The draft of The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 has been laid in Parliament. The regs require a resolution of each house, so this will not be an immediate approval, but should be soon – it looks like the intention is for the Regs to be in force from 1 April 2020. (But there is some confusion in the draft regs. The ‘coming into force date is given as 1 April 2020. But then s.1 says ‘come into force 1 June 2020, to have effect for “all new specified tenancies from 1st July 2020”, then existing tenancies from 1 April 2021. Which is either the usual year’s grace, or isn’t, depending on which in force date is right. I presume this will be clarified before the regs are passed).
From the draft, there will be a requirement on private landlords (save for specified exceptions) to ensure that an electrical safety check is done before the commencement of the tenancy (for all new tenancies after the Regs are in force), and for every existing tenancy, by 1 April 2021. Then electrical safety checks are to be done no more than every 5 years thereafter,
There is a constant obligation on the private landlord to “ensure that the electrical safety standards are met during any period when the residential premises are occupied under a specified tenancy;”.
The check must result in a report giving the results and the date of the next inspection, and this must be supplied to the tenant within 28 days. If the Local Authority request a opy it must be provided within 7 days. Copies must also be provided to prospective tenants on request, and to new tenants before taking occupation.
Any remedial works must be done within 28 days, or whatever shorter period specified in the report (with written confirmation of work done).
Now, enforcement…
Enforcement is by the Local Authority, by ordering remedial action or urgent remedial action. The penalty for breach of such an order is a ‘civil penalty’ (as per Housing Act 2004 and Housing and Planning Act 2016) of up to £30,000.
But this ‘up to £30,000 penalty’ also applies to any duty under Reg 3. So the Local Authority can levy a penalty on the landlord for failing to provide the tenant or prospective tenant with an electrical safety certificate at the required times. (There is the usual appeals process for such penalties, and a way to appeal remedial action and urgent remedial action notices.)
The options for the tenant are less straightforward. There is, for instance, no restriction on the ability for the landlord to serve a section 21 notice (probably sensibly, in view of the Govt’s intention to end section 21 – maybe this is a precursor of the financial penalties that might replace the restrictions on serving a s.21 on other matters). But Part 6 of the regulations adds a new condition to mandatory or additional or selective licenses (via Schedule 4 Housing Act 2004) to the effect that:
(c) where the house is in England, additionally—
(i) to ensure that every electrical installation in the house is in proper working order and safe for continued use; and
(ii) to supply the authority, on demand, with a declaration by him as to the safety of such installations;
Breach of condition of a licence under s.95 Housing Act 2004 is a Rent Repayment Order offence, so I think (on a first look) – as things stand – that a tenant’s application for a rent repayment order may be possible where the property is subject to licensing, but not otherwise. If that is the case, I’d suggest it doesn’t make an awful lot of sense to restrict possible RROs in this way. But it is only breach of s.95(1) that is a RRO offence – not having a licence when required. s.95(2) – breach of licence conditions is not an RRO offence, so there is no RRO possible on breach of the electrical safety regs.
Otherwise, I don’t think the tenant has much recourse (or compensation) beyond a complaint to the Local Authority – save, of course that an unsafe electrical installation will fall under s.9A, and possibly s.11, Landlord and Tenant Act 1985.
Some tenancies are excluded from the regs – private register providers of social housing, lodgers, tenant sharing accommodation with landlord’s family, long leases, student halls of residence, hostels and refuges, cares homes, hospitals and hospices, and other NHS provided accommodation.
If I’m honest, I’m not sure why half or more of these are excluded, nor why council tenancies aren’t included. But there we are.
And I must say, about time! These regs have been rumoured for literally years and are much needed.
I wonder if this could apply to commercial buildings occupied by “property guardians”?
Almost certainly not. Specifies tenancies.
That was my immediate thought as well Robert. Property Guardians. I know a couple of ‘For profit’ PRPs as well, who are anything but social in outlook and why exclude occupants of care homes, refuges etc? Dont they deserve protection? I also foresee an increase in the common tactic of rogue landlords arguing, “Its a care home/refuge/hostel/holiday let/lodger/not an HMO” delete as applicable
Excellent news, not …..but I don’t expect that the buffoons in suits that have been pushing for this for ages have given a single thought to where the electricians to carry out the tests are going to magically appear from? I use three electricians (that I trust to do work correctly)…. one has said that it’s not the type of work he wants to do at all and won’t be taking any on. Another said he’ll fit it in around his day to day jobs so may be two or three tests a week. the third said he may set aside a day a week for testing if it can pay for itself, which is doubtful. So please tell me where all these sparks are going to come from? Btw go any of you have the foggiest idea how long an average test in say, a three bedroom house take……..no, thought not.
You are complaining about £40 a year, or less? For an inspection every 5 years? That is really quite some top level complaining.
Sorry Giles, you don’t really understand the practicalities of this.
“Then electrical safety checks are to be done no more than every 5 years thereafter”
Is simply incorrect;
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2020/9780111191934
“(a) at intervals of no more than 5 years; or
(b)where the most recent report under sub-paragraph (3)(a) requires such inspection and testing to be at intervals of less than 5 years, at the intervals specified in that report.”
