Myth-busting – Electrical Safety installations Act 2020

Myth-busting – Electrical Safety installations Act 2020

11:19 AM, 3rd August 2020, About 4 years ago 129

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The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 came into force on 1 June 2020 and will apply to all new tenancies in England from 1 July 2020.

Thanks to Bill Stiles from Adept Electrical – http://www.adeptelectrical.co.uk/ for this simple myth-busting session on the new electrical standards. If your electrician has told you that you need a new fuse board then watch this video first.

This is especially important for HMO’s as councils are now asking for these reports when applying for a licence and if the person is not qualified they are rejecting inspection reports leading to the landlord having to pay for a second report.

These new regulations require landlords to have the electrical installations in their properties inspected at least every 5 years and tested by a person who is qualified and competent. Landlords will also have to provide a copy of the electrical safety report to their tenants as well as to the local authority if requested. For most landlords in the private rented sector, this will not require a change in behaviour. The majority of landlords already check their installations regularly, so they can provide the safest homes possible. However, to ensure every landlord can comply with these regulations, NAPIT have produced the following guidance on the requirements.

The regulations say: Private landlords must ensure every electrical installation in their residential premises is inspected and tested at intervals of no more than 5 years by a qualified and competent person. So look for someone part of NAPIT, NICEIC, Benchmark, OFTEC, STROMA, BESCA, ELECSA and APHC

The regulations apply in England to all new specified tenancies from 1 July 2020 and all existing specified tenancies from 1 April 2021. Following the inspection and testing, a private landlord must: obtain a report from the person conducting that inspection and test, which gives the results of the inspection and test and the date of the next inspection and test supply a copy of that report to each existing tenant of the residential premises within 28 days of the inspection and test supply a copy of that report to the local housing authority within 7 days of receiving a request in writing for it from that authority retain a copy of that report until the next inspection and test is due and supply a copy to the person carrying out the next inspection and test supply a copy of the most recent report to any new tenant of the specified tenancy to which the report relates before that tenant occupies those premises; and any prospective tenant within 28 days of receiving a request in writing for it from that prospective tenant

What ‘report’ should I be asking for?

The regulations just refer to a report being obtained by the person conducting the inspection and test. Typically, an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) is used within the industry for this purpose. An Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) is a report carried out to assess the safety of the existing electrical installation within a property and is used to describe its condition. Parts of the system that are reported on include consumer units, protective bonding, lighting, switches and sockets etc. Its purpose is to confirm as far as possible whether or not the electrical installation is in a safe condition for continued service. The EICR will show whether the electrical installation is in a ‘satisfactory’ or ‘unsatisfactory’ condition and will detail a list of observations affecting the safety or requiring improvements. These observations will be supported by codes.

Unsatisfactory Codes are: C1 – Danger present, risk of injury, immediate remedial action required

C2 – Potentially Dangerous, urgent remedial action required

FI – Further investigation required

A Satisfactory Code is:

C3 – Improvement recommended

Does my electrical installation need to comply with the 18th edition of the Wiring Regulations?

No- not if it is still deemed to be safe. The 18th edition of the Wiring Regulations states: “existing installations that have been installed in accordance with earlier editions of the regulations may not comply with this edition in every respect. This does not necessarily mean that they are unsafe for continued use or require upgrading”.


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Bill Stiles

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19:19 PM, 3rd August 2020, About 4 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Jamie Finch at 03/08/2020 - 12:35Hi Jamie
to confirm you will need a valid test certificate which will last for 5 years unless it is a brand new installation. There will be a next inspection date on your copy of the certificate usually on page 3 or 3 depending on the formatt

Bill Stiles

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19:37 PM, 3rd August 2020, About 4 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Beaver at 03/08/2020 - 15:58
Hi There it is a mine field out there and this is why we took the time to do the video. There is definitely a element of contractors going in too cheap to do the report relying on doing remedial works arising from the inspection. To be honest from the other side of fence and I say this as landlord as well, do not go for the cheapest quote because the contractor might be thinking to make up the money with any potential work . I have to say if we quote for any remedial work I have never in 20 years not carried it out ,but I have been approached by so many landlords wanting a price on remedial work after employing a contractor solely on price

Andrew

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20:25 PM, 3rd August 2020, About 4 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Denise G at 03/08/2020 - 14:23
A C2 is work which must be carried out to pass - the question I think you raise is should items have been catergosised as C2 - locating a fuse box near a door does not affect its function or escape.

Provide the ring has an RCD it is at worst a C3 which is an advisory.

The legislation is online if you should care to read it, that or consult their trade body if you feel they have catergorised something wrong

Andrew

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20:29 PM, 3rd August 2020, About 4 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Beaver at 03/08/2020 - 16:49
The interesting thing I learned is they have to be qualified and competant.

