What is required and by when?
Private landlords will be required to ensure that the Electrical Safety Standards are met during any period that the residential property is occupied under a specified tenancy. A report will be produced following the electrical inspection and test carried out by a ‘qualified person’ before the grant of the tenancy. The Government have not yet identified who can carry out these electrical checks but will issue guidance to clarify. The best options at this point are either to await the guidance or engage a contractor who is already carrying out the required inspections and testing. It is the responsibility of the person ordering the works to ensure that the person carrying out the inspection and test and any remedial work is competent to do so.

A new report will be required every five years unless the report states a different (shorter) interval. The law does not specify a new inspection at each change of tenant, however, some electrician’s inspection templates will offer this as an option. Unless there is a specific technical reason why more frequent inspections are required then you should ensure that your engineer does not select this option. If the engineer is inclined or required to select this option, without good reason, you may wish to consider using a different engineer.

Any tenancy commencing on or after 1 July 2020 will require the inspection and test to have been carried out, the report produced and given to the tenant, before the tenancy is granted. The definition of new specified tenancy will mean that tenancies that are either new, renewed or become statutory periodic tenancies on or after 1 July 2020 will need to comply.
All other existing tenancies either in fixed terms or those that were already periodic before 1 July 2020 will need to comply from 1 April 2021.

Where a property is covered by an existing Electrical Installation Certificate which has not yet expired, so possibly it could have been issued 4 years ago, there is no requirement to get a new report issued. The date for the requirement for a new inspection and test is stated on the current certificate.

What are the Electrical Safety Standards?
The standard is the 18th Edition of the IET Wiring Regulations which came into force in January 2019 and required all new build properties and refurbishments to comply from that date. It further sets out the requirements for inspection and testing which determines whether the installation is safe for use. As the standard was announced in July 2018 properties built since then may already comply with the 18th Edition.

There was some initial concern that all private rented property would need to be tested to and brought up to the standard. We understand that an inspection under the 17th Edition will be accepted. The 18th Edition does say “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”.

Whilst most properties will not meet the current standard it does not necessarily mean that works or further investigation will be required.

What is covered by the inspection and test?
The term ‘electrical installation’ referred to in the Regulations is defined within the Building Regulations 2010 as ‘fixed electrical cables or electrical equipment located on the consumer’s side of the electricity supply meter’.

Equipment within a typical domestic installation which form part of the inspection and testing are those that permanently connected, for example, light fittings, night storage heaters, showers, extractors etc.

Those appliances which are genuinely portable e.g. a kettle or a freestanding fridge do not fall into this inspection and testing routine although the ongoing visual checks are still required.

There is a question over those appliances which appear to fall between these two positions, for instance, an extractor over the hob which is fixed but is sometimes simply plugged into a socket, normally in a neighbouring fitted cupboard, or an appliance such as a washing machine which may be plugged in behind the machine but has an over counter fused switch. Neither is what one might call portable but again neither are they fixed. Regardless of the strict legislative requirement, and it might take a court case to establish that, it has to be best practice to have some system of checking and testing all electrical appliances.

What happens with the report?
As well as the inspection and test the qualified person also needs to produce an electrical inspection report detailing what if any remedial works or further investigations, if any, are required. The report must be given to each existing tenant within 28 days of the inspection and be available to the local authority within seven days if requested. New tenants must be supplied with a copy of the most recent report before they occupy the property and if a prospective tenant requests a copy then it must be given within 28 days of the request.

Any items identified as C1 or C2 will mean that the report will have an unsatisfactory outcome and works will be required. If the scope of the completed works allows then a Minor Electrical Installation Works Certificate will be issued as evidence of compliance. A new ‘satisfactory’ certificate will not be issued as standard, and indeed couldn’t be without a full re-test (and associated cost) if a different engineer undertook the remedial works.

Items identified as C3 will not result in an unsatisfactory outcome as they are not considered to be unsafe although improvement is recommended.

Crucially the report will detail when the next inspection is due. A copy of the most recent report must be given to the person carrying out the next inspection and test. Once the new report is available the original report is no longer required but it makes sense to keep safety related records for a reasonable period.

Addressing any identified failings
The report will identify if there are any breaches of the Electrical Safety Standard and the timescale in which the landlord must address the failings. The maximum amount of time is 28 days but this could be shorter and this will depend upon the level of risk the failing poses. The qualified person must then confirm in writing that the electrical standard is now met or that further investigation is required. Again there are 28 days from the completion of the works for the tenant to be given a copy of the confirmation. Where works are required the local authority are required to be given a copy of the test results and confirmation that the works have been completed.

Remedial action
Where a local authority has reason to believe that the landlord is in breach either by a failure to inspect and test or a breach of the standard, but that urgent remedial action is not required, they must serve a remedial notice on the landlord. The notice must detail the address of the property; the details of the failure; the action that should be taken and the maximum penalty that they may impose. It must also state that the landlord has 28 days in which to comply and 21 days in which to make written representations. A failure by the landlord to comply or make representations will, subject to the protocol and the appeals process, allow the local authority to arrange the specified remedial action and recover the costs from the landlord.

Where urgent remedial action is identified and the landlord is in breach then, with the consent of the tenant, the local authority may arrange the remedial action at any time.

Penalties
When a breach is identified e.g. a failure by the landlord to provide a copy of the report or to carry out required works, the local authority are able to levy civil penalties as stated in the Housing and Planning Act 2016. The maximum level of penalty is £30,000 per breach which means multiple penalties can be imposed.

The report, under these draft regulations, is not a prescribed legal requirement under the Deregulation Act 2015 and therefore not giving the report will not affect serving of a section 21. Of course it should be noted that the Government is committed to repeal section 21.