A complete guide to electrical safety and portable appliance testing (in service) safety for landlords, including responsibility, regulations, cost and advice.
Keeping up with all of the rules and regulations is a potential minefield for any landlord; when this problem involves potentially dangerous electricity, this issue can become even more difficult. We will try and keep this document updated when changes are made to regulations. As guidance on this matter is vague at best we thought we’d try and clear thing up for Landlords asking the questions.
First of all it is the Landlords responsibility to ensure that the electrical installation and wiring is maintained, not the tenants. Landlords who are found to be negligent can be fined up to £5000 for each count or face imprisonment.
Most properties that are rented out contain both fixed wire and portable appliances (anything with a plug- kettle, washing machine, toaster etc). Ensuring that both of these do not cause damage to the property or endanger any tenants’ health and wellbeing is definitely a moral responsibility, but what action is required legally?
Fixed wiring, is any wiring or electrical equipment that is a permanent fixture of the house and cannot be moved. Tests take place not only to meet the legal requirements of the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989, Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 and BS 7671: 2008 (IEE Wiring Regulations 17th Edition as amended), but also provide you with evidence that your electrical system is safe and that complete, thorough tests have been carried out by fully trained and proficient staff. It also satisfies insurance company’s requirements and gives YOU peace of mind.
Portable appliances are any electrical equipment that can be moved around a property and are usually plugged into fixed wiring outlets. This can also include appliances that are fixed wired, such as washing machines, extract fans and the like.
Fixed wire testing
What does it cost
The average house/flat has between 4 and 14 circuits. Fixed wire testing can cost in the region of £100 - £200 per property depending on specification and requirements. Additional costs can arise if the work is required to be done out of hours (Evenings or weekends).
Testing frequency
Guidance Note 3 (BS7671: 2008 as amended) recommends a “Routine Check” at: Change of occupancy/1 year, whichever is less. And full inspection and test every 5 years. The routine check would, in most cases, take no more than 15-20 minutes and cause little or no disruption.
The problem with only testing every 5 years is that over this length of time a lot can change and problems can drastically escalate into an issue that can endanger both the property and tenants.
Who can test?
Testing fixed wire systems involves dealing with mains voltage and can be very dangerous; because of this, the work must be carried out by a qualified electrical inspector. The inspector performing the work should be a time served and qualified electrician, with additional “Inspection & Testing” qualifications and experience.
What does the test involve?
A typical fixed wire test will involve a detailed visual inspection of the whole installation and parts of the property being de-energised for short periods of time while the engineer tests the integrity of the wiring. There will also be some minor dismantling of equipment and accessories. This work can be carried out on an evening or weekend but typically this will incur extra charges.
What you will get?
Once the testing has been completed you will be provided with an “Electrical Installation Condition Report”. This is a (Minimum) 6 page document detailing all the installation characteristics, test results and any observations the inspector has noted, where the installation does not conform to current regulations. This paper work is of vital importance as it shows which parts of the building are considered safe and which will require further work to bring them up to regulation standards.
Portable appliance testing (PAT)
For a detailed overview of a landlords’ responsibilities visit:
Pat testing Advice for landlords.
What does it cost
You would expect to pay in the region of around 80p per item, if however you have less than 100 items you may be subject to a site charge usually ranging from £90 to £150. All prices are before VAT.
Testing frequency
As with fixed wire testing the testing period for portable appliances varies depending on the equipment being tested. This can range between 6 months and 5 years. These tests are not mandatory but will serve to provide you with protection if any incident were to occur.
Who can test?
Anyone can perform a PAT test although it is best performed by a trained professional. This allows for a much closer degree of scrutiny and increases the overall speed of the checks. If you are relying on an outside firm for your pat testing it is worth ensuring that they have professional liability insurance, meaning that if anything they say is safe has a fault the case is covered.
It is possible to perform your own PAT tests. Courses that explain the techniques used for testing range in price but a full day course will typically cost around £175. This will teach you the basics and give you hands on experience. Alternatively you can learn online from as little as £78.
PAT testers range in price from smaller testers for infrequent use to larger testers capable of huge numbers of tests as well as storing and recalling the details on the tester itself. Consider these two testers if you plan on doing it yourself: the Europa plus ( £674) or the Supernova Elite (£879).
What does the test involve?
A PAT test is actually a small series of different tests to ensure an item’s safety. This ranges from insulation testing to visual checks. Some companies will only perform visual checks; this is not advised as the sole means of testing as there are a wide number of different faults that will not be detected through this method alone.
A typical test on one item will take a few minutes and depending on the tester being used and will require the item to be switched off and unplugged.
What you will get?
After the test has been performed you should be issued with a PAT testing certificate. The importance of this record is discussed in this article.
In summary however they provide proof of the steps you are taking to ensure the safety of your property and tenants.
Summary
So what does all of this mean? Well first, is that ensuring the safety of electrical items you provide in a property is your responsibility both socially and legally. The length of time between tests is variable but regular tests ensure that you will minimise risk. This is worth doing at least on the change of occupancy and in line with guidelines. In the end why invest in property and not maintain it and its high value.
Written by Barry Atkins at www.tester.co.uk
