Electrical Safety in Rented Properties

05 March 2010

In recent months, there has been much publicity regarding the dangers surrounding electrical equipment within rented properties. We at Macleod & MacCallum stipulate to all landlords that any electrical equipment supplied must be in a safe and proper working order prior to entry by any tenant. However, at present, there is no legal requirement for a safety certificate for each appliance within a property, though this may change in the future.

At present, as a landlord, you are required by law to ensure:-

1. That the electrical installation in the property is safe when the tenancy commences.
2. That the electrical installation is maintained in a safe condition throughout the duration of the tenancy.
3. That any appliances provided in the property are safe and feature at least the CE marking.

We at Macleod & MacCallum stipulate that it is good practice to have an electrical inspection carried out annually, which should flag up any problems with electrical appliances within the property. As a landlord, you would then be obliged to have the items repaired or replaced as quickly as possible.

The requirement for inspection of any electrical equipment follows on the introduction of the Repairing Standard obligations in September 2007. The Repairing Standard obligations detail important changes in the law relating to a landlord’s responsibilities when carrying out repairs. The Repairing Standard states that a rented property must have “satisfactory provision for detecting and giving warning of fires”. Therefore, in order to meet the Repairing Standard, there has to be at least one working smoke alarm on each floor of a property. Further, any smoke alarms installed after 3rd September 2007 must be mains wired. Any existing smoke alarms can either be mains wired or battery powered. However, should an existing battery powered smoke alarm fail, it must be replaced with a mains wired system.

If you wish to discuss any matters herein, please contact a member of our Lettings Department on 01463 258002 or by e-mail.