The United Kingdom’s Housing Minister, Heather Wheeler, recently published new recommended safety measures designed to better protect private tenants by reducing the risk of electric shocks or fires caused by electrical faults. The government is seeking consultation and feedback on these recommendations as well as how best to approach enforcement, including possible tougher penalties for non-compliance.
Five yearly mandatory electrical installation safety checks for all private rented properties and safety certificates for tenants, to prove checks and repair work have been completed, are part of a package of independent recommendations to improve safety. As well as making homes safer for tenants, electrical installation improvements benefit the landlord as a material improvement to their properties, helping prevent fires which could cause costly and significant damage.
According to the most recent data, tenants in the private rented sector face a higher risk of electrical shock and fires caused by electrical faults in their homes compared to social housing tenants. To address this, the government introduced new powers in the Housing and Planning Act 2016 to set and enforce tougher electrical safety standards in the private rented sector and established a working group of independent experts from industry and a range of other sectors to develop recommendations.
Visit the consultation page, which runs through April 16, 2018. For more detailed information on these recommendations, including specific comments from Housing Minister Wheeler, read the full report.
