Property and Real Estate

Building duty holder responsibilities not consistently documented across portfolio

Risk assessment programmes inconsistent between assets.

Fire risk assessments out of date

Particularly post-Grenfell, with high-rise residential, mixed-use, and complex commercial premises requiring more sophisticated assessment than the legacy approach.

Asbestos management plans not actively maintained

Plan exists but no active inspection, condition monitoring, or contractor briefing programme. See our asbestos page.

Legionella control programme weak

Written scheme exists but monitoring, sampling, and competent person records inconsistent. See our legionella page.

Building Safety Act 2022 readiness incomplete

For higher-risk buildings in scope, Accountable Person duties not fully operationalised.

Contractor management informal

Maintenance contractors, fit-out contractors, and service contractors on site without consistent permit-to-work or competence checks.

Own-staff workplace H&S overlooked

Property firm's own office overlooked in favour of building duty holder work.

BUILDING DUTY

Building Duty
Holder Responsibilities

For property firms, the building duty holder responsibilities are typically the dominant compliance load. See our fire risk assessment service.

Fire Risk Assessment

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 requires a documented fire risk assessment for every non-domestic premises and the common parts of multi-occupied residential premises. Higher-risk buildings carry additional duties under the Fire Safety Act 2021 and the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022.

Asbestos Management

The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 require the duty holder of non-domestic premises to:

1

Take reasonable steps to determine the location and condition of asbestos-containing materials.

2

Presume materials contain asbestos unless evidence shows otherwise.

3

Maintain an up-to-date asbestos register.

4

Prepare and implement a written management plan.

5

Provide information to anyone liable to disturb the asbestos.

6

Review the plan regularly.

Legionella Control

HSE Approved Code of Practice L8 requires every employer in control of premises to identify and assess legionella risk and to maintain a written scheme of control. Property duty holders carry this for the buildings under their control.

Building Safety Act 2022

For higher-risk buildings in scope, the Accountable Person and Principal Accountable Person duties include:

1

Registering the building with the Building Safety Regulator.

2

Assessing and managing building safety risks.

3

Preparing a Safety Case Report.

4

Engaging residents and providing information.

5

Operating a mandatory occurrence reporting system.

EMPLOYER DUTIES

Core Duties for Property
and Real Estate Businesses

1

MHSWR Regulation 3 documented risk assessment for the firm's own workplace.

2

Fire risk assessment for the firm's office.

3

Building duty holder responsibilities for buildings under control

Fire risk assessment for each property under the RRO 2005 and Fire Safety Act 2021; asbestos management plan for each non-domestic building; legionella risk assessment and written scheme of control where water systems present; Building Safety Act 2022 duties for higher-risk buildings.

4

Contractor management arrangements covering maintenance, fit-out, and service contractors.

5

Competent person under MHSWR Regulation 7.

6

Written health and safety policy.

7

RIDDOR reporting arrangements.

REGULATIONS

Sector-Specific Regulations for Property
and Real Estate

HSWA 1974

General duties; Section 37 director liability.

MHSWR 1999

Risk assessment, competent person, training, and worker information duties.

Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005

Documented fire risk assessment for every non-domestic premises.

Fire Safety Act 2021 and Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022

Additional duties for multi-occupied residential premises and higher-risk buildings.

Building Safety Act 2022

Accountable Person and Principal Accountable Person duties for higher-risk buildings.

Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012

Duty holder responsibilities for non-domestic premises.

HSE ACoP L8 and HSG274

On legionella control.

Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM 2015)

For commissioned works.

Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992

For office-based property firm employees.

Worker Protection Act 2023

Preventative duty on sexual harassment including by third parties.

Equality Act 2010

Reasonable adjustments duty for workers with disabilities.

RIDDOR 2013

Mandatory reporting of specified workplace injuries, diseases, and dangerous occurrences.

OUR SERVICES

Our Health and Safety Services for
Property and Real Estate

Building duty holder support

Documented fire risk assessment, asbestos management plan, and legionella control across the portfolio.

