As a landlord, it is your legal duty to provide safety for your tenants of all the electrical equipment that are supplied through your property. This safety must also be maintained for a tenancy duration to avoid significant financial risks, such as fines and invalid insurance claims if the required electrical safety obligations are not followed. Many landlords have a proactive approach when it comes to ensuring the safety of their properties; however, the minority fail to do so and, as a result, put their tenants in danger.
In 2019, the Government announced plans to introduce mandatory electrical safety checks in all properties. This comes as efforts to provide electrical testing in-line with the gas safety check regime and the electrical regulations already operative in licensed Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs).
The new regulations were officially brought in on 1st April 2020 to apply to new tenancies as of 1st July 2020. However, come 1st April 2021, this will be a legal requirement extended to all tenancies, both new and existing. The new regulations mean that landlords will be required to organize electrical inspections and tests for electrical installations within their properties. The electrical installation condition report (EICR) will need to be carried out by an individual or organization that are authorized and qualified to do so. It is also important to mention that it is the responsibility of the property owner to carry out the necessary background checks in order to make certain that the individual or business employed to carry out the necessary checks are qualified to do so.
It is in the best interest of the property owner to ensure electrical safety checks are carried out as being in possession of an electrical safety certificate for your property means that potential buyers or tenants can rest assured that the property in question includes safe electrical installations. Electrical inspections and tests must take place every five years, and failure to do so can result in fines and/or prison time. Once the electrical installations of a property have passed the required inspections and tests, the property owner will receive an electrical safety certificate.
At AJ Properties, we work closely with our landlords and property owners to ensure the safety of tenants. AJ Properties take electrical safety matters very seriously. For this reason, we inform our landlords that we will carry out the necessary electrical checks and tests to make certain that the properties we manage are compliant with the new electrical safety regulations. We take a proactive approach in sourcing qualified electrical safety specialists, which eradicates the risk of running into hurdles in the future.
Carrying out electrical safety inspections for landlords and property owners is one of the many ways we go that extra mile at AJ Properties. Get in touch today to find out how we can go that extra mile for you!
