Landlords should be aware of the New Electricity Regulations from 1 July 2020
The introductions of the new regulations had been expected for the last year or so, but were delayed by Brexit and the General Election. These have now been published in draft form.
On the advice of our electrician we have been advising landlords to wait to have any electrical testing done unless it was absolutely necessary so as to avoid having to re-test if the requirements announced were different to the current regulations. As the new regulations must comply with the 2018 edition of the IEEE wiring regulations published in mid-2018, which were a substantial update on the previous regulations, any certificates issued before that date are unlikely to be fully compliant.
The new regulations will come into force for any new tenancy from 1 July 2020 including tenancy renewals and tenancies which become statutory periodic after that date and will require re-testing every 5 years. This test must be conducted before a tenancy commences or before 1 April 2021 if the tenancy is already in place. A copy of the report must be provided to the tenants before they occupy a property in the same way as the EPC, Gas Safety Certificate ( if there is gas) and the Governments current ‘How to Rent’ publication must be provided although we are aware that some agents do not currently ensure these are provided as required.
Strangely there is currently nothing that allows the landlord to blame the Letting Agent if they are relying on the Letting Agent to ensure a certificate is in place. There are also no penalties which can be levied against the Agents. This does mean that a Landlord using a very poorly organised letting Agent, usually to save money, is at risk of prosecution.
