Domestic and commercial rented property, electrical testing
Landlords electrical testing
Why do landlords need to complete an electrical inspection?
There are two main Acts of Parliament that impose a statutory duty on landlords
with respect to the safety of electrical equipment:
1. The Consumer Protection Act 1987
2. The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974
The Consumer Protection Act affects all persons who let property in the course of
their business because it defines them as "suppliers", i.e. they are supplying goods
to the tenant. There are several items of secondary legislation under the umbrella of
the Consumer protection Act which are directly relevant to the supply of electrical
goods, including:
1. The Low Voltage Electrical Equipment Regulations 1989
2. The Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1994
3. The General Product Safety Regulations 1994
4. The Plugs and Sockets etc. (Safety) Regulations 1994
In essence, these regulations impose a duty on landlords to ensure that all
electrical equipment supplied by them is safe for use by the tenant. The Consumer
Protection Act provides a defence of 'due diligence', i.e. a landlord can defend a
contravention of the Act if he can demonstrate that he took reasonable steps to
avoid committing the offence.
Landlords electrical testing.
The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act places a duty of care upon both employer
and employee to ensure the safety of all persons using the work premises. This
general requirement has been galvanised by several recent regulations, some of
which explicitly extended their requirements to cover "self employed persons" and
"all persons affected by their operations". In the Electricity at Work Regulations, a
self-employed person is defined as follows:.jpg "electrical testing for landlords")
"A self-employed person is an individual who works for gain or
reward otherwise than under a contract of employment whether
or not he employs others."
This definition would appear to apply to landlords and agents; similarly, tenants
would appear to be a group of persons affected by the landlord's operations. This
tends to suggest that electrical regulations, which are ostensibly directed at
employers and the work place, are equally applicable to landlords, their premises
and their tenants.
Some of the specific regulations that are applicable to electrical installations
include:
Regulation 3(1b) of The Management of Health and Safety at Work
Regulations 1992 states:
"Every employer shall make a suitable and sufficient
assessment of: the risks to the health and safety of persons
not in his employment arising out of or in connection with the
conduct by him or his undertaking"
Regulation 3 of the Electricity at Work Regulations states:
"It shall be the duty of every employer and self-employed
person to comply with the provisions of these Regulations in so
far as they relate to matters within his control."
Regulation 4(2) of the Electricity at Work Regulations states:
"As may be necessary to prevent danger, all [electrical]
systems shall be maintained so as to prevent, so far as is
reasonably practicable, such danger."
In summary, a landlord has duties both as a 'supplier of goods' and as the 'person
responsible' for an electrical installation. As a 'supplier of goods' he must ensure
that goods are checked before the tenant takes them over and as a 'person
responsible' he must ensure an adequate system of maintenance.
A regular inspection programme is an essential part of any maintenance system.
For this reason, and to provide a demonstration of due diligence, 3-Step Safety
Check recommends an annual safety inspection of all residential lets.
When do landlords need to complete an electrical inspection?
Unlike the gas regulations there is not a statutory period for completing electrical
safety inspections or maintenance. There are several authoritative documents that
suggest suitable intervals including:
1. The Institute of Electrical Engineers (IEE / MIET) - Code of Practice for in-service
inspection and testing of electrical equipment.
2. Health and Safety Executive (HSE) - Maintaining portable and transportable
electrical equipment.
3. HSE - Maintaining portable electrical equipment in hotels and tourist
accommodation.
4. HSE - Maintaining portable electrical equipment in offices and other low risk
environments.
5. IEE - Inspection & Testing Guidance Note 3.
Landlords electrical testing.
Again the landlord/tenant scenario is not explicitly covered in any of the above
documents. However, the Code of Practice for in-service inspection and testing of
electrical equipment, states:
"The relevant requirement of the Electricity at Work Regulations
is that equipment shall be maintained so as to prevent danger.
Inspection and testing are means of determining whether
maintenance is required. The frequency of inspecting and testing
will depend upon the likelihood of maintenance being required
and the consequence of the lack of maintenance. No rigid
guidelines can be laid down, but the factors influencing the
decision will include the following:
(a) The environment - equipment installed in an undisturbed,
controlled environment such as an office will suffer less
damage than equipment in an arduous environment.
(b) The users - if the users of equipment report damage as and
when it becomes evident, hazards will be avoided.
Conversely, if equipment is likely to receive unreported
abuse, more frequent inspection and testing is required.
(c) The equipment construction - the safety of a Class I
appliance is dependent upon a connection with the earth of
a fixed installation. If the flexible cable is damaged the
connection with earth can be lost.
(d) The equipment type - hand-held appliances are more likely
to be damaged than fixed appliances. If they are also Class I
the risk of danger is increased.
The same document also provides guidance on the frequency of inspection for
various situations ranging from construction sites to offices and shops. An
examination of this guidance would suggest that the landlord/tenant situation falls
between what the IEE describe as a "hotel" situation and a situation where
"equipment is used by the public".
Clearly the landlord/tenant situation is slightly more onerous than a hotel situation
because there is no daily inspection of premises by hotels staff (which would
uncover electrical problems) and it is slightly less arduous than the public use
situation (because the tenant has some knowledge and control over the electrical
equipment).
Therefore 3-Step Safety Check recommends an inspection and testing frequency of
12 months, which falls between the IEE guidance for the two situations outlined.
The guidance contained in the "IEE Code of Practice for in-service inspection and
testing of electrical equipment" refers to electrical appliances rather than fixed
installations although the document does state: "Similar procedures must be
followed for the fixed installation".
IEE Guidance Note 3, Inspection and Testing provides guidance on the inspection,
testing and maintenance required for fixed installations. This document places a
general requirement for a "routine check" on commercial properties of 1 year with a
more thorough examination including inspection and testing every 5 years, or at
change of tenancy. 3-Step Safety Check recommends an annual inspection that is
more rigorous than the "routine check" but should obviate the need for a more
thorough 5 yearly inspection.
What do landlords need to check?
Once a landlord has established the need to test the decision on the level of testing
required is a technical matter adequately covered by IEE documentation. There is
also an array of specialist equipment designed specifically to complete IEE test
regimes for portable and fixed electrical equipment.
3-Step Safety Check adhere to the guidance on portable appliance testing and
expand on the annual "routine check" for fixed installations by carrying out electrical
tests to confirm correct wiring, correct earthing and the correct operation of safety
devices.
Whom should landlords employ to carry out electrical checks?
As with almost all safety legislation, the person required to carry out electrical
checks must be a competent person. Competency is judged on a combination of
training, knowledge and experience. All of 3-Step Safety Check's inspection
engineers are qualified electricians with several years experience of electrical
installation and testing work.All Southern Testing Operatives are either MIET / MIEE or 17th edition + C & G 2391. Only British Trained personnel are employed for Landlords electrical testing services.