EICR’s are often given 12 monthly intervals, especially on older properties.
Making daft statements about landlords killing tenants helps no-one.
I think rather than ‘simply incorrect’ you mean correct but incomplete. The requirement at a) is that the check must be done within the next 5 years.
The post was a quick introduction, not a comprehensive analysis – that will wait for the final approved regulations. So it is ‘headlines’ only.
And, well, tenants have been killed by unsafe electrical installations. I actually said surely any responsible landlord would want to be sure they weren’t at risk of killing their tenants. That seems to be a fairly uncontentious statement to me, so I’m surprised to see you arguing with it.
Where could they come from? [thinks…] Are there any neighbouring countries that could fill the vacancies? In the EU perhaps? Oh…
A proper through test of a three bed house with which you as a spark do not have a previous report for and with whose wiring you are not familiar will take at least half a day and probably cost upwards of £200
And that lasts 5 years, with the subsequent reinspection being cheaper? £40 a year for the first 5 years? And less thereafter?
Wow. Such hardship. Where of course any responsible landlord would in any event be having checks, just to make sure they ween’t at risk of killing their tenants.
I HAD an EICR + PAT test last November. WHY do I need another for tenants arriving in July ? PLEASE let me know as only 3 weeks before property relet.
It depends on what standard your November 2019 test was against.If it was against the 18th Edition of the Wiring Regulations, then you don’t need a new one.
If it wasn’t, well this is what happens when new regulations and standards are introduced. There is always a transition point.
Giles why have you assumed that anybody is complaining about the cost? The question raised by Orson was where all the electricians needed to carry out the work are going to come from.
It’s not about the costs. Most of my houses are HMO’s and we have a **continuous** problem with getting electrical safeties actually done by the sparks. We now chase 3-4 months before expiry to make sure there is no gap.
The underlying issue is that the sparky is putting their career on the line for wiring they cannot see and have never seen. Additionally 99% of all houses no longer meet the current electrical regs (as they change every few years). So a consideration needs to be made in regards to this as well. Also consider that electrical safeties is not normal business for a sparkly, so it’s going to be a massive upheaval for the rental market.
For a gas guy, the pressure test + boiler + appliances is fairly straightforward. The annual pressure check is fairly straightforward, but certifies the whole pipe work from a ***single point***. For the sparky on a house 70 years old – how much wiring was carried out personally by a prior owner in the loft for a single bulb that was poorly done? How is this even checked?
It’s going to be an interesting few months…
Fair point. I was picking up what Alex said. But compared to gas inspection, this is once every 5 years, not annual, and I would think relatively quick and simple after an initial inspection (subsequent inspections would be entitled to rely on the findings on the nature of the installation in the first, I would think).
The relevant standards are specified in the draft regs:
“electrical safety standards” means the standards for electrical installations in the eighteenth edition of the Wiring Regulations, published by the Institution of Engineering and Technology and the British Standards Institution as BS 7671: 2018(5);
So, as things stand, any future changes to standards would not apply unless and until incorporated into the regs by amendment.
Not read the draft but I would be interested to see how/if they define ‘remedial works’ as observations are coded in order of severity on reports from (something like) immediate danger of death to would look much nicer if…
Required to meet safety standards.
There are 1.9 million properties affected and about 15 months to do them in.
Getting the work done is going to be impossible – most properties won’t pass the first time, because the standards changed in 2018 to require a higher spec metal consumer units rather than plastic, which was previously the norm.
So there are going to be roughly two call outs per property all of which have to be done by next April, then almost no inspections for five years and then they’ll all need doing at the same time again.
Anyone know of decent electricians with that any available capacity?
Forget the cost, the implementation is just badly thought through.
According to the ONS the number of households in the private rented sector in 2017 was 4.5 million so even allowing for multiple occupation of some properties, 1.9 million is likely to be a significant under estimation.
I understand that there is also a new requirement for Arc Fault Detection devices to be installed – I had a new metal consumer unit installed in one property in 2019 following an EICR but as far as I am aware it did not include AFDDs. In another property the electrician did not consider it necessary to upgrade the consumer unit as no other electrical work was being done so in each case a further full inspection within a year will be required. There may well be further changes of which I am not aware.
MCHLG have apparently given “assurances about capacity in the supply chain” – wishful thinking gone mad.
Exactly my point, some sparks won’t even entertain this testing work because its bloody boring work that doesn’t pay particularly well. Getting the properties tested in the timescale is an impossibility. This is what happens when you allow buffoons in suits that have never got their hands dirty in their lives (but probably have a First from Oxford in ancient Greek) to meddle in technical matters that they just don’t understand.
lol Orson nonsense what utter rubbish
1.You are a good landlord Mr Orson and all of your properties already have safety certificates. Or do you let them without knowing if the electrics are safe ?
2. You can easily find an electrician to spare an hour to tick some boxes there are plenty out there, you know there is!
3. why are you being so useless as to complain about the picture in the post, did you really think that it was something to do with an electrical report etc ?
Your comment displays ignorance and/or a total misunderstanding of the issues. Have you taken the trouble to read the Regulations and consider the implications?
