Safety body urges mandatory PRS checks

A safety lobby group is urging the government to introduce mandatory five-yearly safety checks of electrical installations and appliances in all privately rented homes.

HMOs are already required to have a five year review but a blanket requirement for such testing in all PRS homes would, claims the group, reduce what it says is confusion around best practice. It would also put electrical checks on a parity with gas safety, which landlords must have checked every year.

Electrical Safety First - the group formerly known as the Electrical Safety Council - claims the cost for this precaution would be £100 to £150 per inspection; it could be arranged by an agent with the cost passed on to the landlord. The check would also include electrical appliances which the body claims cause 17,000 domestic fires each year.

ESF has responded to the DCLG discussion document, the comments for which are now under review by housing minister Kris Hopkins.

Our research shows that three in 10 landlords, and 40 per cent of renters, do not know who is responsible for the electrical safety of their home. Other research has indicated that 16 per cent of PRS tenants live in homes containing electrical hazards says ESF director general Phil Buckle.