You may recall that the Housing and Planning Act 2016 gave the Secretary of State the power to make these regulations and a draft of The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 (“the Regulations”) has now been laid before Parliament with the intention of coming into force from 1 June 2020. To ensure all our landlords are aware of the changes and comply with the requirements, we share this summary on electrical safety in let properties.
The draft legislation imposes a duty on all landlords of residential premises in England to ensure that the electrical installation in their let properties complies with the 2018 edition of the IEEE wiring regulations (published by the Institution of Engineering and Technology and the British Standards Institution as BS 7671: 2018). Landlords will be under an ongoing obligation to “ensure that the electrical safety standards are met during any period when the residential premises are occupied under a specified tenancy”. The obligations also include:
- From 1 July 2020, a landlord must ensure that an electrical safety check is carried out and complied with before the start of a new “specified tenancy”;
- By 1 April 2021, a landlord must ensure that an electrical safety check has been carried out and complied with on all existing specified tenancies;
- A landlord must ensure that an electrical safety check is then carried out at least every five years or earlier if specified in the electrical report;
- Following the electrical inspection, a landlord must retain the report which must state the date of the next inspection and supply a copy to the technician carrying out the next inspection;
- A landlord must supply a copy of the report to the existing tenant within 28 days of inspection and to a new tenant before the start date of a new tenancy;
- Where the report identifies remedial work, a landlord must carry this out within 28 days
- The Regulations require local housing authorities to enforce the duties and include a power to require and, in some cases, take remedial action.
- A local housing authority is also able to impose a financial penalty of up to £30,000 for a breach of these duties.
A “specified tenancy” covers tenancies of residential premises, of which all or part of which, comprise a dwelling, let by a private landlord. This is for tenancies let for a term of less than seven years, as the tenant’s only or main residence and for a payment of rent (whether or not a market rent). Please note that the Regulations are not limited to Assured Shorthold Tenancies. There is a short list of excluded tenancies which does not mention Agricultural Tenancies nor Business Tenancies.
Clarification is being sought from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on whether the intention is to encompass dwellings within commercial leases.
Parties to Agricultural Holdings Act tenancies and short-term Farm Business tenancies (FBTs) may need to address the fact that under the Agriculture (Model Clauses for Fixed Equipment) (England) (Regulations) 2015 the responsibility of regular (period unspecified) electrical checks was placed on the landlord of the holding. Where there are farm cottages in the holding (i.e. those that might be sublet by the farm tenant) there may now be an overlap of responsibility. Parties who are drawing up short term FBTs (less than seven years) and who are considering using the model clauses should bear this in mind. Further legal advice is available from the CLA Legal Department.
The CLA strongly suggest that landlords start planning for this upcoming change now so that the demand for electricians, materials and the costs can be spread out.
Further information for members will be issued by way of a detailed Guidance Note in due course but, in the meantime, bespoke advice is available from the CLA.
If you would like to discuss electrical safety in let properties which you own, please contact us to speak with a member of the team.