Health & Safety
The Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 brought in new requirements for those involved with both owning or managing investment property . It means that both landlords and property managers are classed as a Person Conducting Business or Undertaking ( PCBUs ).
We are therefore equally responsible for ensuring the health and safety of everybody involved with , or affected by work on any property owned or managed . This can relate to property inspections , viewings , undertaking repairs , maintenance and other related issues .
What are the landlord ' s responsibilities ?
Given the nature of investment properties there can often be multiple PCBUs , e . g . the landlord and / or property manager and any contractors undertaking work .
A landlord cannot rely on a contractor to manage the health and safety risks , nor can a landlord request that the contractor take care of all health and safety matters .
Landlords are required to do everything reasonably practicable to protect those engaged from risks and hazards associated with their investment property , and it is safe to say every property has risks and / or hazards .
To comply with the Health and Safety at Work Act some of our responsibilities include :
• Identifying and manage the risks on the property connected to the work to be undertaken
• Ensuring contractors are sufficiently competent to perform work and that they have their own individual health and safety plan
• Ensuring contractors understand their health and safety requirements in relation to the risks identified
• Checking that contractors hold any required certifications and insurances before work is undertaken .
Health & safety - how can we help ?
Our property managers are provided with comprehensive health and safety policies as well as educational resources in order to ensure we honour all our obligations as PCBUs .
Staff are trained on and provided with all necessary templates to complete hazard identification and reporting , as well as requiring all contractors to complete comprehensive health and safety questionnaires to prove their competency and to ensure that relevant certifications and insurances are in place .
By using a Ray White property manager you are safe in knowing that all responsibilities under the Health and Safety at Work Act are covered and your risk of any future health and safety related claims are minimised .
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