Bob Miller, Head of Housing Services at the University of London spoke to Vincenzo Rampulla at the National Landlords Association (NLA) about electrical and fire safety in private rented accommodation.
Electrical Safety in private rented accommodation
Q This is an area that often causes confusion. Can we start by considering what legislation/laws specifically cover electrical safety in rented
accommodation?
It can easily cause confusion but that is because there are a wide range of electrical safety laws which do affect landlords and the properties they let. For instance: the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1994 and the Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (England) Regulations 2006; all have implications for landlords which they should be aware of. Part of the work of the NLA is to translate these laws for our members into advice which is in plain English and easy to understand, so that they can be confident that they know what they should be doing.
Q Most student housing in the private sector falls into the category of either a House in Multiple Occupation or a House in Multiple Occupation that requires a licence as identified in section 254 of the Housing Act 2004. How does this affect the obligations of landlords?
The simplest answer to your question is that licensable HMOs can have additional licence conditions placed upon them which can reflect particular issues affecting a certain property.
The difficulty is that landlords shouldn’t have to translate legislation like the Housing Act or technical regulations to know what is expected of them. That is why members of the NLA have the Landlord Library to show them how they can get on top of electrical safety, irrespective of the type of home they rent out.
Q Does a landlord have to have an electrical inspection carried out?
Landlords have a responsibility to ensure that the fixed electrical installations are 'safe' with no unacceptable risk of injury or death, or damage to property. By fixed installations we mean the home itself: the fixed wires, wall sockets, light fittings & switches etc.
Items such as cookers and wall heaters are also considered part of the fixed installation if they are permanently wired in, rather than having a plug fitted for connection to a wall socket.
Whilst, (other than for HMOs,) there is no statutory requirement to have safety checks on electrical installations, the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 requires that the landlord ensures the electrical installation is safe when the tenancy begins and that it is maintained in a safe condition throughout that tenancy.
Q How often should an electrical inspection be carried out and by whom?
Inspections of the fixed installation by a competent person (generally a qualified electrician) to ensure safety and that the electrical system
complies with current electrical regulations is required under
management regulations for HMOs (whether licensable or not), at intervals of no more than five years.
It is regarded as good practice for landlords to adopt a similar approach to other, non HMO lettings.
Q What qualifications should an electrician, who undertakes such work, have?
Landlords should only use electricians who are registered with Government approved bodies.
Q Where can a landlord find a suitably qualified electrician?
There are a number of bodies that are recognised by Government to register electricians. We would recommend looking at the Electrical Safety Council’s website (www.esc.org.uk) for further information.(Note from the editor: there are 5 organisations approved by the Government for the registration of electricians to carry out domestic electrical installation work in compliance with Part P of the building regulations and details of all of them can be found at www.esc.org.uk).
Q What are the obligations regarding electrical equipment and appliances?
Landlords must ensure that any portable electrical appliance supplied is 'safe' with no unacceptable risk of injury or death, or damage to property. Portable appliances are those that would normally have a plug fitted, and include all mains voltage equipment such as kettles, toasters, washing machines and fridges.
Whilst there is no statutory requirement to have safety checks completed on portable electrical appliances, the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985
requires the landlord to ensure that any appliance he has provided, is safe when the tenancy begins and that it is maintained in a safe condition throughout that tenancy.
Q How do the requirements change for resident landlords who take in lodgers?
The requirements are the same.
Q Are there any exceptions, new buildings, new appliances?
No.
Q Do you have any practical tips for landlords regarding electrical safety in their properties?
A landlord can detect or prevent possible defects by simple actions, such as:
• Record electrical equipment supplied by the landlord in the inventory.
• Ensure that instruction booklets are available at the property for all appliances and that any necessary safety warnings are given to tenants. In practice, instruction booklets contain much additional information, and are often misplaced by tenants. It is advisable to keep the original for records and future use, supplying tenants with copies of the relevant parts.
• At the commencement of each tenancy, and annually thereafter, make a visual inspection of electrical appliances for defects. • Check for frayed wiring, badly fitted plugs, cracks and chips in
casings, charring, burn marks or any other obvious fault. • Ensure that fuses of the correct type and rating are fitted. • Maintain records of the checks carried out and fuses fitted for all
the appliances supplied.
• Check all appliances purchased carry the CE mark which confirms compliance with relevant European standards. When purchased new, direct from established retail outlets, appliances can be assumed safe without additional checks for the first 12 months. • Avoid purchasing second-hand electrical appliances for rented
properties.
