As of July 2020, the government bought in new electrical safety standards for landlords and their properties. These new electrical safety standards bought in a lot of changes for all private landlords in England. In this blog post we look at what the new electrical safety regulations mean for landlords in Peterborough.
What Tenancies Are Affected?
The new regulations affect all residential tenancies were the tenants have the right to occupy all or part of the property and are paying rent for doing so. Landlords that have existing tenants must bring in these changes by April 2021. However, landlords with new tenancies from 1st July this year must comply with these regulations from the end of June.
What Do Landlords Need To Do?
The new electrical safety regulations require that a qualified person must carry out checks of the electrical installations in the property. This check will ensure that all electrical installations meet the 2018 edition of the Institute of Engineering and Technology. This qualified person, usually an electrician, must then create a report with the result of the inspection, along with the date of the next inspection. This next inspection must be within the next five years.
If the report shows a breach of regulations as a landlord, you then have 28 days to arrange works to repair these issues. This will then be followed by a second inspection to ensure the rented property is now compliant with the regulations. The report must be available to existing tenants within 28 days of it being received. New tenants will also need to have it available to them when they move into the property.
The Penalty For Not Complying
It is essential that landlords in Peterborough take these new regulations seriously. Local authorities will have the power to impose fines for those landlords that do not comply. These fines can up to £30,000 for landlords that do not comply to the new regulations. It is also important to note that landlords breaching the regulations can be fined multiple times. There is not limit to how many times a landlord can be fined for breaching regulations.
Effects Of Lockdown
There is some leniency due to the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns. While the July date has not been pushed back, there is some wriggle room if you can prove you have contacted an electrician to complete the checks for you.
When you work with a property management company, like the team here at AGT Property Management, you can rest assured your property meets all requirements. We can recommend professional tradespeople to complete works for you. We will also remind you of dates and make you aware of regulation changes to ensure you stay on the right side of the law, at all times.
