CQC Regulation 15: Premises and Equipment Explained

Ask most care home managers which CQC regulation trips providers up most often and you'll hear Regulation 12 (safe care and treatment) or Regulation 17 (good governance). Regulation 15 rarely tops the list — yet a leaking roof, an out-of-date hoist service certificate, or a fire door wedged open on a busy corridor can just as easily tip an inspection from "good" to "requires improvement". Premises and equipment sit underneath almost every other regulation: you cannot deliver safe, dignified, person-centred care in a building that is dirty, insecure, badly laid out or running on unmaintained equipment.

What Regulation 15 actually requires

Regulation 15 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 sets out that all premises and equipment used by a service provider must be:

• Clean — visibly clean and free from odours that are offensive or unpleasant
• Secure — protecting the personal safety of people using the service, their property, and controlling who can access the building
• Suitable for the purpose for which they are being used, with adequate facilities for the number and needs of people living there
• Properly used — in line with the provider's own operational policies and manufacturer guidance
• Properly maintained — through planned maintenance, servicing schedules and regular risk assessment
• Appropriately located for the purpose the premises and equipment serve

The regulation also requires the registered person to maintain hygiene standards appropriate to the setting, and it makes clear that responsibility for meeting these standards sits with the provider even where premises, equipment or maintenance contracts are outsourced to a third party. If a lift maintenance firm misses a service, or a laundry contractor fails to maintain equipment properly, CQC still holds the registered provider accountable.

Where Regulation 15 bites in practice

In guidance and inspection practice, CQC breaks Regulation 15 down into several very concrete, evidence-based areas. Getting each of these right is what separates a "compliant on paper" building from one that genuinely supports safe, comfortable care.

Fire safety

Fire risk assessments, fire door checks, emergency lighting tests, and Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans (PEEPs) for people who cannot self-evacuate all fall under the "secure" and "properly maintained" limbs of Regulation 15, alongside the duties owed under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. Inspectors expect to see a current fire risk assessment, evidence that actions from it have actually been closed out (not just logged), and staff who can describe the evacuation plan for the specific people on their unit that day.

Legionella and water safety

Water systems — especially in older buildings with complex pipework, unused outlets, or mixed hot and cold supplies — are a recognised legionella risk. Providers are expected to have a legionella risk assessment in place, a written water safety scheme, and records of routine checks such as flushing little-used outlets and monitoring water temperatures, in line with HSE guidance (ACOP L8 / HSG274). A missing or outdated legionella risk assessment is one of the more common gaps CQC identifies during premises checks.

Equipment servicing and calibration

Hoists, profiling beds, slings, bath lifts and other equipment used to move or support people are covered by the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER), which require equipment used to lift people to undergo a thorough examination at least every six months — more frequent than the twelve-month interval that applies to lifting equipment not used on people. Servicing certificates, LOLER reports and evidence that faulty equipment was taken out of use immediately (not "until the next service") are core evidence for Regulation 15. This overlaps directly with falls prevention: a poorly maintained hoist or an incorrectly rated sling is a safety incident waiting to happen, which is why equipment maintenance is so often discussed alongside falls prevention practice under Regulation 12.

Infection control of the physical environment

Regulation 15's "clean" and "hygiene" requirements sit close to — but are distinct from — the infection prevention and control duties covered under Regulation 12. Cracked flooring, damaged mattresses, worn furniture that cannot be effectively cleaned, and poor separation between clean and dirty utility areas are classic environmental findings that feed into wider concerns about infection prevention and control in care homes. Multiple-use equipment must be decontaminated between service users, and single-use items must never be reused.

Security of the premises

Security has to be balanced carefully in a care setting: door entry systems, visitor sign-in procedures and secure storage of medicines and records all matter, but security measures must not become de facto restrictions on people's liberty. Locking every internal door, for example, can raise Mental Capacity Act and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards questions if it is not properly assessed and justified for the individuals affected.