Absolutely !
I have been reading posts on a Sparky site regarding these regulations and the ‘availability’ of sparkies to do the work, and many of them are saying they are not qualified to undertake the inspections and will not be undertaking the additional training required to enable them to do so.
The plastic consumer units are ok if the rest of the installation meets regs (or easily meets regs – i.e. can easily install RCD components for example) – this will be judgement call for the “Qualified person” carrying out the work. On the EICR report it will mention any items that don’t meet the standard, but are ok to keep on using (C3).
– Just looking at an EICR I had carried out in Oct 2019 for one of my HMOs, the report marked the plastic consumer unit as a C3 item (ok to keep on using, but not current regs). So this should be ok as long as the rest of the installation is **satisfactory**.
I’m now planning to arrange EICR reports for all my non-HMO rentals in the next month – I would rather be ahead of the game and under existing rules vs any quirks in the new rules once they go live in June (assuming this becomes law of course!). Welcome to 2020! ;-)
I fear that your interpretation is not correct. The draft regulations stipulate:
“electrical safety standards” means the standards for electrical installations in the eighteenthedition of the Wiring Regulations, published by the Institution of Engineering and Technologyand the British Standards Institution as BS 7671: 2018
3.—(1) A private landlord who grants or intends to grant a specified tenancy must—
(a)
ensure that the electrical safety standards are met during any period when the residential premises are occupied under a specified tenancy;
This means the end (but only for rented properties) of the currrent pragmatic approach that upgrading of an installation which complies with previous standards and is still in good condition is only required if it is being modified or added to. I hope I am wrong but this probably means that what is now coded C3 will attract a requirement to carry out remedial work
I will contact the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government for confirmation. Lets hope for the best, your scenario is not deliverable as the majority of housing stock across the UK does not have metal consumer units (for example) and this is a NOT a simple change.
Update – a quick call with the Ministry confirmed that this legislation is just extending the requirement for EICR reports to cover the whole residential lettings sector.
– They don’t expect the current EICR testing regime to change and my existing EICR reports are valid and should return the same results if I asked for them again post the law going live (assuming the electrics inside the property have not changed and the prior report was generated post the IET 2018 standards change going live).
Obviously, the devil is in the legal detail and to cover my back***e (and this is a legal blog – thanks to Giles for this existing at all!) – Ring up/contact the ministry yourself if you still have concerns and want further clarification.
Interpretation of the phrase “ensure that the electrical safety standards are met” is key and will require a detailed look at the wiring regulations. If code C3 will still be permitted and my two EICRs from 2019 remain valid, that will be a relief, but I am not holding my breath. Legislation does not always achieve what Government intends or expects.
I did discuss C3s with the Ministry and their view is that this stays as is – i.e. C3 = Improvement recommended, but not required.
I would say keep a careful eye on the regulations when they are finalised. What the MHCLG say is the intention and what the regs legally do are far from being definitely the same thing – witness the history of the deposit scheme rules.
In that case why have they defined the required standards by reference to the 18th edition regulations?
The specified regulations *will* be the threshold for what constitutes safe, at least on the current wording.
So every CU pre the 2018 18th edition will be deemed unsafe, that’s literally millions of CU’s. These clowns really have no idea what they’re doing, do they.
It’s not only the CU that will need changing. The new 2018 18th edition calls for many new requirements for circuits, zones, energy loss from cables, no plastic clips or conduits and many other items which will probably mean a rewire for most properties. With tenants in situ, walls and floors to be chased, lack of electricity for periods, massive upheaval, the mind boggles. Eviction and or sale of the properties will be the result. This really will be the last straw for Landlords.
Hi Bev. Just to clarify. I’m an electrical contractor and also a small landlord. The consumer units, if plastic, don’t need to be changed as it is a recommendation (C3). This doesn’t affect the safety of the installation. If the cabling in the property is twin and earth, there is no need to rewire. The plastic, or non combustible issue is to protect against premature collapse in the event of a fire, so not typically relevant in a domestic situation. Hope this helps.
Gerard,
The issue is not what the electrical regulations say, but what the proposed regulations say about the application of the electrical regulations to PRS property; in particular 3(1)(a).
As written, 3(1)(a) could be interpreted as requiring the electrical installation to be brought up to 18th edition requirements for new work (i.e. include C3s and Observations in items requiring remedy).
What I believe 3(1)(a) is trying to say is “anything that has given or would give rise to a C1, C2, or F1 categorisation under an inspection to the electrical safety standards must be addressed”, and I cannot see that there can be any reasonable objection to such a requirement.
BUT what is important in law is what the regulations say, not what the authors intended them to mean.
It is the wording that will be considered by judges and used by the lawyers of anti-landlord organisations such as Shelter.
@Simon BB
If you have the ear of the Ministry, then perhaps you could explain the legal position regarding the intention and the actual wording of the regulations to them, and also point out that the disruption that remedial work might require could mean that landlords evict blameless tenant form electrically safe homes in order to comply with the regulations as currently written.
I doubt that any of this has dawned on the buffoons in suits, clueless as usual.
