Agent says Electrical Safety must be done every year

[mustard]

I had some electrical work done last May and got an Electrical Safety Cert which says that the property should be re-inspected within the next 10 years. I am about to let to a new tenant and the agent says I need a new certificate. She has offered to 'arrange it' for me. Is she right. It is not an HMO.

[Colincbayley]

I had some electrical work done last May and got an Electrical Safety Cert which says that the property should be re-inspected within the next 10 years. I am about to let to a new tenant and the agent says I need a new certificate. She has offered to 'arrange it' for me. Is she right. It is not an HMO.

No she is wrong.

There is no requirement to check electrical safety by a qualified electrian every year.
You should however still make sure that the electrics are safe and that there is nothing that will cause any harm to a tenant.

Your agent may well be getting some form of 'kick back' for arranging the works.

[red40]

I am about to let to a new tenant and the agent says I need a new certificate.

Ask her where it says in current legislation that it is a requirement?

[johnboy]

she is talking garbage

[Ericthelobster]

Agreed she is wrong from a legislative point of view, but there's nothing to prevent an agent from making it part of their own terms and conditions (not sure if that's the case here?)

[fallenlord]

I had some electrical work done last May and got an Electrical Safety Cert which says that the property should be re-inspected within the next 10 years. I am about to let to a new tenant and the agent says I need a new certificate. She has offered to 'arrange it' for me. Is she right. It is not an HMO.

No requirement to have it carried out yearly BUT certain electrcial bodies (NIC EIC for one) recommend that an electrical check be carried out as "best practice" after each tenancy (just incase an outgoing tenant has decided to carry out some DIY work and as a result something is then unsafe). We recommend to landlords that an electrical check is carried out every 5 years, which complies with the LL insurance policys I have seen.

I would recommend that any portable elecrical equipment in your property should be PAT tested yearly.

[pete's properties]

Sounds like your agent is after summat for nowt.

For peace of mind you can arrange your own test. It will probably cost over £100. Like the others say this is not a legal requirement but probably worth doing anyway so you can sleep at night!

I also agree that PAT tests are also worth doing annually.

:)

[bagpuss]

If your house is an HMO the council may well insist on an electrical check. For example, Rhondda Cynon Taff ask for one but it can be for up to 10yrs. The council HMO worker actually warned us not to accept the electrician insisting on a one year certificate - he tried it on with us, we referred him back to her and he caved in on the spot.

[red40]

The only legal requirement for an electrical test and inspection to be carried is that which relates to, as previously said, is a HMO. This is required at intervals not exceeding 5 years. Should you fail to comply with this, any landlord or agent can be fined upto a maximum of £5000, if their respective council consider they have breach this specific regulation.

If you rent a house to a single family/household the only responsibility you have is that of a duty of care to your occupants.

[Ericthelobster]

But the original post clearly stated it wasn't an HMO.

[red40]

Yeah, bagpuss why bring HMO's into it :D

Oh, by the way Rhondda Cynon Taff are most definately wrong, I suggest they should check out the The Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (Wales) Regulations 2006, SI 1713. Its now 5 years

[bagpuss]

Yeah, bagpuss why bring HMO's into it

Oh, by the way Rhondda Cynon Taff are most definately wrong, I suggest they should check out the The Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (Wales) Regulations 2006, SI 1713. Its now 5 years

Sorry - I didn't notice that it wasn't an HMO! :o

Rhondda told us it would be a 5 year cert then told us they'd changed their 'policy' and it was now up to 10 years. I can only guess that councils have a lot of discretion in these matters. We tend to just do as we are told by the lovely council lady and smile nicely. (big grin)

By the by, we have non HMO's and we have never been asked to provide anything other than a gas cert, though I wouldn't be suprised if compulsory electrical certs are next in the pipeline. The government/councils seem keen on making as many safety requirements compulsory as possible. They can be seen to be doing something useful, at no cost to them, while keeping many local tradesmen in work.

In fact, I wouldn't mind doing electrical checks on all our houses, as long as they're 5 yearly not annual ones. The ones we had done on our HMO's did throw up a couple of problems of which we were unaware and which we were happy to have put right.