Tenants

Tenants advice and guidance

Advice and tips for tenants to help make sure your rental property is electrically safe.

Throughout the UK, and whatever the length of your tenancy, your landlord should arrange for the property’s electrical installation to 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.

Does my landlord 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.

Key tips for tenants

Ask your landlord to carry out a visual inspection of the property when you first move in and then once a year. We have a Landlords’ Checklist to guide them through what to do. There's a version to print and one to fill in online.
Never try to carry out your own electrical repairs.
Raise any electrical problems as soon as they appear to your landlord and maintain any electrical items you bring into the house.
If any electrical work is carried out, check your landlord is using a registered electrician and that there is certification confirming it meets the UK national standard - BS 7671.
If you report an electrical problem to your landlord and they refuse to fix it or ignore your request, contact your local council. They can check if a landlord is meeting their legal obligations and take enforcement action (and impose fines of up to £40,000) if not.

Electrical appliances

If electrical appliances are provided as part of a rental agreement, your landlord should 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 your landlord about it.
As a tenant, if you bring your own electrical products into the property, you should ensure they are registered and well maintained.
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 also be carried out at intervals not exceeding five years. Similar requirements are in place for rental properties in Scotland.

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

How many smoke alarms and heat detectors are needed for 3 floors?

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.

Does a 1980s house need rewiring?

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.

How can I find out if an EICR has been carried out on a property in the last 5 years?

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.

Who do I report a unsafe product to?

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.

Should I buy products from abroad?

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.

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.

Check your appliances