Regarding the photograph at the heading of this article, you do realise that EICR’s apply to only fixed installations and whilst the extension lead in the photo with numerous dodgy appliances attached to it is obviously not desirable it would be outside the scope of any testing regime. This is extremely misleading, you should take it down.
Dear Orson. You will be shocked to learn that this post – https://nearlylegal.co.uk/2019/12/sibylla/ – does not contain any actual prophecy, despite the header image. What is more, this post – https://nearlylegal.co.uk/2020/01/tenancy-deposit-unserved-prescribed-information/ – is NOT ABOUT THE PROPERTY IN THE PHOTOGRAPH! Even worse, the picture in this post – https://nearlylegal.co.uk/2019/12/apres-nous-le-deluge-rents-and-water-resellers/ – does not show an actual employee of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames selling water.
We expect our readers to have some small degree of intelligence, imagination and humour, and not to be tediously literal-minded. I’m very sorry if you feel yourself unable to meet our modest expectations, and I’ll take steps accordingly.
“you do realise that EICR’s apply to only fixed installations”
I doubt even the suits driving this realise that.
Any knowledgeable debate is automatically closed down with ‘evidence’ pictures like the above and emotive wails about tenant safety.
*Sighs* They not only realise that, they actively specified it. It is what the regulations actually say, carefully and deliberately.
And the photo is not ‘evidence’. It is just a picture. Because sometimes we add pictures to our posts.
If this is the standard of ‘knowledgeable debate’ you produce, I’m not entirely surprised you get ignored.
Unfortunately that is the type of obviously-staged/irrelevant picture that landlords have become accustomed to being used for landlord-bashing by the likes of Shelter. The other pictures you mention do not have the same emotional connotations.
HMSO have today issued a correction slip:
“Page 1, in the italic coming into force cross-heading: ‘1st April 2020’ should read ‘1st June 2020’.”
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2020/9780111191934/resources
(As the customary italic date headings are not strictly part of the regulations themselves so have no legal force, MHCLG can get away with a correction slip rather than having to withdraw the draft regulations and lay a revised draft before Parliament.)
So that clears up one aspect of confusion. MHCLG’s Explanatory Memorandum still misleadingly states: “existing tenancies will come into scope after one year” (para 12.12), meaning 1 April 2021 not one year after the regulations come into force.
It remains bad drafting for the regulations to have a commencement date (1 June) earlier than the earliest supposed date of application (1 July for tenancies granted on or after commencement). If a tenancy begins in June, is the reg 3(1)(c)(i) pre-tenancy inspection requirement meant to apply or not?
And the definition of “qualified person” is vague if not circular as to who should conduct “inspection and testing” and any consequential “investigative or remedial work”: “a person competent to undertake the inspection and testing required under regulation 3(1) and any further investigative or remedial work in accordance with the electrical safety standards”.
The Explanatory Memo alludes to the need for this to be clarified (para 12.10):
“Carrying out an inspection of electrical installations is a complex task that requires an extra level of qualification and competence achieved beyond the standard 4-year vocational route commonly followed by qualified inspectors and testers. Therefore, Government will develop, with industry experts, new guidance for landlords stipulating who can carry out the mandatory electrical installation checks.”
Which raises more questions than it answers. Even when the promised guidance emerges, it will be non-statutory so not binding either way when considering whether an electrician is legally competent.
Finally(!), you say in the comments above, “a comprehensive analysis…will wait for the final approved regulations” and “keep a careful eye on the regulations when they are finalised”. Without wanting to overinterpret your asides, it is well for readers to recognise that draft statutory instruments (laid before Parliament for approval by a vote of each House) are unamendable and, despite the terminology, best thought of as the final text – it being rare for such drafts to be withdrawn other than for typos, and exceptionally rare for them not to get the necessary approval when put to the vote. That said, I do doubt that this draft is satisfactory – which is not to say that I doubt that it will be approved and made into law. :) Anyway, I look forward to your further analysis.
Reply to GERARD
Gerard on 21/01/2020 at 8:37 am
Hi Bev. Just to clarify. I’m an electrical contractor and also a small landlord. The consumer units, if plastic, don’t need to be changed as it is a recommendation (C3). This doesn’t affect the safety of the installation. If the cabling in the property is twin and earth, there is no need to rewire. The plastic, or non combustible issue is to protect against premature collapse in the event of a fire, so not typically relevant in a domestic situation. Hope this helps.
Yes Gerard you are correct, but the elephant in the room is “Will this legislation have the effect of requiring ALL rented properties installations to be in conformity with the 18th edition”. It appears from the draft that there is no exception, C3 will not apply, older properties will need massive amount of work and pre 2019ish installations will require the metal CU,s and Arc protection devices at least, You will know more than I, I am sure, but I am not talking details here, it is the legal outcome of the new regs that is unclear. As I read them, and other legal posters have said, the 18th edition is going to be the standard which will need to be complied with regardless, unless amended before becoming law, and this does not seem likely unless some higher authority intervenes.
