New electrical safety in rental properties resources and awareness campaign

The Electrical Safety Office (ESO) has released new electrical safety guides for lessors, property managers and tenants and advised of an upcoming awareness campaign.

The two guides – Electrical safety in rental properties – Property owners guide and Electrical safety in rental properties – Tenants guide cover safety switches, smoke alarms, maintaining electrical appliances plus shocks and tingles from taps.

In addition, a new document, Electrical safety maintenance plan, provides guidance to lessors and property managers on mandatory requirements as well as other recommendations and best practice suggestions for an effective maintenance plan.

The two guides and the maintenance plan document can be accessed here.

In addition to safety switch requirements under s85(2) of the Electrical Safety Regulation 2013, the ESO says property managers and lessors have duties under s30 (Primary duty of care) and s38 (Duty of a person in control of electrical equipment) of the Electrical Safety Act 2002 (the Act).

Awareness campaign

The ESO has advised it is conducting a campaign during the 2023/24 financial year to raise awareness of electrical safety in rental properties, especially in relation to safety switches, effective maintenance plans, shocks and tingles, accessing roof spaces and processes in place to respond to electrical issues raised by tenants.

The ESO says it will be sending further correspondence in the second quarter of 2023 to property managers requesting documentation that demonstrates how they are managing their electrical safety duties under the Act.

Following that, an electrical safety inspector will be contacting property managers to arrange a suitable time to visit to discuss and raise awareness of electrical safety.

Read more: Electrical safety in rental properties

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