Electrical Safety Standards

We touched on the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 a couple of months ago but feel the need to re-visit this.  It is a very important piece of legislation that has been introduced during troubling times for everyone and could easily be missed.

To reiterate, all new tenancies from 1st July 2020 must have an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR).  This must also be provided at the point of renewal because a renewal is treated as a new tenancy.  Any renewals commencing from 1st July 2020 must comply with the new regulations.

 An EICR is a report from a professional electrician on your property. The electrician will carry out an in-depth test and inspection to check the condition of the electrics against the national safety standards. As a Landlord you must ensure you have an EICR before a tenant moves into the property. 

If a report comes back as ‘unsatisfactory’, the regulations require the landlord to undertake further investigative or remedial work by a qualified person within 28 days of the report, or sooner if specified by the electrician in the report.  Unsatisfactory codes shown on the EICR report can include:

• C1 Danger present, risk of injury, immediate remedial action required
• C2 Potentially dangerous, urgent remedial action required
• F1 Further investigation required  

If a faulty electrical installation is left unrepaired, a tenant could be at risk of damage to their health and even death.  As a landlord, you could leave yourself open to being sued by your tenant and you could be subject to fines from your local authority of up to £30,000 for non-compliance.