Housing Law Requires Electrical Safety Certificate in UK

ByDoyle Felix

Pursuant to the 2016 Housing Law, the Cabinet has established other rules to initiate the process that all homeowners are required to carry out electrical safety controls. In this blog, first published in Anthony Gold, LONDON PROPERTY INSPECTIONS policy director takes a close look at the issue of landlord electrical safety certificate in private rental homes.

As of October 25, 2019, the provisions of the Law regarding electrical safety controls will take effect for regulatory purposes. This does not mean that the lessor’s electrical safety checks will go into effect, the proxy simply applies for the secretary of state to establish rules on how those checks will be conducted. However, these regulations should not be expected long after that and are likely to come into effect sometime next year.

The government has been silent in this area for some time. The last query about electrical control plans was answered in January. At that stage, the government indicated that all owners (and not just HMO owners) would require electrical safety inspections every five years. He also said he would provide new guidance on who should carry out those inspections.

More details will appear in the regulations as they are released. In January, the government proposed that these regulations be presented to parliament for approval as soon as parliament had time. Given that the Brexit debate is underway, it is not entirely clear where Parliament will find that moment, but it is presumably scheduled somewhere. If they had time, I would expect this to take effect sometime in late 2020. Initially, the government has indicated that it will only be for new properties, so there will likely be a fairly long transition period, while other properties will be extended and they will transfer to the regime.

Something frustrating for everyone involved will be enforcement through local authorities, and it appears that civil penalties will be imposed, like other recent homeowner regulations. However, a greater imposition of enforcement responsibilities on local authorities does not seem reasonable if they are already overburdened and underfunded. Failure to comply with another security obligation will simply leave tenants with criminal landlords unprotected, while increasing costs for better landlords whose electrical installations are generally safe.

Stay informed of changes in electrical safety.

The LONDON PROPERTY INSPECTIONS offers specific courses to help homeowners keep up with electrical safety. Both courses are currently 20% off!

Sign up for London Property Inspections for landlord certificate. This interactive classroom course is intended to inform owners and managers about the various laws and regulations on electrical safety.

For more information about landlord electrical safety certificate