Suitability of layout for dementia and reduced mobility

"Suitable for the purpose" is judged against who actually lives there. Corridors wide enough for two wheelchairs to pass, clear sightlines and dementia-friendly signage, accessible bathrooms, and outdoor space that people can use safely and independently are all part of this. A building that was adequate for a lower-dependency population can become unsuitable as residents' needs change — which is why suitability has to be reassessed, not assumed.

What CQC inspectors check as evidence

Inspectors do not take a provider's word for it that premises and equipment meet the standard. In practice, they will typically ask to see:

• Planned and reactive maintenance logs, with evidence that reported faults were actioned within a reasonable timeframe
• Servicing certificates and thorough examination reports for lifting equipment, hoists, passenger lifts and other work equipment
• Fire risk assessments, fire door inspection records, and evacuation plans
• Legionella risk assessments and water safety monitoring records
• Health and safety risk assessments covering the building, grounds and any known hazards
• Cleaning schedules and audit results, including for equipment used between multiple people
• Records of environmental audits, walkarounds, and how identified issues are tracked to completion

A single missing certificate rarely fails an inspection on its own. What concerns inspectors is a pattern: gaps in servicing history, actions from risk assessments that were never closed, or a mismatch between what staff say happens and what the paperwork shows. That pattern-recognition is exactly why premises and equipment failings are so often cited alongside governance weaknesses — see our related piece on why providers fail CQC inspections for the wider picture of how these threads connect.

Common provider failings

Across enforcement activity and inspection reports, several themes recur:

• Reactive rather than planned maintenance — issues only get fixed once something breaks or a resident is harmed, rather than through a proactive schedule.
• Outsourced maintenance without oversight — providers assume a contractor's visit equals compliance, without checking the contractor actually completed the work or left evidence behind.
• Equipment kept "just in case" — faulty hoists, slings or mobility aids left in circulation because a replacement hasn't arrived, rather than withdrawn from use immediately.
• Environmental audits that don't lead to action — walkarounds are completed and filed, but the issues they identify sit unresolved for months.
• Premises that haven't kept pace with resident need — a building suited to residents five years ago that hasn't been adapted as dependency and dementia prevalence have increased.

Strong governance is what closes these gaps: clear ownership of the maintenance schedule, a named person who signs off that actions are complete (not just raised), and a service manager who can walk an inspector through the evidence trail without hesitation. This is one of the areas where the themes in our guide to good governance in health and social care map directly onto premises compliance — governance isn't just about board minutes, it's about whether the fire door check three weeks ago actually happened.

Building this into staff training

Regulation 15 compliance is not solely a facilities or maintenance-team responsibility. Care staff are usually the first to notice a loose handrail, a hoist making an unusual noise, or a fire exit blocked by a trolley — but only if they understand why it matters and how to report it. Embedding premises and equipment awareness into induction and refresher training, alongside structured CPD, helps close the gap between "someone noticed" and "someone acted". Learnsignal's CPD courses for health and social care staff cover this alongside the other fundamental standards, giving managers a straightforward way to evidence staff competence when CQC asks.

FAQs

Does Regulation 15 apply to equipment provided by a resident's family, or only equipment the provider owns?

Regulation 15 focuses on premises and equipment used by the service provider to deliver care. Where a person lives in accommodation that isn't furnished as part of the service, and the provider hasn't supplied the equipment in question, that equipment generally falls outside the scope of parts of the regulation — though wider safety duties can still apply. If in doubt, treat any equipment used in delivering care as within scope and document your reasoning.

How often should hoists and other lifting equipment be serviced?

Under the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998, equipment used to lift people must have a thorough examination at least every six months. Manufacturer servicing schedules may require more frequent checks, and any equipment reporting a fault should be withdrawn from use immediately rather than left in service until the next scheduled check.

Can a provider be found in breach of Regulation 15 even if no one has been harmed?

Yes. Regulation 15 is about whether premises and equipment meet the standard, not whether harm has already occurred. An out-of-date legionella risk assessment or an unserviced hoist can constitute a breach in its own right, because it represents an unmanaged risk to people who use the service.

Premises and equipment compliance is unglamorous, ongoing work — but it is also one of the more straightforward regulations to evidence well, provided maintenance, servicing and risk assessment records are kept current and genuinely acted upon.