A Guide on Landlord Electrical Safety
As a landlord, you have the responsibility of keeping your tenants safe by protecting them from electrical faults that could potentially cause danger and harm. By law, it is a requirement that you carry out certain electrical safety checks and installations throughout the property to ensure a safe environment is obtainable for your tenants. Follow our guide to basic landlord electrical safety, to help improve protection and reduce the risks of accidents and fires occurring.
Legal Requirements
The responsibilities that come with renting out a property require you to carry out the following to ensure that you provide a safe environment for your tenants to live in…
. All electrical installations that occur within your rented property must be carried out by a competent professional to ensure safe conditions are maintained for the duration of your tenants living in the property.
Periodic checks must be carried out. If you are renting out a house with multiple occupants, (HMO) you need to be making sure the property has a periodic inspection carried out by a registered professional at least every five years.Any appliance that is provided within the property needs to meet safety standards, and have CE markings- this is the manufacturers claim that meets all European law requirements.
Landlords should be checking the property in a number of ways, such as…. making sure the wiring throughout the property is safe, the fusebox and sockets aren’t hazardous and any other potential threats are dealt with. Identifying potential hazards is a great habit to get into, to ensure that landlord electrical safety is carried out and maintained.
Periodic Inspections
As mentioned above, periodic inspections should be carried out at least every 5 years to a rented property. These inspections consist of:
These tests are carried out on fixed electrical equipment to ensure the household is safe. The checks should be carried out by a registered and competent electrician that will inspect the conditions up against the UK standard for the safety of electrical installations, detailing any observed damage that goes against the standard safety regulations. If anything potentially dangerous is found, this will affect the overall condition of the property and the environment will be declared as ‘unsatisfactory.’ Action will need to be taken immediately to remove any potential dangers and risks within the property.
Landlord Electrical Safety Recommendations
First Strike Electrical Ltd would recommend a few pointers to ensure you are consistent with basic landlord electrical safety to make sure that your tenants are living in a safe environment. As a landlord, you should be making your own small observations within the property such as: checking you have RCD protection in your fusebox. (This is a lifesaving device that protects you from getting an electric shock.) Making sure that plug sockets and extensions are not overloaded with wires and devices, checking cables and leads are kept in good condition, Making sure there aren’t any combustible substances kept near fuse boxes or electrical metres, checking that main power electricals are not taken into the bathroom or anywhere near a water source.
Everyone should be made to feel safe in the environment they are living in. Landlord electrical safety is a crucial component in renting out a property to protect tenants as well as benefitting the landlord by making improvements to their property which will benefit them financially by preventing accidents. These accidents can be costly and time-consuming to try and resolve so preventing this as much as possible can save you money in the long-run.
Contact
If you would like to find out more about landlord electrical safety. Or you would like more information on the services that First Strike Electrical Ltd provide. Please contact us by filling out an online enquiry form, or call us on 020 3633 4536 today
Landlord Electrical Safety
