Electrical Safety Inspections Guidance For Landlord

What would I do if my tenants don’t want visitors during this COVID?

During this pandemic we all should be aware of health rules and regulations. It is normal that tenants may not allow local authority or electrician in their houses. There is nothing wrong. If tenants don’t allow people to come in, landlords should wait. The government has expressed its concern about this matter. Both sides need to discuss this issue in advance.

Who can conduct an electrical safety report if you cannot find a “competent person”?

Government-established competent person schemes must be followed by “competent people.” 

If you need an electrician or competent person to conduct electrical safety testing, M. Electrical Services is the company for your home! We provide services from installing wiring and electrical fixtures to safety inspections. Our qualified electricians are part of a government-approved scheme which ensures they will always have up-to-date knowledge on regulations needed when working.

Should new builds be inspected?

New buildings have Electrical installation condition reports (EICRs). So being a new one, a building doesn’t need this. And landlord can use this EIC report instead of Landlord Electrical Safety Certificate.

The validity of the EIC is 5 years from when it is issued.

What if landlords are indifferent to the laws?

In some cases, we see landlords are not that much serious they need to be. They delay getting the satisfactory electrical installation safety report for their property. 

In that case, local housing authority must give the landlord a legal notice and a time period of 28 days, within which the landlord must take action. 

Now the question comes if the landlord still fails to get the electrical safety report! An authorised person can be engaged by the local housing authority to undertake the repair work, pending agreement by the tenant. 

The local housing authority has the authority to recover reasonable costs of the work from the landlord. They can also impose a financial penalty of up to £30,000.

Is this Regulation applicable to social housing?

The answer is “No”. Social housing is maintained by many rules and regulations under which electrical safety is applicable. But there is no requirement for social housing to inspect its electrical installation every five years. 

How do I know whether my electrical installation complies with the 18th edition of the Wiring Regulations?

The 18th edition of the Wiring Regulations states: “existing installations that have been installed in accordance with earlier editions of the regulations may not comply with this edition in every respect. This does not necessarily mean that they are unsafe for continued use or require upgrading”. 

From this statement, it is clear that if you think your satisfactory electrical report states that you are safe and need no upgrade, you can continue using the existing setup. 

Do I need another satisfactory Electrical Installation Safety Report when I already have one for my property and it’s not more than five years?

No. If you have not made a big change to your property or natural calamity has forced you to do so, it is not mandatory to reinspect your electrical installation. 

As well as electrical installations are these regulations applicable to fixed and portable appliances?

This rule doesn’t say differently for portable or fixed electrical appliances. It defines that electrical appliances provided by landlords should be electrically inspected and tested regularly.

If you want to detail about this, please read this article.