Advice for Private Landlords

Our guidance explains your responsibilities for making sure that your rental properties are electrically safe and offers practical advice to help you keep your tenants safe. Our leaflets are free to download and offer advice and guidance about your legal obligations to help you keep your tenants safe.

Five Yearly Electrical Checks

From 1^st June 2020, private landlords in England will be required to have the electrical installation in their rental properties checked by a qualified electrician to ensure that they are safe.

This means that:

• Electrical installations must be inspected and tested prior to the start of a new tenancy from 1^st July 2020
• Checks must be carried out on any existing tenancies by 1^st April 2021

These checks must then be carried out on a five yearly basis.

A copy of the most recent electrical safety condition report (EICR) must be provided to both new and retained tenants.

The landlord is responsible for making sure that the person who completes the check is suitably competent. Using an electrician or firm that is a member of an accredited registration scheme operated by a recognized body will give you the confidence that this has been achieved. You can use the search facility on our website to find a registered electrician near you.

Covid-19

Should the ongoing Coronavirus crisis affect the timescale for the introduction of five yearly electrical checks in privately rented homes, we will update this page accordingly.

Register Your Appliances

If you are providing electrical appliances as a part of the rental agreement, make sure that you register them with the manufacturer.  This means that if there is a problem, the manufacturer can contact you. You should also advise your tenants to register any electrical products that they bring into the property. You can find out more here.

You can also use Electrical Safety First's product checker to find out if any of the appliances that you and your tenants own have been subject to a recall or safety notice.

Electrical Safety First also recommends...

• That a visual inspection of the property is conducted between tenancies
• Making sure that your property has adequate RCD protection
• Using a registered electrician for any work on your property
• Carrying out regular safety checks on the electrical appliances provided as part of the rental agreement
• Downloading the 'Home Electrical Safety Check' smartphone app

Landlord in Scotland?

Advice for Private Landlords

Advice for Social Landlords

Here is a full report on electrical safety regulations provided by Electrical Safety First: HERE

This blog piece is courtesy of Electrical Safety First.