Private sector landlords have many different responsibilities towards their properties and tenants who live in them, but one of the most important is the issue of reactive maintenance when something goes wrong with electrical circuits or appliances.
Although an electrical safety check by a qualified person is required every five years (as opposed to the annual gas safety check), it is a fortunate landlord who goes through five years with nothing going wrong.
This is not about simple things like a light bulb needing changing, although installing LED lighting will greatly reduce the frequency with which any work on lights will be needed, but more major faults.
What Are Your Duties As A Landlord?
If remedial work is required, the law states that:
· Landlords must ensure work is done to fix the problem within 28 days
· Landlords must then provide written confirmation that the work has been done to the tenant within 28 days.
· This confirmation must come in the form of an acceptable kind of electrical certification, such as an Electrical Installation Certificate or Minor Electrical Installation Works Certificate
· If the work is not undertaken within this time, the local authority can take action against the landlord by means of an enforcement notice
· The council can take action themselves to fix the fault if the notice is not complied with, followed by litigation to recover costs from the landlord
· Heavy fines may be imposed on non-compliant landlords
Causes of electrical faults can include:
· Water ingress that diverts a current away from its intended path, often earthing it
· Damage caused by rodents chewing wires
· Deterioration of insulation on old cables
· Shortcomings in past maintenance
· Damage caused by tenants or other persons on the premises
Whatever the fault or its cause, landlords need to respond swiftly. This ensures tenants are not deprived of access to electrical facilities and are not placed in danger, while also ensuring that you, as a landlord, remain legally compliant.