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Thursday, March 15, 2018

Mandatory 5yr electrical checks - consultation

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25 comments:

Unknown said...

When the government have driven all the landlords out of the PRS with even more cost and regulations how will they house the 9 million renters who will no longer have a home?

Anonymous said...

Exactly. Cutting off nose.
I would rather have empty property than rent to council ever again.

Just raise rents with every extra gratuitous piece of legislation that comes in.

I personally wouldn't rent to anyone who doesn't have a stable job. .banks don't so why should we??

Unknown said...

Exactly my thoughts!

Gilly said...

I disagree with the Working Group in part. I am a landlord of several years standing (17 years) and because of recent Legislation I have had to sell two properties to bring me under the ridiculous tax limits. Thus I have reduced my overall income by £1000 per month, which I always paid tax on, so in effect the Government has lost that tax from me and many other landlords also selling up.

I invested in property to fund my old age. Not for personal gain but to look after myself and my husband instead of calling on the State, but since Section 24 and the new Taxation laws, I have effectively been hit with a sledgehammer!

New legislation seems to appear almost every month! I invested in brand new or almost new properties in 2001-2005. None of which require Electrical checks. Not will they do so for many years to come. My suggestion is that only landlords with properties OVER 30-40 years old need to comply with an electrical check of any kind.

I cannot find an electrician under £400 for electrical check certificates having done a thorough search. This would mean I would be paying £2000 or over for my 5 properties. This is a sum I cannot afford due to already high maintenance and repair bills each year. I cannot make this amount up by raising rents.

I would simply have to sell all 5 houses, and this would mean when my money runs out, which it will due to the new tax laws, I would have to fall back on the State to supplement my Pension and keep me alive!

I am not the only landlord by far in this position. I would effectively be putting 5 sets of families out of a home.

Anonymous said...

Did a full electrical check on my Gateshead property a year ago (property was meant to be a do-up-and-sell-on in 2007 but we all know what happened and I am still in negative equity, hence am a reluctant landlord). Agree that Govt policy in general is discouraging landlords and there will be a shortage of rental properties in the future.
However the 2017 electrical safety check showed up some appalling, unsafe work done by my builders in 2007 (they have now gone out of business!), and am very glad I paid the £600 for the check, and extra money to make safe. Would rather spend the money than end up in prison after my tenants died in a house fire...

Anonymous said...

I think there are many things at play here

1) for insurance purposes its good to have a fixed wiring test
2) most electrical fires are really due to misuse of appliances or appliance faults. This is remedied by Portable Appliance Testing
what PAT will miss is the tenants electrical items unless you do them free of charge
3) like with most things prices for electrical testing will come down as soon as it seen as a revenue stream for electricians...I do all my properties in one go and include my home. As a result I can negotiate better rates.

Anonymous said...

You can get electrical checks done for around £130 +vat round our way - that's about £30 a year over a five year period and its tax deductible so lets not get over-excited about this and think a bit about the safety of people above profits all the time. Im not saying every property would immediately needs checks especially if they are new or have had a recent full re-wire, A sensible legislation would be that they only need an inspection say 15 years after a new full installation has taken place then every 5 years thereafter - it would be similar to cars not needing an MOT for the first 3 years then every year after. 60p per week isn't too much to ask is it?

Anonymous said...

They are working for greedy big biz, to squeeze out and muscle in on small LL.
They don't want people to be independent, they want slavery

Anonymous said...

Typical Government idiocy. Landlords are not to blame for Government incompetence.

Krissie Turner said...

I dont disagree with legislation because I would not want to live with unsafe electrics. I would not forgive myself if someone died for the sake of a couple of hundred pounds.

Anonymous said...

This proposed legislation make perfect sense. Surely every responsible landlord wants to be sure, as far as possible that his/her property is safe for tenants. I'm surprised to see comments about the 'burden' on landlords - and the added cost. I've made electrical installation testing an essential part of my property management - and would feel irresponsible if I didn't.
I think it needs to be shown that the same standards also apply to the public sector (social housing) - then perhaps we'll get retain only responsible private landlords - and filter out those whose motivation is too financially biased

Anonymous said...

Electrical safety certs are Cicars £70-£100 not £400 by a professional registered Electrcian
I own over 40 properties and have had them all certified Avery five years for the last 20 years as a responsible landlord and they are now required under council lanlord schemes as well stop morning
And start protecting tenants and yourself act responsibly towards tenants

Andrew Hill, Director said...

Fully support electrical safety checks; landlords should do it anyway, not because they're legally obliged but because they should make sure the products and services they supply are safe; as any other business owner does.

