Electrical Periodic Inspection & Testing Reports

Landlords Responsibility for Electrical Safety

The Landlord & Tenant Act 1985 requires that a house is:

Fit for human habitation at the commencement of the tenancy, andKept fit for human habitation by the Landlord.

Each year, many people in rented accommodation die and many more are injured by electric shock and fires which have been started by electricity. The incidents include:

Poorly installed and maintained electrical installationsInadequate provision for the use of items of electrical equipmentInadequate checks on portable equipmentInadequate fire alarm systems

Poorly Installed Electrical Installations:

An electrical installation consists of all the fixed electrical equipment that is supplied from the electricity meter. It includes the cables that are usually hidden in the buildings fabric, accessories such as socket outlets and switches and the consumer unit that contains all the fuses or circuit breakers.

Since January 2005, all domestic electrical installation work carried out in England and Wales has been required to comply with the requirements of Part P of the building regulations. This legislation requires that:

Reasonable provision shall be made in the design and installation of electrical installations in order to protect persons operating, maintaining or altering the installation from fire or injury.

Except for some very minor items of electrical installation work, the mechanism for ensuring that the requirements of Part P have been complied with is for the work either:

To be notified to a building control body, prior to any work being carried outTo be carried out by a business registered with a government authorised self certification scheme

There are many factors that contribute to the making of a good electrical installation.

An electrical installation should have:

Adequate socket outlets, to minimise the use of multi socket adaptorsCovers in place to ensure fingers cannot come into contact with live partsBroken or damaged switches and sockets should be replaced without delayRCD protection for socket outlets that are likely to be used to supply outdoor equipmentAdequate earting and bonding arrangements. Earthing ensures that a fuse or circuit breaker will operate fast enough to clear an electrical fault before it can cause danger of electric shock or fire. Bonding ensures that any electric shock risk is minimised until the fault is clearedSufficient number of circuits to avoid danger and minimise inconvenience in the event of a fault

Poorly maintained electrical installations:

Over time the installation will deteriorate. Connections can work loose, people can be heavy handed whilst plugging in equipment and building and maintenance work can have a detrimental effect on wiring.

Basic checks can be easily carried out by the Landlord or Agent:

Broken socket outlets and light switchesSigns of scorching around socket outlets (overloading)Overheating of electrical equipment (Strong fish like or marzipan smell)Damaged cables to portable equipment

A landlord should have a Periodic Inspection & Test Report carried out at regular intervals. The interval will depend on things like:

The age of the installation, The NICEIC recommends at least every 10 years or on change of occupancyHouses in multi occupation, Your local authority will stipulate Student accomondation, Code of practice recommends intervals no longer than 5 years Change of occupancy, The Electrical Safety Council recommends on every change of occupancy

Argus Electrical is a registered NICEIC Approved Contractor and Domestic Installer

020 8850 9947