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The Scottish Government is introducing mandatory electrical testing on properties in the private rental sector that are covered by the Repairing Standard. The statutory regulation will come into effect from the beginning of December 2015 for new tenancies (which includes existing tenants who are signing a new lease).
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For existing tenants who don’t sign a new tenancy agreement, the regulation will apply as of December 1st, 2016.
Five Year Checks
Under the new legislation, Scottish landlords will have to have fixed wiring checked at least once every five years. An Electrical Installation Condition Report, also known as an EICR, will need to be produced by a competent, and suitably qualified, electrician. Government guidance states that electricians should be members of SELECT or NICEIC, or able to tick all of the boxes on Annexe A of the mandatory electrical check guidance sheet.
Appliances in the property will also need to be checked under the terms of the legislation. If the appliances are not permanently connected to the fixed electrical installation – e.g. a central heating boiler – they will need to be checked as part of a Portable Appliance Test (PAT) report. Examples of appliances to be included on a PAT report include white goods, kettles, and plug-in electrical heaters.
Exempt Appliances
The only exempt appliances are those belonging to the tenant. Any appliances provided by the landlord must be included in the check report.
All EICR and PAT reports must be documented on pages 12 and 14 of the government’s guidance form, and in the case of PAT reports, every applicable appliance should have a test label placed on it.
