Mandatory five-year electrical checks introduced for social housing landlords

Social housing landlords will need to carry out mandatory electrical safety checks or face a £40,000 fine.

Under new legislation, social housing landlords will need to have electrical installations, as well as any electrical equipment they supply, inspected and tested at least once every five years to confirm they are safe.

Landlords in the private rented sector have already been required to follow electrical safety rules since June 2020.

Support for millions of renters in the social rented sector

Under the new rules, landlords in the social housing sector must also provide a record detailing any electrical equipment they supply, including its condition, whether it is suitable for use in the property, and the outcome of the checks.

Following an inspection, landlords will receive a report outlining the condition of the electrical installation. Where dangerous issues are identified and the inspection is failed, they must be fixed within 28 days.

Steven Devine, electrical installation safety manager at Electrical Safety First, said: “With more than half of accidental domestic fires across England caused by electricity, these new laws mark an important step in making sure all social rented homes in England are electrically safe.

“These checks will help align protections across Great Britain, and we hope Northern Ireland will take the next step by extending its regulations to cover social renters, so that everyone renting across the United Kingdom benefits from the same level of protection.

“Whilst responsible social housing landlords already take this seriously and put measures in place to keep their tenants safe, this legislation extends existing requirements on how often electrical safety checks must be carried out to the social rented sector.

“We urge social housing landlords to have their properties checked, as failure to provide evidence of a satisfactory inspection to the local authority when required may result in financial penalties.

“Everyone deserves to live in a safe home, and we know these measures will help support that for millions of renters.”

If social housing landlords fail to complete the required checks, the government has warned they could face fines of up to £40,000.

Dealing with complaints

The news comes as the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) has been given new powers to deal with complaints from non-tenants about how councils manage social housing.

Under changes brought into force last week by the Renters’ Rights Act, people who have concerns about how councils manage social housing can now complain to the LGSCO even if they are not tenants.

Previously, the LGSCO could not consider such complaints, and neither could the Housing Ombudsman.

Amerdeep Clarke, the local government and social care ombudsman, described the move as a “significant and long-overdue change”.

She added: “Until now, people who had genuine concerns about how their council was managing social housing, but who were not tenants themselves, had nowhere to turn once they had exhausted the council’s own complaints process.

“These amendments close that gap and mean we can provide the independent scrutiny and redress that the public deserves.

“I would encourage all local authority complaint managers to familiarise themselves with the new arrangements and the signposting tool we have developed.”