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Landlords advice and guidance

Know your legal responsibilities as a landlord for making sure your rental properties are electrically safe.

Throughout the UK, and whatever the tenure of your property, the electrical installation should be checked by a suitably qualified person – such as a registered electrician – at intervals not exceeding five years, or sooner if specified.

Following the inspection, the electrician will provide an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR), which either formally declares the installation is safe for continued use, or highlights suggested or urgent repairs.

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Do I need to get an EICR?

An EICR is a legal requirement for

  • Privately rented homes across the whole of the UK, and;
  • Socially rented homes in England, Wales and Scotland.

As England & Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland are covered by different legislation, we have three FREE guides available, which cover the obligations for each.

Key tips for landlords

  • Carry out a visual inspection of the property once a year and/or between tenancies to ensure it is safe – our Landlords’ Checklist will guide you through it. There is a version to print and one to fill in online.
  • Tenants shouldn’t carry out their own electrical repairs. You should tell them to raise any electrical problems with you as soon as they appear.
  • Always use a registered electrician for any work on your property and ensure you get a certification confirming that it meets the UK national standard - BS 7671.
  • Be aware that if you don’t fix any reported electrical problems, your local council can intervene and – if necessary – take enforcement action and impose fines of up to £40,000.

Electrical appliances

  • If electrical appliances are provided as part of a rental agreement, make sure they are registered with the manufacturer. This means that if there is a fault, a recall or safety notice about the product, the manufacturer can contact you about it.
  • If tenants bring their own electrical products into the property, these should also be registered, and the tenants should maintain their own electrical items.
  • Social landlords in England are required to have any electrical appliances provided in their rental properties checked by a qualified and competent electrician – commonly referred to as PAT or in-service inspection and testing (ISIT) – to ensure that they are safe.
  • These inspections must be carried out at intervals not exceeding five years.
  • Similar requirements are in place for rental properties in Scotland.
  • For other regions of the UK, please refer to the guides we have provided.

Landlords Guides and Checklists

1. Landlords Guide England and Wales (English version)

A guide (in English) to help landlords in England and Wales understand their responsibilities for electrical safety in their rental properties, and to provide practical advice on what is needed to keep tenants safe.
Download PDF

2. Landlords Guide England and Wales (Welsh version)

Canllaw (yn Saesneg) i helpu landlordiaid yng Nghymru a Lloegr i ddeall eu cyfrifoldebau dros ddiogelwch trydanol yn eu heiddo rhent, ac i roi cyngor ymarferol ar yr hyn sydd ei angen i gadw tenantiaid yn ddiogel.
Download PDF

3. Landlords Guide Scotland

A guide to help landlords in Scotland understand their responsibilities for electrical safety in their rental properties, and to provide practical advice on what is needed to keep tenants safe.
Download PDF

4. Landlords Guide Northern Ireland

A guide to help landlords in Northern Ireland understand their responsibilities for electrical safety in their rental properties, and to provide practical advice on what is needed to keep tenants safe.
Download PDF

5. Landlords Interim Checklist (to print off)

This checklist should only be used where both a formal inspection and test (EICR) has been carried out on the property (within the last 5 years) and actions recorded on that EICR have been addressed.
Download PDF

6. Landlords Interim Checklist (fillable)

This checklist should only be used where both a formal inspection and test (EICR) has been carried out on the property (within the last 5 years) and actions recorded on that EICR have been addressed.
Download PDF

Stay safe with electrical products

Check plugs and sockets

Don't ignore burn marks, ‘arcing’ (buzzing or crackling) sounds, fuses blowing, circuit-breakers tripping, or if it feels hot to touch.

Unplug and contact the retailer, manufacturer, or a qualified repair technician. 

Protect with an RCD

An RCD (residual current device) in your consumer unit (fusebox) protects you from electric shocks if a product is faulty.

If you don’t have RCD protection, use an RCD plug on the socket where the product is plugged in.

Fit smoke and heat alarms

Ensure there is at least one smoke or heat alarm per floor in your property. Fit enough alarms to cover all areas where a fire could start.

Test alarms at least once a month. Replace them every ten years or when the replace by date is reached.

Selected FAQs

Answers to commonly-asked questions we receive about electrical safety.

View all our FAQs

There should be a minimum of one smoke alarm per floor with a heat detector in the kitchen. You should fit enough alarms to cover all areas where a fire could start. Make sure they are tested regularly - ideally every week.

It depends on its condition rather than its age, if it has been tested and is in good condition and everything is working effectively there is no requirement to rewire. However, you may wish to consider adding RCDs to enhance the safety of the installation.

A qualified electrician will say if your home needs rewiring and what can be achieved within a specific budget. 

You can find an electrician local to you here.

For privately rented properties, your landlord or letting agent should have given you a copy of an EICR carried out on your rental property, but also kept one for themselves, so you should be able to ask them for a duplicate.

For owner occupied properties, there may be a label in the fuse box / consumer unit that states when the last inspection and test was done.

If there isn't one present we would suggest arranging one with a registered electrician. 

You can find an electrician local to you here.

If you have purchased an electrical product that you believe to be unsafe, you should contact the manufacturer to let them know of your concerns.

If they do not deal with this to your satisfaction, you should report the product to your local Trading Standards Office and they will be able to investigate further.

We recommend that you register all of your electrical appliances so that, in the event of a problem, the manufacturer can contact you to let you know about it. You can find out more here.

We recommend you don't bring home electrical products purchased from outside the UK.

However, an EU conversion plug could make some appliances safe for use in the UK:

  • Check if the type of conversion plug is suitable for use with the EU plug.
  • Follow manufacturer's instructions when fitting a conversion plug.
  • Remember, travel adaptors are not a suitable or safe alternative.
  • If the plug is not suitable for conversion, replace the appliance with a UK product.
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Has your electrical product been recalled?

Electrical products are recalled more regularly than you might think, but the response rate to a recall is often worryingly low. This means there are potentially millions of recalled electrical items still in UK homes.

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