• Remove unsafe items.
• Portable Appliance Testing (PAT) equipment can be used in addition to the visual checks already described. This equipment generally tests for a satisfactory earth where one is required, and satisfactory insulation.
Some electricians offer this service, whilst some landlords find it more convenient to purchase the equipment and are trained to use it
themselves. The NLA provides professional PAT testing courses for landlords that want to be able to test appliances themselves.
Whilst not competent to make any repair to equipment that fails the test, it is more cost effective with items such as kettles simply to replace with new.
Q How can the NLA help landlords regarding electrical safety?
The NLA regularly organise PAT testing courses where landlords can come and professionally learn the skills needed to test electrical appliances in their properties.
Then NLA’s Landlord Library is an invaluable resource for landlords looking to develop their knowledge of what it takes to be a landlord, and for those who need to remind themselves of their responsibilities.
We also have the NLA Advice Line where landlords can call and get advice about any aspect of their lettings business.
Fire Safety in private rented accommodation
Even more so than with electrical safety, there are numerous laws which regulate fire safety requirements for rented accommodation.
The Housing Act 2004, HMO management regulations and the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (FSO) all say something about fire safety in rented accommodation.
Q Can a landlord ask the Local Authority or the Fire Authorities to carry out a fire safety assessment of their properties? Where can a landlord get help to carry out such an assessment?
Fire safety risk assessments are general good practice and are required for those rented properties that come under the remit of the FSO. However fire safety is the responsibility of the landlord, but they can get help and guidance from local authorities and from fire authorities, as well as the NLA. (Note from the Editor: You would also be able to contract a private company to carry out a fire risk assessment of your property).
We have worked with LACORS (Local Authorities Coordinators of
Regulatory Services) to develop a guide for fire safety in homes which will help landlords know what they have to do to ensure fire safety. It puts in one document the direct guidance and information that had previously been in numerous documents, so landlords don’t have to refer to a whole library of guidance documents to know what they need to do to ensure fire safety. Here is the link:
http://www.lacors.gov.uk/lacors/ContentDetails.aspx?id=19843
Q How does HMO status for a property affect the obligation of a landlord? Is it different for properties that require an HMO licence?
An HMO licence may contain additional fire safety license conditions depending on the property. But the key aim remains identifying fire risks and eliminating or minimising those risks in order to ensure safety.
Q What are the obligations of a landlord – what do they have to do/provide?
The underlying principle for modern fire safety is eliminating and
minimising fire risks in the home. That relies on proper identification of the fire risks that exist in the landlord’s property.
So the sector has moved away from a sort of ‘tick box exercise’ to
something that requires more engagement from landlords. Different tools: fire extinguishers, fire blankets, etc will be needed for different
circumstances.
Q Does a landlord have to provide a fire safety inspection certificate for their tenants?
Fire Inspection Certificates do not exist anymore.
Q How does the situation change regarding resident landlords who take in tenants?
Q How often should fire safety equipment be checked, i.e. fire blankets/fire extinguishers?
Regular checks obviously apply to the whole range of fire safety
equipment, from smoke alarms to fire extinguishers. Landlords should pay attention to the manufacturer’s advice for testing and checking equipment. They can also use the LACORS guidance.
We have also created the NLA Fire Safety Logbook for landlords so that they can keep track of what/ when fire safety equipment needs testing.
Q How can the NLA help landlords regarding fire safety?
We have worked with LACORS to give landlords the advice they need to meet their fire safety obligations. We have also developed our fire safety logbook to help landlord keep on top of their testing and checking of fire safety. NLA landlords can also get support from our advice line and the Landlord Library.
Vincenzo Rampulla
Vincenzo Rampulla joined the National Landlords Association (NLA) as Public Affairs Officer in April 2008 and takes lead responsibility on a variety of key areas including gas and fire safety; Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish issues; Greater London Assembly and the Mayor’s office and equality and disability issues.
Before joining the NLA, Vincenzo worked for a third-sector social enterprise consultancy with responsibility for policy and communications.
Previous to that he worked as a policy advisor at the Department for Communities and Local Government, working on aspects of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order and the Department for Constitutional Affairs (now the Ministry for Justice) on the reform of the regulation of legal services.
Vincenzo also worked as a policy and communications advisor for a public policy consultancy working for a number of private, public and third-sector clients.
