Electrical installation checks of rented properties to become compulsory

Letting agents and property managers in England and Wales will soon have to organise electrical installation checks of privately rented properties following the recommendations of a government report. After a detailed examination of the subject, the working group set up by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has recommended that electrical installation checks should be compulsory for properties within the Private Rented Sector (PRS) and carried out every five years. The working group also says a scheme should be set up to register and approve the people who will carry out the checks and separate electrical safety from the Building Regulations regulatory framework. Led by five senior figures from the DCLG, the working group’s members  included every membership organisation within the lettings industry including  most of the main membership associations representing agents and landlords. electrical installation checks The final recommendation is that the requirements for electrical installation checks should be phased in, starting with new tenancies before being rolled out to include existing ones. But the rest of recommendations are not mandatory and include instead recommendations. These include that landlords or agents should carry out visual checks of electrical equipment at a change of tenancy, that paperwork confirming…