Electrical Installation Condition Report for Landlords 2021 (Landlord EICR)

[@OliviaFenion]

Have you had your EICR done yet?

[@ef7480]

To clarify-You can't retrospectively apply BS7671:2018 'Requirements for Electrical installtions' 18th Edition and 'EICR' legislation as a 'catch all' to an installtion that complied with previous editions. This does not mean that they will fail to comply with relevant parts of the Electricity At Work Regulations 1989 (Statutory). This is stated in the note by the HSE on page 13 of 'The Wiring Regulations' 18th Edition. BS7671 is NOT a statuatory instrument. It is only Guidance. Your info maybe misleading as many people may now think that a plastic consumer unit ('fuseboard') is illegal but this is not the case. This also opens up a whole new group of inexperienced dodgy 'electricians' doing drive-by 'inspections' and cashing in on unsuspecting clients that will pay for a consumer unit to be replaced with a low quatity unit to '18th Edition' when their original means of protection against earth fault and short circuits, ADS etc is still safe. Of course, advice can be given to upgrade to current regulations but this is no way mandatory.

[@lubasisamuyi3965]

thanks for this great review, it has really cleared my doubts

[@markrainford1219]

If your electrician is making you change consumer units fitted in the nineties, then you are being screwed.

[@david5499]

Happy to be your 1000s sub.

[@OliviaFenion]

Oh goodness thank you so much!! ❤ ... And on the EICR video as well - I hope I got it all right! 🤔😊

[@sunkuikwok9976]

Hi olivia Very useful talk to me I have one and half years old property from Berkeley home in Colindale My tenants moved in the first week I got key Until last month I passed my tenancy to an agent to follow With such case should I need to do EIRC ? Regards Henry

[@OliviaFenion]

Hi Henry, many thanks for your comment. If you have now given the property to a letting agent to manage, they should make sure you have an EICR in place. Technically you should have had one done earlier in the year, but just give your letting agent a call and ask them to organise one if they haven't already, to get you covered as quickly as possible. Best wishes, Olivia

[@cjmillsnun]

@@OliviaFenion If the property is less than 5 years old then the new build EIC is valid and an EICR is not required.

[@soaresferdinando4151]

Great 👍 job

[@OliviaFenion]

Thanks Soares! :)

[@MrBeefy786]

Hi Olivia, can you please shed some light on this, as my research is giving me mixed answers. The napit and niceic website states the eicr report needs doing 5 years or at the point of new tenancy. But the government website does not say anything about new report for new tenant. It just states a 5 year report. I'm wondering if these electrical bodies are creating more work for themselves. e.g If I have a valid report for 5 years and in the 5 years I take on 3 new tenancys, do I issue the same valid report or a new one each time. As some electricians advise the latter. They say you don't know if the prev tenant has tamperd with the electrics. Much appreciated.

[@OliviaFenion]

Hi there, thanks for this question...it's a great one and one that is getting a lot of people confused at the moment! I think the reason people are saying it needs to be done on renewal/new tenancy is because there was a period between 20th July 2020 and 1st April 2021 where this was being rolled in. All new tenancies during this time period (and new tenancies include new tenants moving in, fixed term tenancy renewals and people moving from a fixed term tenancy to a rolling one) needed an EICR certificate. From 1st April 2021 all existing tenancies need an EICR certificate regardless of how long the tenant has lived there. Once you have your certificate, it is valid for 5 years unless your electrician tells you otherwise, so unless you think there may be problems there is no need for another new one in between tenancies, your 5 year one should still be valid. I can happily say I've never had a problem with tenants tampering with electrics - if anything goes wrong they usually tell me/the letting agent and we get it sorted. Good relations with your tenants are key to this! :) Obvously that's not to say it won't ever happen but it certainly helps. If you suspect anything strange it's always best to get it checked over by your electrician.

[@MrBeefy786]

Thank you very much for clarifying this. When I had a discussion with an electrician he advised me it needed doing every new tenant. I guess some sparkys will be telling landlords this and rubbing their hands.

[@icemanA84]

It’s a landlords responsibility to ensure the electrics are in a safe condition for the new Tennant, this is a grey area and although I see your concern that electricians are just using this as a way to make money the truth is the advise given is correct, I would recommend a retest prior to new tenants as something as simple as DIY swapping a usb socket out a bedroom or swapping that kitchen light back to the white one when they moved in can result in the safety of the electrical installation being compromised. Some tenants may be reluctant to say anything about what they have done to save money themselves. NICEIC and napit are made up of experts in the field and recommendations are based on safety more than profit.

[@mshaan4650]

@@MrBeefy786 Money grabbing electricians already loving it, I think this law of safety inspection should have been made ever 10 years instead 5 years because it's too short for electricity upgrades or safety check etc. Electric wiring last extremely long time unless something damaged by some one. And bad tenants usually damages things that don't kills them.

[@johnplatt672]

Hi Olivia - we have had our EICR done & the electrician said it is valid for 5 years, but we will need a new test before we get new tenants. Is this what is stated in the legislation?