What I disagree with, however, is how this is only mandatory for PRS and not social housing? Minimum energy efficiency standards also don't apply to social housing. Surely social tenants deserve the same rights to safety as PRS tenants?

Leicester Property Insight said...

We often hear of tenants in unsafe properties and support this move.

Anonymous said...

One of my properties is rented o an electrician.He gets a fair rent and we get piece of mind, it's a win win😁

Unknown said...

Five year checks? Who will pay for this? I guess the tenants yet again. The stupid 3% extra duty on purchase of property, has served to increase rent beyond a level which is already obscene. The government should put their efforts into lowering rents which can be charged. They need to address this prime issue of social justice, even if it reduces their revenue.

Anonymous said...

I think this is unfair on private landlords. However, I would agree if Local Authorities and Social Housing providers also carry out 5 year tests on their stock. The condition of some social housing is so appalling but not reported by tenants or sensationalised by the media. The so-called "Guardians" of housing need to lead in this demand for mandatory 5 year Electrical checks which they can afford as validated by the huge reserves built up by Social Housing providers, not forgetting the increase in property values of its stock!
I would also add taxation of properties sold by Social Housing Providers which can then be used to build more social housing as this is not happening currently.

Anonymous said...

Does this private sector mean the housing associations and council property after all their houses/flats have the same electricity as the private sector.
By the time this government has finished taxing and causing numerous extra expenses with private landlords With all this extra expenditure, i feel the following will happen.
1/ Many landlords will sell up and many more will stop buying causing a glut of properties for sale driving down prices great for the buyer but not for the seller and many of these sellers will not be landlords everybody prices may drop.
2/ many landlords will put the rents to try and cover these extra government burdens, at the very least tenants with a higher income will find they have less money in their pocket where the people who are borderline may find they can not afford the increase and find them and their family evicted. again more expense for the landlord.
3/ if or when landlords put their rents up where are the people on benefits going to live when their housing benefit falls well short of their rent.Councils going to give them a flat/house where are they going to get these from. Or they could put them up in a B & B costing the council a fortune. I would love to know how the country would cope without the private landlord. This government wants to get finger out its ---- and look at the big picture before its to late.

Anonymous said...

A scheme to run a qualified electrical test list? We all know what happened when Prescott introduced the Part P Regulations. The IET looked longingly at the prospect of plenty more work for their qualified engineers, but in the end, many long term experienced electricians were banned from doing house work, whilst kitchen fitters, double glazing fitters, petrol pump attendants et al went on a subsidised course and in a week, became experienced house elctricians with full authority to maintain, test and install.

I am a retired fully qualified electrical engineer of over 40 years, but legally, I cannot install another socket outlet in my kitchen, but a shopkeeper who has spent a week on a course can! Totally absurd.

The same will happen here, some half wit will do a 5 day course and get themselves onto the list, with full authority to charge what they like, say what they like, and have no idea what they are talking about. But legally, they will have the full authority to do so. Sounds like a council official, they are the same.

Bernie said...

You greedy bunch of amateur so called landlords. Why dont you just take some respinsibility and get your electrical tests done like you should or get out of being a landlord.

Anonymous said...

Too right, well said

Anonymous said...

Has anyone read the consultation paper re the 5 year electrical check? the first point (1) says it all perhaps the other side of the government department namely the treasury and the extra 3% stamp duty on rental property purchasing they have introduced may learn something seems as usual no thinking outside the box the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing nothing new there then with government mandarins! , as point (1) in the consultation paper says quote, The private rented sector is an important part of our housing market. If so why are the government & treasury hammering private landlords in every direction with more personal taxation being the reduction as an expense on interest only mortgages etc… I do not disagree with safety checks in the interest of tenants always have done always will, in general I believe that the majority of private landlords are honest and responsible however, as always, the majority are over ridden by the minority so a great big sledge hammer to crack a very small nut. I have three properties and will continue to provide my tenants with a safe and well cared for property. Although it greaves me that the government are seemingly doing all they can to abolish private landlords, we have a housing shortage that puts pressure on renting and now the government is trying to make it worse, so me thinks I will turn my properties into B&B ready for the local council deluge of homeless people when all the private landlords have sold up and moved to the Bahamas.

John from Rugby said...

You sad git, Bernie. Commenting 'anonymously' on your own post!

Joyce Moore said...

I have no problem with the proposed legislation on electrical safety checks - it's all part of being a responsible landlord - as I pointed out in my previous post. I fully agree that we need to see that the same rules are applied throughout the rental property sector - in social housing as well as private. If it can be shown that equal standards are applied throughout I'm sure it will help eliminate less responsible landlords. It also gives tenants a clear comparison in terms of rent and availability - without wondering whether certain safety standards apply.

Bernie said...

What are you on about john, have i missed something there?