Qualified means they have to have passed a specific exam not just be a member of a trade body - which I had assumed.

Electricians can issue these reports not having passed the exam. This is the competant bit. You wouldnt ask youre GP for open heart surgery.

The check can be done on their trade bodies web site

Saul Smart

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0:59 AM, 4th August 2020, About 4 years ago

Electricians are anually audited (painful experience at high cost) to be registered. The bar is set high.

However every registered electrician is audited and accredited to do only certain things- domestic, industrial, commercial, installation, EICRs for each of these as well as third party certification of work. You dont just get a ticket that says you can do everything without demonstrating competence in the areas. This year I've let my commercial and industrial go and its reflected.

Qualified is having passed the portfolio of exams. Registered takes the qualified person into a Competent Persons Scheme (government approved safe electricians register status if you will) and paying the big dues annually accordingly as well as having asequate professional indemnity insuarance and public liability.

People do your due diligence.

Mine (and any other inspectors) status can be checked online as well as on my ID card- you know hom many times customers have checked me out over all these years?- well you'd still have fingers left counting on one hand!

What is it with people not checking who they are employing?? The mind boggles.

My 8 year old daughter could issue you with an EICR (the forms are available to download free of charge off the IET website to anybody- you could go issue your own if you like!!) Not worth the paper they written on but hey!!

PEOPLE DO YOUR DUE DILIGENCE

And if your not happy with a coding then first ask your inspector to justify and if not satisfied go to their licencing body. Sounds like some of you on here need to. I will more than happily show in the regs book where any non compliance and the applicable code to my customers. Its not difficult for me to do and the customer is happy. I invite them to ask me to justify if they're unsure on anything rather than festering with being unsure- there's a lot of rogues out there- believe me I've worked alongside plenty!!

We can't undercode or overcode- same with reinspection periods, by the way 5 years is your max not your right it depends upon test results-every decision has to be justified.

That doesn't stop tightwad landlords getting ripped off for unnecessary remedials tho simply because they want an EICR done for £80 as they dont want to pay the proper price for the job.

This situation has existed for more than a decade (we used to call them PIRs previously- Periodic Inspection Reports).

Very often you buy cheap and then your asking to get ripped as the guy is using a spratt to catch a big fish making money on unnecessary work and people fall for it all the time. Afterall what does Joe Public know about EICRs? Me? I dont have the time to 'make work' my diary is full that I don't have time to be be making up rubbish.

Another way to check on coding you unsure about is to but NAPITS Codebreaker book for about £20 that can help you interpret your report as long as you can interpret the book (its a technical book to assust inspectors essentially).

And for the record the siting of a plastic consumer unit doesnt affect its coding- its still a C3. Smoke alarms have naff all to do with a BS7671 EICR apart from warranting a comment at most with not even a C3 code being applicable.

Ive been posted this info and much more on many threads on 118 for months.

Im a 3 decade large portfolio landlord as well as being a self employed registered electrical contractor (doing this part time electrical contracting takes my mind off all the landlord abuse we all suffer but now find im getting grief on the sparks stuff on here too!!)

Do your due diligence.

Buy cheap and be weary of getting ripped.

Thats about the bottom line

Andrew

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6:32 AM, 4th August 2020, About 4 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Bill Stiles at 03/08/2020 - 19:19
If its a New installation is it still 5 years or more?

Andrew

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6:40 AM, 4th August 2020, About 4 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Paul landlord at 04/08/2020 - 00:59
Paul
That is a really great reply, very comprehensive and assists niave landlords hopefully avoid being ripped off.
I manage a community in the midlands and had a number of people approach me with sob stories after being sold work they didnt need.

Thank you so much for taking the time for such a thorough reply which will help everyone reading the thread

Andrew

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6:42 AM, 4th August 2020, About 4 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Bill Stiles at 03/08/2020 - 19:37
I think the guys who go in cheap use it as a loss leader like supermarkets do to get you in to buy the weekly offer

rhjoiner

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7:24 AM, 4th August 2020, About 4 years ago

You say in your video that a new test has to be done every change of tenant. We have been through this topic once before and we can’t find anywhere where the new legislation says a new test has to be done every change of tenant. The legislation does say a copy of the report has to be given to a new tenant at the start of a new tenancy but not that it has to be retested every change of tenancy. I think you should 100 % check up on this and make corrections to your video if it is wrong? There are so many grey areas with this new legislation and landlords need clarity and fact not people’s interpretation of the new legislation?

Bill Stiles

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7:46 AM, 4th August 2020, About 4 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Paul landlord at 04/08/2020 - 00:59
I have to say I agree with every thing you say paul landlord. I will add that as a business owner you should take the time and trouble to research this topic and if you follow pauls points you will have a better outcome. Once again Paul thank you for taking the time to write on this thread.

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