<p><span class="">Landlords in England must make sure that any privately rented property’s electrical system and any electrical appliances supplied to tenants are safe throughout the tenancy</span></p>
According to the Government, faulty electrics – that’s appliances, wiring and overloaded sockets – cause around 4,000 fires in homes across England every year.
Landlords in England must make sure that any privately rented property’s electrical system and any electrical appliances supplied to tenants are safe throughout the tenancy.
Under The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020, a full electrical safety inspection and test must be carried out every five years – sooner if it was recommended on the previous Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR).
The Registered Competent Person Electrical website has a list of contractors that are registered to undertake electrical safety reports in England and Wales, or you can find a competent electrician via NAPIT, one of the UK’s leading government-approved membership schemes.
While there’s no specific legal requirement around testing any electrical items you’ve provided, you are obliged to make sure they’re safe. And the best way to do that is to have a portable appliance test carried out.
The first thing to note is that all electrical appliances must carry the British Safety Standard kitemark sign.
Then it’s good practice to have a PAT carried out by an electrician or certified PAT tester every one to two years.
The test itself involves a visual check for any signs of damage or wear, then a machine test to make sure it works as it should and your tenants aren’t at risk of an electric shock. Any item that fails should be removed from the property and either repaired or replaced.
Tip: Warn tenants that if they overload sockets, that will increase the risk of fire breaking out. Ideally, when you’re preparing a property to rent, have an electrician add extra sockets – certainly in the main living room, bedrooms and kitchen – reducing the need for tenants to use extension leads or multi-socket adapters.