Thanks to richgreenhill for alerting me to the existence of the explanatory memorandum. Based on my reading of this and the Draft Regulations I have sent the following email to MCHLG (still awaiting their response) and should appreciate correction/criticism if there are flaws or weaknesses in my interpretation/reasoning.
“The draft regulations stipulate that a private landlord must ensure that the standards for electrical installations in the eighteenth edition of the Wiring Regulations are met during any period when the residential premises are occupied under a specified tenancy.
The Regulations have been drafted in such a way that they will potentially give rise to consequences that I assume are unintended. As a landlord I have the following concerns and should appreciate your comments and answers to my questions:
1. Inspections carried out before 1st January 2019 do not confirm compliance with the 18th edition but are based on earlier editions so will need to be repeated before the date when the Regulations apply.
2. The Regulations impose an on-going requirement to meet the standards in the 18th edition so if it is amended there will be an immediate need to incorporate the changes. When the 18th edition is superseded privately rented property will still have to comply with it, unless it is the intention to amend the Regulations to require compliance with the new standards. If that is the case we will have to upgrade each time the standards are amended or revised. If not, we will not be permitted to have any work done in compliance with the new standards but will have to insist on the electrician working to outdated standards. Does this make any sense at all?
3. Wiring installed before 1st January 2019 (or possibly July 2018) will probably not meet the 18th edition standards so will need to be upgraded – there is no provision for Code C3 which under the current inspection regime is used when a particular feature of the installation does not meet current standards but is considered safe to be left as it is.
4. Some features which do not “meet” the current standards, such as wiring using the old colours do not have to be mentioned at the moment. This will no longer be the case, so many properties will require a complete re-wire even though there is no safety issue. This will in many cases require the landlord to take possession of the property under ground 6 of Section 8 of the Housing Act as such work involves major disruption and periods when the electricity supply has to be disconnected, so more homelessness for no good reason.
5. Plastic consumer units will need to be replaced with metal ones, even though I am led to believe that consideration is being given to reverting to plastic in the next issue of the Wiring Regulations. Why have the Draft Regulations not retained provision for code C3?
6. Electrical Installation Condition Reports (EICRs) based on inspections carried out after 1st January 2019 will be similarly invalid as they will have been prepared based on the current guidance – they will not therefore confirm that the standards in the 18th edition have been met because there will be no record of aspects that in exercise of the tester’s discretion have not been mentioned. A code C3 will become a requirement to upgrade.
7. All this makes a nonsense of Para 12.4 of the explanatory memorandum, which states that 78% of landlords already have electrical safety checks, so they will not be affected by this cost until they are due for a new Inspection, implying that this will be phased in over an extended period. In reality, all properties will require inspection before 1st April 2021, whether or not there is a current EICR.
8. Para 12.7 of the explanatory memorandum “There are also likely to be remedial costs associated with fixing any hazards identified in the electrical safety checks. These are not a direct impact of the legislation because landlords are already legally required to ensure there are no serious electrical hazards in their properties” is also extremely misleading and inaccurate – under the Draft Regulations landlords will be required to carry out major work to upgrade features that present no hazard at all and have happily been ignored or given a code C3 in the past. The costs incurred will be a very definite direct impact of the legislation.
9. Where are the electricians, qualified to as yet unspecified standards, to permit 4.6 million inspections (probably many more as this figure is several years out of date) and all the resulting remedial work to be carried out by April 2021? How are landlords expected to find them? Will there be a register that can be searched by location?
10. The Regulations say “qualified person” means a person competent to undertake the inspection and testing required under regulation 3(1) and any further investigative or remedial work in accordance with the electrical safety standards”. There is no reference in the Regulations to the “guidance” or “checklist” mentioned in paras 12.10 and 12.11 of the explanatory memorandum so they will have no statutory authority and competence will be a matter of fact to be determined in each case, giving rise to yet more confusion and uncertainty.
11. Why do the Regulations only apply to private landlords? Is the safety of tenants in Local Authority or Social Housing of less importance? The Fitness for Human Habitation Act applies to all tenures, why not these Regulations?”
Hello Giles, I note the law will not apply to social landlords, but what if they have a Private Rented Sector subsidiary like London and Quadrant who have over 2,300 Private rented accommodation? Thanks, M.
To be exempt, it has to be “managed by a private registered provider of social housing;” or “not operated on a commercial basis”. The former might apply, depending on the nature of the subsidiary. If a ‘for profit’ separate corporate identity, likely will apply.
“Some tenancies are excluded from the regs – private register providers of social housing, lodgers, tenant sharing accommodation with landlord’s family, long leases, student halls of residence, hostels and refuges, cares homes, hospitals and hospices, and other NHS provided accommodation.
If I’m honest, I’m not sure why half or more of these are excluded, nor why council tenancies aren’t included. But there we are.”
Please note that I am not complaining about maintaining houses in a safe condition. I spend thousands every year on our HMOs.
Doubtless each and every new or increased requirement can be justified in its own terms. Cumulatively, the burden on PRS landlords increases and increases and the “amateur” landlord may be unaware and so find himself in a world of trouble later. The Government may be trying to professionalise the PRS but at the moment it’s all stick and no carrot and no offer of advice or training. As other posters have pointed out finding sufficient electricians to do this extra work will not be straightforward. The costs will eventually be passed on to tenants in the form of higher rents.
