Do you need to know about Landlord Electrical Safety Reports? In this guide to the PRS Scheme Legislation, we will cover everything you need to know about the new requirements for Landlord Electrical Safety Reports in 2020.
As of the 1st of July 2020 there is a legal requirement for landlords to provide electrical safety reports for all of their properties.
What this means is, as a landlord, you have a legal responsibility to provide a safe electrical installation for all of your tenants. The new legislation around electrical safety testing will enforce this.
What are the responsibilities of a landlord for properties in England?
The electrical safety standards in the private rental sector (PRS) regulations 2020 places a duty on the landlords in England to ensure the property has up-to-date electrical safety standards. The landlord must also have evidence of this. What this means is your property must be covered by an electrical installation condition report.
This has been in force for HMO properties for some time. It is now filtered down into single tenancies and other properties in the private rental sector.
This is also similar to the Gas industry requiring regular inspections and documentation.
The Gov.uk website has an in-depth guide but read on for our ‘electricians guide’ to this subject.
My property was installed safely to a previous edition of the wiring regulations. Do I need an EICR?
Currently, as written, the legislation from the government does not seem to account for existing EICR’s. (read more here to find out what EICR’s are) However, it is likely that this was not the intention of the regulations.
The government have issued some guidance on this matter and have confirmed that an EICR is performed prior to the 18th addition but less than five years old will be considered valid.
For example, this means if your property does not conform with 18th edition of BS7671 wiring regulations but you do have a current EICR it will be okay until it expires.
Is there a deadline for inspections to be carried out?
If you are renting out a property in England an EICR (Landlord Electrical Safety Report) is required if the tenancy began after the 1st of July 2020.
For existing tenancies, you will need to have an EICR carried out before first of April 2021.
What happens if an EICR has come back Unsatisfactory?
An Unsatisfactory result on any EICR means there is a potential breach of the electrical safety standards. Your duty is to ensure the standards are met you would have to have a qualified person perform the work or investigate further within 28 days
The time period could be shortened if the report recommends so
Who is qualified to carry out a Landlord Electrical Saftey Report report?
A qualified person is someone who is competent to perform electrical inspections and electrical works.
You can check the electrical competent persons register or use an NICEIC approved contractor who is registered on the PRS scheme.
Who can carry out the remedial works?
Remedial works must be carried out by a competent person. That person must also certify their work and those certificates will prove compliance with the observations noted on the safety report
I’ve had an unsatisfactory report and works completed what happens next?
If you are issued with a report that has an unsatisfactory result there will be a page on the report listing the observations made by the assessor.
These observations once completed should be certified by the electrician carrying out the works. Your original report in conjunction with the certificates for the completed works will provide evidence of compliance.
You will not need a re-test for Landlord Electrical Safety Reports.(like an MOT) The documented evidence you already have will suffice
How much should I expect to pay for an electrical safety report?
Prices will vary depending on your location in the country, size of property, and extent of the electrical installation in the property.
Saying that, we can give you a guide that will help.
We are currently charging £150 for a Landlord Electrical Safety Report on a three-bed house. Larger properties may cost more, while smaller properties make be less.
Click here for more information on electrical Safety report pricing
How long does it take to carry out an electrical safety report?
Similar to pricing this can vary depending on the property the main issue would be how many circuits there are and how many accessories on each circuit.
Roughly 30 minutes per circuit will be a good baseline to work from 2 to 3 hours for a normal property. However, this can vary drastically depending on what is involved in each property and the condition of the wiring once the inspection is started.
A 1 bedroom flay may have a lighting circuit with just 5 or 6 lights. A larger 4 bedrrom house could have a lighting circuit with 20 lights across 6 or 7 different rooms.
We can carry out your EICR
If you need an EICR carried out please call us on 01332 498130 or fill in our contact form below.
