Landlords' Responsibilities
Wherever you live in the UK, as a landlord you have an obligation to make sure that your tenants have homes that are safe to live in.
Our guidance explains your responsibilities for making sure that your rental properties are electrically safe and offers practical advice to help you keep your tenants safe. Our leaflets are free to download and offer advice and guidance about your legal obligations to help you keep your tenants safe.
Landlord Electrical Safety Certificate Legal Requirement
Five Yearly Electrical Checks
We recommend that wherever you are in the UK, and whatever the tenure of your property, you should have the electrical installation checked by a suitably qualified person, like a registered electrician, every five years.
Following the inspection, the registered electrician will issue you with an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) which will either formally declare that the installation is safe for continued use, or highlight any suggested or urgent repairs that need to be made. This gives you the peace of mind that your tenants and properties are electrically safe.
This is a legal requirement in England (privately rented homes) and Scotland (privately and socially rented homes) and is due to be introduced in Wales in July 2022 (privately and socially rented homes) – guidance has recently been published on the Welsh Government’s website. You can find out more about landlord obligations for each nation on the relevant page, by clicking on the links at the bottom of the page. If your property is in Northern Ireland, we strongly recommend that you carry out five yearly electrical checks as part of your obligation to keep your tenants safe.
Register Your Appliances
If you are providing electrical appliances as a part of the rental agreement, make sure that you register them with the manufacturer. This means that if there is a problem, the manufacturer can contact you. You should also advise your tenants to register any electrical products that they bring into the property. You can find out more here.
You can also use Electrical Safety First's product checker to find out if any of the appliances that you and your tenants own have been subject to a recall or safety notice.
More tips to help keep your tenants safe
Carry out a visual inspection of the property once a year and/or between tenancies - use the form below to guide you through it, there's a version you can print and one you can fill in online.
Use a registered electrician for any work on your property
Register any appliances provided as part of the rental and asking your tenants to do the same with any that they bring into the property.
Download our smartphone and Voice Skills apps - they'll help you check for electrical product recalls, register your products or find an electrician near you. Find out more here.