The question arises: if all these regulations are necessary, why aren’t they applied to private register providers of social housing, lodgers, tenant sharing accommodation with landlord’s family, long leases, student halls of residence, hostels and refuges, cares homes, hospitals and hospices, and other NHS provided accommodation?
I suspect it is because the Government knows a lot of them would fail and the newspapers would be filled with stories of Council X or Housing Association Y having hundreds of properties where tests have not been done or the properties have failed whilst at the same time the Council is seeking to fine Landlord A “up to £30,000” for “failing to provide the tenant or prospective tenant with an electrical safety certificate at the required times” even where the property has been tested and passed but the landlord failed to provide paperwork. Why should it be relevant that the PRS landlord is making a profit?
If this is a health and safety issue, then it should apply to all landlords and if there really is a serious health and safety issue (£30,000 fines suggest so), at the very least shouldn’t more be done to alert homeowners that their homes should be regularly inspected and they should be encouraged to upgrade their equipment? After all proportionately more children and elderly people live in privately owned homes than in rented accommodation.
Moreover, what about applying the same rigour (and the threat of the same level of fines) to tenants who:
disable fire door closers;
wedge fire doors open;
cover up or disable smoke detectors to hide their illicit smoking;
tamper with fire alarms;
ignore instructions not to do the above;
fail to notify the landlord promptly about electrical and fire safety issues; and
lie about the above when confronted with evidence of it?
Ian, I largely agree that I don’t see the logic of many of the exclusions. I suspect it is largely due to the prevailing ‘social landlords have higher standards’ view – which certainly doesn’t stop some of them having dreadful standards (several housing associations have been downgraded by the regulator after failing to obtain thousands of gas safety certificates, for example). I’d go along with a view that any property occupied under a tenancy or licence should come with a responsibility on the landlord or licensor to ensure electrical safety.
Long leases – well, the electrics are usually the responsibility of the leaseholder, so effectively ‘owner occupier’, if not tenanted.
Fines are ‘up to £30,000’ not £30K per se, as with all civil penalties.
Any tenant who persistently did the acts you suggest could be subject to an injunction from the landlord. I don’t see how such responsibilities could be enforced otherwise, as I’m fairly sure that landlords wouldn’t want the costs associated with a council inspection every 3 months or so.
Does part 2 s3(1)(c) mean that the frequency is either every 5 years, or every tenancy if this is sooner? My tenancies average about 18 months but some tenants have left after 6 months.
It means there must be a valid report at the start of the tenancy (ie, from within the last 5 years, or less if specified in the report), and then the next inspection will be before 5 years from the last one (or less if specified in the report).
S3 (1) (c) opens with the words “ensure the first inspection” so (c) (i) does not require a fresh inspection before every new tenancy, just before the first one after the regulations take effect. The status of inspections and reports obtained before the Regulations come into force is not specified.
There has to have been a report that address the standards in the 18th Edition of the Wiring Regulations, before the start of any tenancy on or after 1 July 2019.
I assume that you mean on or after 1st July 2020.
But to be valid, the inspection and testing would have had to be carried out by a “qualified person”, judged competent according to paras 12.10 and 12.11 of the Explanatory Memorandum, by reference to criteria as yet unpublished, despite the assurance given in the Government response to the Consultation on Electrical Safety that “the new guidance and any voluntary competent person schemes will be finalised six months ahead of the new regulatory requirements coming into force.”
The report would also have to confirm that the installation met the standards for electrical installations in the 18th edition. EICRs produced in accordance with current guidance fail to do that because there are many features that are not mentioned if they meet the standards of previous editions and are considered by the inspector.to be safe.
Furthermore, as it has only been in force since January 2019, any report prior to that date would not meet the basic criteria of testing and inspecting to the standards in the 18th edition.
Yes, 1 July 2020, sorry.
Agree on the rest – which means that a current report may or may not turn out to be valid. (The qualified person point is interesting. The regs simply say someone who is competent. But any guidance, checklist or competent person scheme is non statutory, and non-binding. Ie the ‘Guidance’ cannot stipulate who can carry out the checks, though obviously relying on the Guidance would help to avoid facing penalties.)
I have just received a PRS update email from MHCLG which interestingly contains this:
Most landlords are highly responsible and will already have safe electrical installations, so are advised to start early and book an inspection. Once landlords have an Electrical Installation Condition Report from a competent inspector showing their property has a clean bill of health, they won’t need to worry about it for another five years. Letting and managing agents should also start to consider scheduling inspections in the properties they manage. We know that many landlords already have had inspections in the past 5 years. There will be no requirement for those landlords to renew this until the 5 year period is over, though they will need to be able to provide the report when required.
You can find an electrician competent to do this work by searching online. Electrical Safety First (https://www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk/find-an-electrician/) and the ECA (http://www.electricalcompetentperson.co.uk/) are good places to start. We’ll also update the How to Let and How to Rent guides in the spring (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/how-to-let), which explains the responsibilities, legal requirements and best practice for letting a property in the private rented sector.