Fire risk assessments

PAS 79:2020 (commercial) and PAS 79-2:2020 (residential and sleeping accommodation) fire risk assessments.

Asbestos management

Asbestos register, management plan, survey coordination, and contractor briefing.

Legionella control

Legionella risk assessment, written scheme of control, monitoring programme, and competent responsible person.

Building Safety Act 2022 support

Accountable Person duty support including Safety Case Report preparation.

Contractor management

Pre-qualification, induction, and permit-to-work coordination.

Own-firm workplace H&S

Office risk assessment, DSE, and policy for the property firm's own employees.

Health and safety policy, audits, and competent person retainer

See our health and safety policy, health and safety audit, and competent person services.

Health and safety software

Centralised platform across portfolios. See our health and safety software.

TRAINING

Health and Safety Training for
Property and Real Estate

DSE awareness

For office staff.

Manager and director training

On H&S duties.

Asbestos awareness

For property managers and surveyors.

Legionella awareness

For responsible persons.

Building Safety Act 2022 awareness

For portfolio managers of higher-risk buildings.

Fire safety induction and fire warden training

Appropriate to the premises.

First aid at work

For designated first aiders.

Worker Protection Act 2023 harassment prevention training

Including third-party scenarios.

See our health and safety training service.

TYPICAL ENGAGEMENT

A Typical Property and Real
Estate Engagement With Arinite

The following is an illustrative example of how Arinite engagement typically runs for a property owner or manager.

A commercial property investment manager holding 22 office and mixed-use buildings approaches Arinite after the Building Safety Act 2022 regime fully took effect for higher-risk buildings, and the firm wants to verify its Accountable Person duty positioning across the portfolio. The firm holds an outdated H&S policy at corporate level and inconsistent building-level documentation managed through individual property managers.

Mo
1

Arinite's free gap analysis call identifies the priority gaps. We agree a 90-day remediation programme. In month one, we deliver: a refreshed health and safety policy signed by the CIO, a current MHSWR Regulation 3 risk assessment covering investment management activities, asset management, and property visits, a competent person appointment, and a centralised compliance programme architecture covering the 22 buildings.

Mo
2

In month two: we deliver building-level documentation review for all 22 buildings, with Accountable Person duty review under the Building Safety Act 2022 for any higher-risk buildings, asbestos duty holder review under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012, water hygiene and legionella duty holder review under L8, current fire risk assessments to PAS 79:2020 or PAS 79-2:2020 as appropriate, and Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 compliance documentation.

Mo
3

In month three: we deliver driving at work assessment for asset managers visiting properties, Worker Protection Act 2023 reasonable steps documentation, line manager training, and hand over to ongoing competent person retainer with portfolio-level inspection scheduling.

The firm now operates an integrated portfolio compliance programme with building-specific documentation across all 22 buildings. The competent person retainer continues.

WHY ARINITE

Why Property and Real
Estate Firms Choose Arinite

Five practical reasons property and real estate firms appoint Arinite as their outsourced competent person:

Building Safety Act 2022 capability

Documented Accountable Person duty discharge framework for higher-risk buildings.

Duty holder expertise

Documented asbestos duty holder, water hygiene duty holder, and fire safety duty holder positioning across portfolios.

Portfolio programme management

Centralised compliance for property portfolios through Arinite's software platform.

Driving at work and asset manager safety

Documented field-worker arrangements for asset managers and property surveyors.

Qualified consultants, not generalists

MHSWR Regulation 7 requires competent advice.

RELATED SECTORS

Related Sectors

If you operate adjacent to property and real estate, you may also find these sector pages relevant:

Book a Free Gap Analysis Call

Book a free gap analysis call with one of our Qualified health and safety consultants. In 30 minutes, we will assess your current property and real estate health and safety arrangements, identify the compliance gaps that matter most, and give you a clear recommendation and indicative cost.

Book My Free Gap Analysis Call+44 (0)20 7947 9581