What should agents know about electrical safety?

Who is responsible

In England, the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector and Social Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 (the 2020 regulations) put the electrical safety duties on the landlord, not the agent. They mention a person acting on a landlord's behalf only in the rule on tenants who won't allow access. So if you manage a property, your management agreement should say which tasks you take on, so nothing falls between you and the landlord.

The duties themselves are set out in electrical safety for landlords. This guide covers where they meet an agent's day-to-day work.

Before a tenancy starts

• A report in date. The electrics must have been inspected and tested within the last 5 years, or by the earlier date the last report set. GOV.UK's guidance says a newly built or fully rewired home can rely on its Electrical Installation Certificate (EIC) for its first 5 years, in place of an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR).
• Any work signed off. If the report called for work, check you have the electrician's written confirmation that it's been done.
• The tenant's copy. A new tenant must get a copy of the report before they move in. Someone thinking of renting the home who asks for it in writing must get it within 28 days.
• Alarms checked on day one. Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms must be checked on the first day of each new tenancy. The check can be made on the landlord's behalf, so it's often part of check-in.

GOV.UK also recommends a visual check of the electrics before each new tenancy, even when the report is in date. It can be done alongside the check-in inventory, looking for damaged sockets, scorch marks or missing covers.

During the tenancy

• Diary the next inspection. Each report gives the date the next one is due, which can be sooner than 5 years.
• Act on the report. Work the report requires must be done within 28 days of the inspection, or sooner if it says so. The tenant and the council then get the electrician's written confirmation within 28 days of the work being finished.
• Keep a record of access. If a tenant won't let the electrician in, copies of every attempt to arrange it help show the landlord took all reasonable steps.
• Keep the reports. Each report must be kept until the next inspection is due or done, whichever is later.

On most private lets, the cost of an inspection can't be passed to the tenant. In England, the Tenant Fees Act 2019 limits what a landlord or letting agent can require a tenant to pay to the payments it lists, and an EICR isn't one of them. The Act doesn't cover social housing tenancies.

If a property needs an HMO licence or a selective licence (a licence some councils require for private lets in parts of their area), the licence also requires the electrical installation to be safe and in proper working order, and the council can ask for a declaration of that. These homes are outside the smoke and carbon monoxide alarm regulations, because the licence conditions deal with alarms instead. See electrical safety for landlords.

Blocks and shared areas

If you manage a block, the 2020 regulations don't cover the communal areas. GOV.UK says councils can still take action over unsafe communal electrics under other law, and recommends they are checked and maintained regularly. In England and Wales, emergency lighting and fire alarms in the common parts fall under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, which needs a responsible person to keep them working.

Selling: describing the electrics

Property listings are covered by consumer protection law. Under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, a listing mustn't give false or misleading information, or leave out information a buyer needs to make an informed decision, where that's likely to change their decision.

So describe electrical work as the paperwork shows it. "Fully rewired in 2019" or "new consumer unit" is easier to stand behind with an Electrical Installation Certificate, and, for work since 2005 that needed Building Regulations sign-off, a compliance certificate. If the seller can't find them, leave the claim out until they do.

No law requires a seller to have an EICR. But the property information form the seller fills in, the Law Society's TA6, asks about electrical work, certificates and any EICR, and buyers' solicitors will usually ask for the certificates.

Choosing an electrician

The inspection must be done by a qualified person: electrical safety for landlords explains how to find one. Check that each report gives the date the next inspection is due, because the 2020 regulations require it.