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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Comments

Andrew

11:24 AM, 13th August 2020, About 4 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Badger at 13/08/2020 - 11:18
Sorry to hear that - I think the point Bill made in the video to undertake appropriate Due Diligence is important - a good qualified contractor will not object to that

UKPN

23:13 PM, 13th August 2020, About 4 years ago

None of these are unsatisfactory. The regs clearly say that wiring to previous editions is not necessarily unsafe. Cons units, the most popular scam, are C3. This nonsense must be challenged. One of the problems is these inspections are being called EICRs. Nowhere does it say that, the word is report. Just like you do not have to employ someone from a trade association. The is exactly what the government didnt want.

Bill Stiles

23:04 PM, 14th August 2020, About 4 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Jireh Homes at 08/08/2020 - 14:31
this might be my last comment for a while as I am having a much needed break in Scotland with no phone or internet access.
If there is no main bonding on incoming services like gas,oil pipe or water it is a C2. Having said that it the water pipe coming in is plastic then it does not require to be bonded. If there is 6mm cable on the services it is a C3 ,but if ANY electrical work is carried out the earthing should be upgraded to 10mm cable linking the services to the main consumer unit.
This is non negotiable and there is no debate on this one. A electrical contractor should always check the main bonding before any electrical work is undertaken no matter how small the job.
I hope this has made things clear on this point, this is the only regulation that is clear and concise and there is no ducking or diving on this point

Jireh Homes

9:48 AM, 15th August 2020, About 4 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Bill Stiles at 14/08/2020 - 23:04
Thanks Bill for the clear guidance on bonding of services, especially the nuance on conductor size.

SGhai

12:02 PM, 25th August 2020, About 4 years ago

I am also puzzled at their discretion to decide the validity of the EICR for three or five year. In 2001 I was given a 10 year validity on the report. But not anymore. Just three years. LL are at the mercy of the GOVT, Electrician, gas safety workers and the local authorities. The govt is bent on destroying the PRS. On top of all now it is six months’ notice for repossession including for s21 notices, I understand.

Beaver

17:38 PM, 27th August 2020, About 4 years ago

Reply to the comment left by SGhai at 25/08/2020 - 12:02
Just had my electrical safety test done. Apparently I need a new consumer unit but otherwise it looks OK. The report is titled a "EICR".

It doesn't say on the report but I'm guessing once fitted and retested that's me clear for the next 5 years from the date of the test. Cost for the EICR through my agent was £150. New consumer unit is apparently going to cost me £534 including VAT.

Seething Landlord

17:48 PM, 27th August 2020, About 4 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Beaver at 27/08/2020 - 17:38
Can you give a bit more detail about why you need a new consumer unit? Was it coded c2 or c3?
Others will have a better idea than me about the cost but £534 sounds rather expensive whereas £150 for the inspection sounds cheap.

UKPN

19:40 PM, 27th August 2020, About 4 years ago

At the end of the day, what is happening is the "inspector" is "failing" (C2) these jobs, changing the fuse board, and in this case, charging £534. A fuse board change is never a C2, unless its 50 years old and hanging off the wall. The cost? You need to ask for a breakdown, the materials cost is easy, how much did he/she charge for labour. To give you an idea how much I believe this L/L has been had, my BMW had a major service last week at a BMW main dealer, £540. All items shown on invoice +labour cost. These prices are getting silly

Bill Stiles

20:59 PM, 27th August 2020, About 4 years ago

Reply to the comment left by SGhai at 25/08/2020 - 12:02
For a new build or rewire I will put 10 years for the retest and then every 5 years afterwards. Some contractors do shorter times if they are concerned by the installation ,usually this is something I do not do and we try and sort out the observations before mastering the certificate . If the board is out of date and will not pass we do not test the installation. I just submit a quote to change the board and then do the testing ,some contractors prefer to test first to highlight any other wiring problems which is strictly the correct thing to do .

Bill Stiles

21:11 PM, 27th August 2020, About 4 years ago

Reply to the comment left by UKPN at 27/08/2020 - 19:40
I would say a fuse board would need changing if there is no RCD protection on a shower or sockets as we have stated on the thread before. It difficult to give people guidance on prices but our price for a 3 bed house up to 10 circuits is £175 for a electrical condition report .A fuse board change will start from £425 that is for a twin RCD board with out a surge protector which is what most landlords go for. Having a fuse board with individual RCBO protection on every circuit and a surge protector fitted will be a lot more. We are based in South Warwickshire but obviously prices are more the further south you go and less the further north generally speaking

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