Electricity

Private landlords in Scotland are required by law to ensure that their properties are electrically safe.[1] This covers:

• The installations in the property for the supply of electricity

• Electrical fixtures and fittings, and

• Any appliances provided by the landlord under the tenancy

Landlords must be able to show that these are in a reasonable state of repair and in proper working order. There must be a residual current device that switches off the electricity automatically if there is a fault.

Landlords are required to ensure that regular safety inspections are carried out by a competent person and follow the guidance issued by the Scottish Government.

An electrical safety inspection has two parts:

• An Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) on the safety of the electrical installations, fixtures and fittings, and

• A Portable Appliance Test (PAT) on any portable appliances that the landlord provides.

The report must be carried out by a registered electrician who will carry out an inspection of:

• Installations for the supply of electricity,

• Electrical fittings, including –

  - The consumer unit (or fusebox)

  - All switches

  - Socket outlets

  - Light fittings, and

  - Any visible wiring.

• Fixed electrical equipment, including –

  - Fixed electrical heating equipment e.g.

  - storage or panel heaters,

  - Boilers and other heat producing equipment, and

  - Hard-wired smoke and fire detectors.

Anything that fails to pass the electrical safety inspection must be replaced or repaired immediately. The electrician’s report will highlight problems with the following codes:

• Anything that is classified under Code C1 (danger present) must be addressed immediately, preferably by the inspecting electrician on discovery of the dangerous condition.

• Code C2 (potentially dangerous) also highlights problems that need immediate attention.

• Anything classified as FI (Further investigation required) should be dealt with as soon as possible, as this investigation could reveal a dangerous or potentially dangerous condition.

Any remedial work that is undertaken as a result of the inspection will then be recorded on a Minor Electrical Installation Works Certificate

This covers any movable electrical equipment that the landlord has provided as part of the tenancy, and must be carried out by a competent person, either:

• An electrician registered with one of the Government-approved schemes, or

• A person (which can include the landlord) who has completed appropriate training as a PAT Tester.

The PAT test requires a label for each appliance tested. These appliances include:

• Electrical white goods (such as refrigerators and washing machines)

• Electrical brown goods (such as televisions and DVD players)

• Electric fires that are not fixed in place,

• Kitchen appliances, such as toasters and kettles

• Hand held electrical equipment, such as hairdryers, and

• Any other appliances provided by the landlord that are not permanently connected to the electrical installation.

Any appliance that fails the test must be replaced or repaired immediately.

An electrical safety inspection must be carried out:

• Before a tenancy starts, and

• During the tenancy, at intervals of no more than 5 years from the date of the previous inspection.

The electrical safety inspection does not have to be completed immediately before a new tenancy begins or every time a new tenancy starts, as long as an inspection has been carried out in the period of 5 years before the tenancy starts.

The landlord must receive and keep a copy of the EICR and PAT report for six years. A copy of the most recent reports must be given to a new tenant before the start of their tenancy. If an inspection is carried out during a tenancy, a copy relating to that inspection must be given to the tenant