I think saying that there will be no requirement to have an inspection if one has been done in the last 5 years (until the 5 years is up) is not entirely accurate. As people have pointed out, the relevant standards have only been in force since January 2019.
This advice seems to be based on the Government response to the consultation on electrical safety and is incompatible with the draft regulations and explanatory memorandum. I wonder whether the left hand knows what the right is doing.
At least on the ‘inspection in the last five years’ point, I agree. I don’t see how such inspections can be generally considered compliant unless done to the 2018 standards.
The proposed regulations do not appear to require the inspection/report to be to the “electrical safety standards”, so an older EICR is probably to regulations.
The “electrical safety standards” are invoked for:
“3.(1) A private landlord(1) who grants or intends to grant a specified tenancy must—
(a)ensure that the electrical safety standards are met during any period when the residential premises(2) are occupied under a specified tenancy;”
and for:
“3.(5) Where paragraph (4) applies(*), a private landlord must—
(a)obtain written confirmation from a qualified person that the further investigative or remedial work has been carried out and that—
(i)the electrical safety standards are met;”
(*) Paragraph 4 is essentially “an EICR says work need to be done”
But unless the report addresses the electrical safety standards, the landlord is not meeting their 3(1)(a) duty.
Michael, I think you have highlighted another example of the bizarre way in which the regulations have been drafted.
The requirement is however that the testing is carried out by a qualified person, defined as “a person competent to undertake the inspection and testing required under regulation 3(1) and any further investigative or remedial work in accordance with the electrical safety standards;” This links the inspection and testing to “the electrical safety standards” unless you argue that “in accordance with the electrical safety standards” refers only to the “further investigative or remedial work” and not to the inspection and testing. I suppose that you could also argue that it only refers to the competence of the person and does not require him to test or work to those standards.
Overriding all this is the unqualified duty on the landlord under 3 (1) (a) to “ensure that the electrical safety standards are met during any period when the residential premises(8) are occupied under a specified tenancy;” so no “take reasonable steps to”, just a strict continuing obligation.
It is possible (not easy for most, but possible) to meet the Regulation 3(1)(a) “ongoing” requirement without having an EICR to the eighteenth edition: you know what is required, check yourself, and get a qualified electrician to rectify issues.
David,
The requirement to have a test performed is under 3(1)(b). That does not reference the electrical safety standards.
Regulation 5, which does reference the electrical safety standards, is applicable only to work that is carried out.
But any new inspection by a competent/qualified person would need to be done to current regulations, or that person would be demonstrating a lack of competence.
Overall, It is my opinion that
a) the proposed regulations DO allow EICRs done any time in the previous 5 years to satisfy 3(1)(b) and 3(1)(c)
b) the inclusion of a specified edition of the Wiring Regulations is madness for compliance when a new edition is published.
c) Regulation 3(1)(a) is unworkable and needs to be reworked (e.g. tenant breaks a plastic power point; landlord is immediately in breach)
I don’t think it is possible. ‘Checking yourself’ cannot reliably amount to ‘ensuring’ unless you are a competent person. But in any event, that would not mean that a previous (non-2018 regs) report would be valid.
MHCLG’s answers to several questions have been published today in an appendix to a report of the House of Lords Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee.
Answer 7: “Regarding the guidance, this will be published when the Regs come into force on 1 June 2020. This means there is a built-in familiarisation period within the Regs so that they do not apply immediately, but they will apply from 1 July 2020 for new tenancies but not until 1 April 2021 for existing tenancies. As we produce draft versions with the guidance we’re also planning on sharing this with stakeholders from the landlord and property agent industry and the electrical safety industry to ensure the guidance is targeted and useful.” https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld5801/ldselect/ldsecleg/13/1306.htm
In response, the Committee concludes: “in relation to new tenancies, landlords will have a month to familiarise themselves with the guidance and their new electrical safety duties. Given the size and diversity of the private rented sector, this is a short time.” https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld5801/ldselect/ldsecleg/13/1304.htm
I have been informed that the following is an extract from the 18th edition of the Wiring Regulations:
“Introduction:
BS7671:2018 Requirements for Electrical Installations was issued on 31st July 2018 and is intended to come in to force on 1st January 2019. Installations installed after 31st December 2018 are to comply with BS7671:2018.
The Regulations apply to the design, erection and verification of electrical installations, also additions and alterations to existing installations. Existing installations that have been installed in accordance with earlier editions of the regulations may not comply with this edition in every respect. This does not necessarily mean that they are unsafe for continued use or require upgrading.”
Is the last sentence sufficient to remove the possibility that under 3(1)(a) landlords could be required to bring the electrical installation up to the standards for new installations?
It seems to me that it just adds to the confusion.
