RLA writes to Ministry of Housing over electrical safety loophole

Reply to the comment left by Mike at 26/02/2020 - 02:47
I’d agree with your comments on only limitations of electrical testing, but either way it’s coming in. Touching on fire safety I didn't necessarily agree when the HMO regulations came in and required new fire doors, smoke detectors etc to be fitted, when and since there has been no fires in my HMO’s. On that front I believe that new fire safety requirements could be required by the fire safety bill that is being prepared by Government. Which ever way you look at the electrical testing requirements, think it’s fair to say it’s only going to get more of a burden to be deemed as providing “safe” and the the cost to do so will ultimately be picked up by the tenant in their rent, whilst more and more decent landlords exit the market due to over regulation and deciding they can no longer provide what the Government require, whilst the Government also take away a lot of, if not all the important safe guards for landlords, like Scrapping S21.

I think the article in Money Week that I re-posted - shared on my Facebook page was a welcome, independent recognition of a war on the PRS by Govt and the consequences are slowly being acknowledged.
Previously, it had only been individual Landlords that we’re raising this.

who funds rla?

Reply to the comment left by terry sullivan at 26/02/2020 - 11:40
The members?

I think the whole article by RLA is pretty pointless, hardly worth writing to the Ministry of Housing, quite frankly it is a load of bollocks. we should right now be more concerned how we can prevent Corona Virus and save lives of all kinds of people not just tenants.
What plans have Government implemented in case of this deadly virus breaks out in UK and how do we contain it, self isolation seems very weak solution, many people may not stay in, on that bases, why do Government not propose self regulation on many housing matters, so let good landlords continue providing safe housing? why introduce strict controls and regs, why not on Corona Virus, after all people can lose many more lives!

How ironic they also allowed those 4 infected people to travel back to UK!

re, … RLA is pretty pointless, - couldn't agree more
( but then the apathy by the vast majority of Landlords is not helping either )

I am trying to find out on google how many tenants died last year in UK at the hands of bad landlords, google is confused!

Could not find any tenants deaths but Google did say this :
Landlord, 71, dies after being shoved down steps by tenant ...www.dailymail.co.uk › news › article-7884927 › Landlord-71-dies-sh...
14 Jan 2020 - Horrifying moment landlord, 71, 'is thrown to his death down steps by ... The 71-year-old arrived at his property in Corona while on the phone to ... 'It was all about rent, rent money that this guy didn't want to pay,' he told the New York Post. ... insisting she is 'much too old' to be parading around in swimwear.

Also in today's news about Britain's smart Motorways, where Government has deliberately allowed people to die, possibly thinking they may not be tenants but landlords, so here is little copy n paste from the article:
LBC Radio host Nick Ferrari has called the introduction of smart motorways a "scandal" and urged the government to scrap them as soon as possible.
Smart motorways, which allow drivers to drive in the hard shoulder during busy times, have witnessed the deaths of 38 people in the last five years.
were there any tenants amongst these 38 people who lost lives due to our rogue Government, why are they not being taken to the cleaners? why landlords?
95% of public poll want this policy reversed, that means quite a lot of tenants who also voted for this ill thought dangerous policy, how many tenants died from rogue landlords compared to how many the Government's ill thought ill planned scheme killed, let us keep things in perspective, Perhaps Minister for Housing should be put in charge of the Highways, he/she could certainly save more lives, than to bang on the heads of the landlords with ill though legislation. Perhaps RLA can also urge the Minister for transport/highways to close the loophole using emergency lane that can cause more fatalities.

Reply to the comment left by Mike at 26/02/2020 - 16:50
🤣🤣. 👍👍

I find the RLA's general approach to the proposed electrical testing regime exceptionally disappointing. Instead of banging on about alleged loopholes, I would rather see them banging on about the fact that there is no way on earth that 5 million rented properties are going to be 2018 wiring regulation compliant by July 2021 unless we have a staggering increase in the number of available electricians. The timetable is barking mad.

I am trying to get some of my non HMO properties tested ahead of the deadline (HMO's already tested as part of compulsory licensing) and I am finding the electrician saying to me, "basically the property is safe, but it still needs x,y,z done to be compliant with the 2018 regulations." I think this added piece of regulation is going to cost me around £20,000.

The RLA would have been better off campaigning for a lighter touch electrical testing process (not unlike that for gas safety) rather than a gold standard test regime that will collectively cost landlords 10's of millions in extra costs. Furthermore, I suspect that every 5 years the goal posts will shift with a new and ever more stringent set of wiring regulations.

My plan is that in every property, I will present a bill for the works to the tenants and inform them that I am going to have to recoup those extra costs in the form of extra rent over a 5 year time horizon.