Electrical Safety and Landlords

The law regarding electrical saferty and landlords can be more than a little confusing.

With regard to gas safety a landlord knows exactly where he stands  - he is compelled by law to  have a gas safety inspection done once every 12 months. However there is no such fixed  inspection  regualtions for electrical installations. This  can be confusing for new landlords who may be led to  believe that they do not have any obligations with regard to electrical safety in their properties.But this is not the case.

Landlords do not have to conduct inspections at fixed intervals but do have an obligation to keep a property's electrival installation safe at all times. It therefore follows that a landlord  should have the electrical installation  at a property inspected for faults  periodically. In the UK it is generally reccommended that electrical installations in rental properties are inspected every 3 to 5 years.

It is important that any electrician carrying out  such an inspection is qualified to do so.  MC Electrical are qualified to carry out such inspections. After inspecting the property the electirican may advice that some work is required in order for them to be able to issue  an electrical safety certificate for the property. After such work has been completed (either by them or another electrican) they will reinspect the property and issue a certificate.

It is important for a landlord to  check the electrical installation at a property at the point of purchase. There will often be some remedial work required at this stage and it usually easier and cheaper to do this work before a tenant moves in to the property. If you are considering  a property investment at the moment we would reccommend  that you look at the discounted property investments on offer from Crown Property Investments. As part of their standard service they offer  buyers the opportunity to have MC Electrical conduct an inspection of  the property before purchase.