4 months on. My wife is a single property landlord but I do most of the formal work for her. Our new tenants moved in in July 2019 so, as responsible landlord, in Jun 2019 we obtained a new professional EICR and PAT test via our rental agency even though to do so wasn’t a statutory requirement yet. 1 Jun 20 saw the new electrical safety law for private rental sector come into force and we felt comfortable that we had already done the right thing. But now I’m not so sure. I noticed the new law was quoting 18th Edition of wiring regs. I checked our EICR report and was shocked to see that, according to the NAPIT report’s heading, it had been done against the 17th Edition. Given that the 18th Edition was issued in July 2018 and came into force 1 Jan 2019 I don’t understand why subsequent EICR inspections continued to be done against the old regs especially almost 1 year after the new regs were issued? Or is it just that an out of date form had been used? I’m trying to get an answer to that. Still, I thought, our tenants look like they will stay on in the flat so we have until Apr 2021 to rectify the issue according to the new law. Not so, it would seem. I then discovered that we should have had a little clause in our ‘professional’ AST stating “At the end of the fixed term .. this will roll over into a Contractual Periodic Tenancy.” It didn’t, so it will instead default to a Statutory Periodic Tenancy which the new law says will be deemed to be a New Tenancy!! And hence in spite of trying to do all the right things properly, we are stuffed! Incidentally our EICR had a recommended retest date of 3 years even though there were no issues found and I am getting conflicting ‘professional’ advice as to whether that means it has to be done within 3 years or it’s ok to be done within 5 years. Moot point now, given the Statutory Periodic Tenancy government trap. I accept the essence of a Landlord being responsible for ensuring latest regs are met but we are not electricians and we should be able to rely on the skilled people we hire to ensure we fulfil our obligations.
Assuming that the report you got in June 2019 is actually valid (18th edition), you wouldn’t have to to provide a new one when or if the tenancy becomes a statutory perioidic. You could just send the tenants a copy of that 2019 report.
If the report isn’t valid (18th edition), then you’ve got a bit of a problem, yes.
As far as the regulations go, it is within every 5 years for a re-test.
So can I ask what happens in the event that a landlord just cannot afford to do remedial works and comply with the regs especially in today’s climate.
I’m part of a landlords forum where there are a few landlords with high arrears and now have to do a rewire or expensive remedial which could cost upwards of £2k.
There’s one where he just can’t afford it and has served notice. He doesn’t want to be a landlord anymore but the tenant won’t leave but it will take him upwards of 10 months to get them out. Where does a landlord stand in that interim period.?
They are required to have complied by 1 April 2021, assuming the tenancy pre-dated 1 June 2020. If not, they may face the civil penalty. There was a 10 month period to either comply or cease renting the property.
A further question. What do you think of the proposition that in the light of:
“1 (3) These Regulations apply in England only to—
(b) all existing specified tenancies from 1st April 2021.”
no part of the Regulations, including provision to the tenant and LA (if unsatisfactory or on request) of any report obtained and details of remedial work done, currently applies to tenancies in existence prior to 1st June 2020, and that the requirements will have been met as long as a valid satisfactory report has been obtained by 1st April 2021?
Well yes, that is the point of the transitional period.
Thanks for that confirmation.
I think many, perhaps most, have assumed that all the requirements apply in respect of any report obtained during the transitional period.
They will as of 1 April, so delayed, not avoided.
Yes that’s understood that there was a ten month grace period. In normal times that’s fine but evictions started on June 2020 could very well go past the cut off date of April 2021
if a tenant fits an outside socket will it invalidate the eicr meaning we have to do another one before the 5 years is up?
Council landlords don’t have to do one.
I don’t *think* there is any obligation to do a further check except the ‘within five years of the last one’ obligation. But that does rather leave open the question of what if the landlord has made changes to the system in the meantime? Can a further check wait for the ‘five years since the last check’ deadline? I don’t know the answer to that, but I rather think it can.
I think that the answer lies in the fact that the regulations impose two distinct but complementary responsibilities on a landlord. The first is to ensure that the electrical safety standards are met at all times during the course of the tenancy and the second is to obtain a report at least every 5 years. The landlord must therefore ensure that any work carried out between inspections complies with the wiring regulations but I do not believe that a new EICR would be necessary.
Yes, that was my conclusion. The LA can enforce if unsafe at any point when premises occupied under a tenancy if unsafe. But no new report requirement beyond the ‘at least 5 years’.
If the tenant is not qualified and registered to make the addition, then you probably do need a new EICR.
You need to ensure that the addition is safe, and I think it unlikely that you would find an electrician willing to certify an extension to the wiring that the electrician has not made without also verifying the safety of at least the rest of that circuit and probably the entire installation.
If the addition was done by a qualified and registered electrician, then the electrician should provide certification that it has been done in accordance with current regulations, and that should suffice for your obligation to ensure that the electrical safety standards are met.
Make sure that the original of such certification is kept with the EICR.
There is no obligation to obtain a new EICR until the next regular one in the Regulations.
Of course, the council can enforce if the installation is not safe at any point.
Agreed.
I was identifying the real-world practicalities of covering one’s backside for the “ensure electrical safety standards are met” requirement.
The problem is that the Regulations impose a strict continuing duty to “ensure electrical safety standards are met”. The presence or absence of a current EICR or conduct of the Landlord are irrelevant to the question of whether the Landlord is in breach although it could and should be a mitigating or exacerbating factor when the LHA is considering whether to impose a penalty and if so, the amount.