Provision has been made under the Housing and Planning Act 2016 for electrical safety checks to be carried out at a yet to be specified interval and conducted by yet to be specified qualified persons.

Currently it’s a requirement to carry out 5 yearly electrical checks on HMOs but this new legislation would require it on all specified private rented properties.

The government wants to introduce mandatory electrical checks to improve safety standards in buy to let homes.

An Electrical Safety Standards Working Group set up when the Housing and Planning Act received royal assent last year has unanimously recommended that landlords should conduct the checks every five years.

The proposal moves buy to let homes into line with the electrical safety regime for houses in multiple occupation.

The report reckons the checks will cost landlords £50 a year for each property.

The working party also wants landlords to carry out a visual safety check of electrical installations at a change of tenants and to fit circuit breakers to their electric supply.

The new rules do not include testing of small electrical appliances supplied by a landlord.

Another recommendation calls for the setting up of a database of competent electricians for the private rental sector.

“The working party recommends that existing powers under the Housing and Planning Act should be enabled to order the electrical checks and to set up the database of competent electricians,” says the report.

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