If you are a landlord you need to keep your tenants safe. This means you need to do the following.
The buildings wiring must be inspected by a qualified electrician, and they will provide you with a certificate to say that the building’s wiring is safe to use. This certificate does not mean that any electrical appliances in the building are safe however, and therefore you must ensure that portable electrical appliances supplied by you are safe to use. Typically this needs to be carried out every 5 years, but more often if there is any suggestion of a problem.
Carrying out the routine inspection and maintenance of portable electrical appliance needs to be carried out in a standard way. The industry standard is PAT Testing.
PAT Testing for landlords is no different to PAT Testing for anyone else. It is simply a standardised way of showing that you routinely inspect and maintain your portable electrical appliances. It also demonstrates that you comply with electrical health and safety regulations. PAT Testing consists of:
Wear and tear, damage and faults can result in a tenant be harmed by an electric shock or worse! So it is important that appliances are checked regularly to ensure that the risk is kept to an absolute minimum.
Do a risk assessment first. Depending on the kind of let you have; PAT testing frequency will vary. It makes sense that you always PAT Test between lets where your lets are longer. While for holiday lets, you will probably only carry out a quick visual inspection between lets, but have a robust PAT Testing frequency that means appliances are checked every 6 months or annually depending on your tenants and what appliances you provide. Your risk assessment and often your insurer will determine how frequently you need to test. Always check your insurance policy thoroughly as many insurers mandate how often you need to PAT Test.
Yes. Providing the landlord is competent and understands what is involved in PAT Testing and has the correct equipment; the landlord can do the PAT Testing. If you are unsure what exactly is involved in PAT Testing, a good place to start is with the free online pat testing course.
Click here to do the free online PAT Testing course.
Your tenants should also be aware they need to check and report any damage to any electrical items, or sockets. Showing that you keep records and outcomes will show any interested parties (insurers or Health & Safety) your diligence at keeping your tenants are safe. Even if a management company or letting agency is dealing with your tenants you need to protect yourself by ensuring that you know what is involved and that procedures are in place and being followed to ensure that your tenants are safe.
A simple PAT Tester like the PB500 that is straightforward to use as shown in the picture.
In addition to the PAT Tester, you will need a supply of PAT Testing labels and a method of maintaining records. You can keep records electronically on a spreadsheet or manually on paper. Just make sure that they are stored safely so that you can produce them to your insurer or if requested by Health & Safety.
If you want to know more about PAT Testing. Or if you are looking for advice about testing a particular item, please don’t hesitate to give our technical team a call on 01392 364933. Alternatively, you can email sales@parker-bell.co.uk.