Electrical Report In Rental Properties ( EICR)( EIC)

dimbo61

Hi Guys,
Just found this on the RLA website so Impotant for all Landlords and Tenants out there.


New electrical safety rules in England

Five-year safety checks will be mandatory for landlords for all new tenancies in England from July 1 this year.
This will be rolled out to all existing tenancies from April 2021. The new regulations were tabled this week, requiring pre-tenancy and five yearly checks of all fixed appliances and wiring.
The new rules require approval from both the House of Commons and the House of Lords.

What is an EICR report?
An EICR is an Electrical Installation Condition Report. It is a formal document that is produced following an assessment of the electrical installation within a property. It must be carried out by an experienced qualified electrician or approved contractor

The Electrical Installation Certificate is a safety Certificate that is issued by a qualified electrician as confirmation that any electrical installation project has been that done complies with the BS 7671 (IEE Wiring Regulations)

If you have tenants in the property, the electrical safety certificate will last for 5 years or with every change of tenancy, depending on which comes first. If you are living in your own property, the electrical safety certificate will be valid for around 10 years.

AdrianC

dimbo61 wrote: »

The new rules require approval from both the House of Commons and the House of Lords.

Woah, hold on...

Here's the actual article:
https://news.rla.org.uk/new-electrical-safety-rules/

Draft SI:
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2020/9780111191934

The draft was laid before the two houses on Monday, but they've not done anything with it yet.
https://statutoryinstruments.parliament.uk/details/TV2c2OHG/SI-2020/

Let's put this into perspective...
The legislation behind it is the very general Homes Fit for Human Habitation act 2018:
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2018/34/enacted
...which came into law in March 2019.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/homes-fitness-for-human-habitation-act-2018/guide-for-tenants-homes-fitness-for-human-habitation-act-2018

As far as the specific requirement of EICRs...
Jan 2019 - https://www.arla.co.uk/news/january-2019/government-announce-mandatory-electrical-safety-checks.aspx

Oct 2019 - https://www.arla.co.uk/news/october-2019/government-no-further-with-mandatory-electrical-safety-checks.aspx

dimbo61

This was taken from the Landlord Law website !

First we have a critical legal update for you
New Electricity Regulations on their way
New regulations were laid before Parliament on Monday which, when they are passed, will bring into force new electricity safety regulations. Very briefly
• These are likely to come into force in April
• They will apply to all new tenancies starting on or after 1 July 2020 and
• All other tenancies from 1 April 2021
• Electrical installations must comply with the 2018 edition of the IEEE wiring regulations.
• You will need to get an electrical safety test done and
• Provide copies of a report to tenants
• This must be done every 5 years
• Enforcement for non compliance will be by Local Authorities who will have the power to impose financial penalties
You will find an article on Landlord Law Blog (by David Smith) here and an article on Nearly Legal here. Both are good.
As there is a fairly short time limit you should start thinking about this now. David says that few installations which pre-date the 2018 edition of the wiring regulations are likely to comply in full.
Don't forget that the MEES regulations requiring an EPC rating of E or less for all properties (apart from those with an allowance exemption) will also come into force on 1 April 2020.

https://www.landlordlawblog.co.uk/2020/01/14/new-electricity-regulations-landlords-1-july-2020/?inf_contact_key=cbfc5f37a1f7611e063c25fcc957ac8e680f8914173f9191b1c0223e68310bb1

AdrianC

dimbo61 wrote: »

This was taken from the Landlord Law website !

First we have a critical legal update for you
New Electricity Regulations on their way
New regulations were laid before Parliament on Monday which, when they are passed, will bring into force new electricity safety regulations. Very briefly
• These are likely to come into force in April

I've highlighted the caveats for you.

G_M

This has been on the cards for some time. I warned of its introduction here severaltimes last year.


The details are not yet finalised, but my understanding was that it was likely to require a 5 yearly full inspection, with some kind of visual or reduced check on a tenancy change within the 5 years.


Certainly no bad thing to get an EICR done anyway in advance.

checkly

Any ideas as to the cost of such an inspection for a 2 bed flat?

silvercar

If you have tenants in the property, the electrical safety certificate will last for 5 years or with every change of tenancy, depending on which comes first. If you are living in your own property, the electrical safety certificate will be valid for around 10 years.

I read that as landlords could need a new certificate every year if they let out on 12 month ASTs and tenants regularly change. What happens in HMOs, where there could be a change of a single tenant every few months?

GDB2222

checkly said:

Any ideas as to the cost of such an inspection for a 2 bed flat?

That’s the wrong question, unfortunately. The report will be around £100, probably. However, the wiring is bound to fail the 2018 regulations. How much will the update cost? That’s the question you should have asked. Probably, many times the cost of the report.

Robbo66

silvercar said:

If you have tenants in the property, the electrical safety certificate will last for 5 years or with every change of tenancy, depending on which comes first. If you are living in your own property, the electrical safety certificate will be valid for around 10 years.

I read that as landlords could need a new certificate every year if they let out on 12 month ASTs and tenants regularly change. What happens in HMOs, where there could be a change of a single tenant every few months?

That's incorrect, certificate is valid for 5 years and needs to be given to tenants at the beginning of the tenancy if a new tenancy. Doesn't matter how many change of tenants you have in that 5 year period certificate remains valid for the full 5 years.

[Deleted User]

I'm one of the tenants of a Victorian terraced house that was converted into flats in the late 1990s.   I've lived here a long time and no plans to move.

I'm a bit worried that when the EICR test happens, the electrician will say it all needs re-wiring, taking up floorboards and ripping up walls, and we'll have to move out.  Or the owner will say he can't stomach the cost, and he's selling up.

Is a full re-wire likely to be needed?   What is there likely to be in a 1999 conversion that wouldn't meet the requirements of the 2018 wiring regulations?

AdrianC

An EICR won't be failed because the wiring is to a slightly-outdated set of regs.

An EICR will only be failed because of damage or because of dangerous bodges that wouldn't have met the 1999 regs, either.