Newbury Electricians are going to very busy in the next 13 months as they will have to test the electrics of every private rented property in Newbury and potentially may have to install new fuse boards and wiring in some circumstances.
New regulations set out in the Housing and Planning Act 2016 gave the Secretary of State of Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government the authority to compel private landlords to test their fixed electrical systems. Currently, these responsibilities only apply to licensable Houses of Multiple Occupancy (where a house is split into individual rooms) yet these new rules will come into force for any new tenancy or renewal of any private rented home from the 1st July this year (2020).
The new electrical regulations enforce a duty on all private landlords to ensure that their electrical installation complies with the 18th edition (from 2018) of the IET wiring regulations. Therefore, any property built before the middle of 2018 will have electrics to 17th edition regulations (or a previous edition). It might not sound a lot, but the 18th edition regulations were a substantial update over the 17th edition which were published in 2008.
A qualified electrician will need to test your rental property against the new 18th Regulations, which will cost in the region of £150 – £depending on the size of the home. The Electrician won’t fail a property who complies with a previous regulation (e.g. 16th or 17th) unless there is a good reason to do so. No doubt there will be further clarification notes issued before the implementation date to sort this out.
Electricians are telling me any property built after 16th Regulations came into force in 1991 (and they deem it to have failed the test) will probably require a new fuse board and other minor works at an average cost of around £355 per property, meaning… The potential cost of upgrading every Newbury buy to let home to 18th edition regulations (if they all failed) could total £990,095
The Government have also said that, irrespective of what tenancy is in place, all rental properties by the 1st April 2021 must have been tested against the 18th Regulations standard. Newbury landlords must give any new tenant a copy of the inspection report before they start the tenancy.
The local authorities are tasked with policing this – and they too have the right to request to see copies of any Electrical Report and works done. They can force a landlord to comply with the legislation and may issue a civil penalty up to a maximum of £30,000.
Remarkably, if the letting/managing agent doesn’t organise the Electrical reports, there is nothing in the legislation which allows a landlord to pass the blame onto their letting/managing agent. That means landlords could be at significant risk from dishonest or badly organised letting agents who won’t/don’t sort the electrics out, so my advice to all landlords is to speak to your letting/managing agent right now and plan ahead. Rest assured, we have had plans well in hand for our landlords, because I knew this legislation was on its way.
The regulations are obviously important for the safety of tenants and If you are worried about these new rules or don’t have ultimate confidence in your current agent, then please do pick up the phone and let’s have an informal chat about how we can help you with this issue, you don’t want to fall the wrong side of the law do you?
