Are you a Landlord?

14th May 2014

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Landlords are also putting millions of UK private tenants at risk of serious accident or fire. We have clarified your obligations for electrical safety in rental properties and provide a range of resources to help you keep your tenants safe.

Your responsibilities as a landlord

Landlords are required by law to ensure:

That the electrical installation in a rented property is safe when tenants move in and maintained in a safe condition throughout its duration.
That a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) has a periodic inspection carried out on the property every five years.
If your property is not an HMO, you are not legally obliged to do this. However, we recommend that a periodic inspection and test is carried out by a registered electrician on your rental properties at least every five years.
That any appliance provided is safe and has at least the CE marking (which is the manufacturer’s claim that it meets all the requirements of European law).

To meet these requirements a landlord will need to regularly carry out basic safety checks to ensure that the electrical installation and appliances are safe and working.

Electrical Safety First recommends ...

Making sure that your property has adequate RCD protection
Using a registered electrician for any work on your property
Carrying out regular safety checks on the electrical appliances provided as part of the rental agreement

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