Electrical Safety
The Landlord's Responsibility
Electrical Repairs & Safety
Currently (Feb 2009) there are no specific laws that state a regime of regular Electrical testing, however the Landlord is still liable and must ensure that all electrical fittings are safe.
The relevant laws are:
- The Health and Safety at Work Act
- The consumer Protection Act
As a Landlord and under the Consumer Protection Act, you are a supplier and the 'goods' you are supplying to the tenant will include the elctrical system of the house.
Dealing with Electrical Safety
The two main occaissions when you should consider electrical safety are:
- The first time you are renting a property
- When you have a change of tenant
Initial Rental of a Property:
If it is a professional new build, the property will have been fitted out by tradesmen and the developer will in turn be subject to the laws mentioned above. In the event that there was an accident involving a tenant and the safety of the electrical system was questioned, the Landlord could refer to the Consumer Protection Act and a defence of 'Due Diligence' in that they had bought new. The problem passes to the developer.
In the event that you have purchased a previously occupied property, and will be renting it out, the duty is yours to ensure that the property is safe. The following are our recommendations:
Have the property fully inspected by an Electrician (see below)
Ensure that the main "Consumer Unit" has an appropriate RCD.
If the "Consumer Unit" is of the old wire fuse type, have it professionally replaced by an Electrician
Ensure the that the entire system has RCD protection, immediately after the main electrical mains switch.
Any electrical work being carried out in the Kitchen or Bathroom must be checked and certified by a qualified Electrician before use. In particular consider 'Part P'
An Electrician
The electricity at work regulations states: "No person shall be engaged in any work activity where technical knowledge or experience is necessary to prevent danger or, where appropriate, injury, unless he possesses such knowledge or experience, or is under such degree of supervision as may be appropriate having regard to the nature of the work."
Unlike the CORGI scheme for Gas, there is no specific registration scheme for Electricians.
In using an electrician, the Landlord needs to consider two broad issues:
- They want the job done professionally so that it is correct, works and is safe
- In the event of an accident, they need to clearly show that they used "Due Diligence" in looking after the interests of the Tenant. Put bluntly, "I used a professional Electrician, its his problem"
In a court of law, the fact that an electrician - however good they are -holds appropriate qualifications, is likley to be a deciding factor in where the blame will rest.
Building Regulations refers to the use of a 'Competent Person' and there are various self certification schemes. A professional electrician might be registered with any or a number of the following:
Of course if you don't have access to a known and preferred Electrician - or any tradesman come to that - its always worth calling your letting agent, they will almost certainly have recommendations. Equally, if you have a tradseman that you can recommend, tell your letting agent.
Useful Links:
Landlord Zone: Electrical Safety
Electrical Qualifications : Competent Person
Part P
Personal Experience
I have a mix of properties and have been fortunate in developing a relationship with an excellent, experienced and qualified electrician. He is able to provide advice on the latest law and recommends what I must or should do.
With the older properties we have replaced the old wire fuse boxes with modern 'trip' consumer units, still one more to do. Though it is often an expense that might be put off, it is a message to the tenant that we are looking after both them and the property. Also it means that as and when laws are brought in, we don't have a sudden expense.
Generally speaking it seems that anything that exists is okay, anything new has to meet the most modern guidlines or rules.
With a new kitchen that I installed, which also involved a great deal of refurbishment of walls, I ran plastic trunking in the walls, my electrician was then able to easily run cable and do his job, neither of us got in the way of the other.
Having taken on a number of houses, I have also seen that previous owners can make some awful changes and additions to the electrical system. From cables run diagonally across walls buried under a thin skim of plaster, to 13 amp sockets wired up with 1 or 1.5mm cable (it should be 2.5mm) and sockets with the wiring falling out of the screw fittings. Any previously occupied / owned house has to be treated as suspect. |
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