HEALTH & SAFETY - 26.11.2018

Health and safety in shared premises

Shared legal duties

If you share rented commercial premises with at least one other business, you will need to be familiar with the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 . These Regulations cover the situation where no single employer has overall day-to-day control of a premises. Regulation 11 requires each employer who occupies commercial premises to co-operate with each other “so far as is necessary” to allow for compliance with health and safety laws.

The occupiers

The tenants must take all reasonable steps to co-ordinate with each other over these measures. Generally speaking, the landlord of shared rented commercial premises is usually responsible for the fabric of the building and, depending on the terms of the lease, it will have the duty to maintain the common areas. These will vary in each case, but they are accepted to include stairwells, lifts, main reception areas, shared toilet facilities and landscaped gardens.

Taking the lead

If you pay a service charge for upkeep and maintenance of something, e.g. an on-site canteen or a car park, it’s likely that your landlord will be legally responsible for these areas too. Your landlord has a duty to take the lead in creating health and safety procedures for the premises as a whole. This includes contractor selection and management for the fabric of the building as well as any shared facilities. It also includes keeping statutory registers, e.g. for asbestos.

Your responsibility

As the tenant, you have several defined legal duties. One is to comply with your landlord’s health and safety measures, e.g. emergency evacuation procedures. The second relates to your day-to-day control over the space you solely occupy. Here, you’re responsible for the health and safety of both staff and visitors. You need to maintain: (1) a clean and tidy workplace; (2)  unobstructed fire exits; (3) a reasonable workplace temperature; (4) clean, functioning washrooms; and (5) adequate lighting and ventilation.

Tip 1. You need to manage areas under your day-to-day control in a way that won’t harm other tenants, e.g. by not creating fire hazards through storing items in shared spaces. Tip 2. If you have work carried out on the areas that are under your control, always liaise with other tenants who may be affected. Should this work impact on the landlord’s area of responsibility, they also need to be notified.

Identify any gaps

Check your lease to ensure that all health and safety responsibilities are clearly defined. Where there are gaps, ask for clarification from your landlord or its managing agent.

Tip. If relevant, clarify who’s responsible for introducing and maintaining measures to prevent outbreaks of Legionnaires’ disease, e.g. from any water-cooled air-conditioning systems on site.

For a shared premises responsibility policy, visit http://tipsandadvice-business.co.uk/download (CD 20.05.06).