[@OliviaFenion]

Hi John, if your new EICR is valid for 5 years all you need to do is supply a copy of the certificate to any new tenant, you don't have to get a whole new EICR.

[@keepcalmcarryoncaravanning8388]

@@OliviaFenion I disagree if your past tenant meddled with the installation how do you know it is now safe for your new tenant .....bad advice

[@nrclever8167]

@@keepcalmcarryoncaravanning8388 Sure but legally it is not required

[@keepcalmcarryoncaravanning8388]

Try using that one in court when someone dies

[@knockmore50]

why be a landlord in the uk ? glad we dont have this crap in australia !!

[@carlf6507]

Can you confirm something as I’m a bit unsure from your video. Have you been told that all your fixed electrics must conform to the standards of BS 7671 18th Edition?

[@OliviaFenion]

Yes, that's what's on the .gov website. I also don't show it in the video but at the top of all my EICR certificates it says "Issued in accordance with BS 7671:2018 - Requirements for Electrical Installations".

[@carlf6507]

@@OliviaFenion that is not correct and misleading for your viewers. Page 13 of BS 7671 and also the govt website clearly states (paraphrasing here) that an installation that conforms to a previous version of these does not mean it will fail. If you want an actual rule (although BS 7671 is non-statutory). Tell your electrician to read 651.2 Note 2 which states “existing installations may have been designed and installed to conform to previous editions of BS 7671, applicable at the time of their design and erection. This does not necessarily mean that they are unsafe’ The regs are for new installations and remedial work going forwards they do not apply retrospectively. I am an electrician who is registered with Trustmark and NAPIT for EICRs amongst other things. The only time you will need to do any work is if the electrician graded something as C1 or C2. C3 is a recommendation only and does not constitute a fail that needs to be actioned. Bottom line is that if an old installation is safe. It categorically does not have to be brought to 18th edition standards. Conforming to a previous standard is not, on it’s own, unsafe. Happy to help offline if you need it. Just don’t want people to be confused and think they need work doing they don’t, as there are unscrupulous electricians out there (not implying yours is) that will try it on. 😊

[@OliviaFenion]

@@carlf6507 thanks for this - this is so interesting! My video is based on the .gov website www.gov.uk/government/publications/electrical-safety-standards-in-the-private-rented-sector-guidance-for-landlords-tenants-and-local-authorities/guide-for-landlords-electrical-safety-standards-in-the-private-rented-sector which says: "What standard should the electrical installation meet? The standards that should be met are set out in the 18th edition of the Wiring Regulations. The Regulations state that a landlord must ensure that electrical safety standards are met, and that investigative or remedial work is carried out if the report requires this. The electrical installation should be safe for continued use. In practice, if the report does not require investigative or remedial work, the landlord will not be required to carry out any further work". On the one of mine that failed, of the 6 issues found, only one thing was classed as C2, two were C3 and the others were N/A. I will have to go and double check exactly what work was carried out but this really is fascinating. Obviously most landlords (myself included) are not electricians and have no real idea about electrics other than what the government tell us we should do, and what our electricians put on our certificates. We have had several instances where an electrician has, for example, put mains smoke alarms down as work to be carried out in BTLs, when in fact they are only compulsory for HMO's, not standard buy-to-lets...if I didn't know better myself they would have carried out the work and charged us. Do you have any advice for me or the veiwers on how to avoid getting an unscrupulous electrician that may just charge for things that don't need to be done?! It is a bit of a minefield! Thanks Carl! Best wishes, Olivia

[@carlf6507]

@@OliviaFenion read the full link you sent. Near the bottom the point I made is specifically mentioned as I said earlier. For clarity it’s states.. “ Will all installations have to comply with the 18th edition, even if they were installed before this edition was in force? The Regulations state that a landlord must ensure that electrical safety standards are met, and that investigative or remedial work is carried out if the report requires this. The electrical installation should be safe for continued use. In practice, if the report does not require investigative or remedial work, the landlord will not be required to carry out any further work. Reports can also recommend improvement, in addition to requiring remedial work. If a report only recommends improvement but does not require any further investigative or remedial work to be carried out - indicated with a ‘C3’ classification code - then while it would be good practice to carry out this work, it would not be required to comply with the Regulations.” So as a landlord you would not have to, for example, replace a 16th edition split load plastic consumer unit to replace with a metal one required by 18th edition. You would only have to do so if you were doing alterations and there was no way of safely incorporating them into the existing CU or if the CU enclosure was damaged in some way. In short you are legally mandated to rectify C1 or C2 issues within 28 days. C3 or observations and recommendations are not actionable and have no legal affect on you or the tenant. Regarding not getting caught out. The only advice I can offer is ensure you get a copy of the report and then get a couple of quotes from different electricians. That way the person doing the EICR if they are unscrupulous is less likely to fail just to get some extra work. But ultimately it comes down to trust. I would hope, if you have a regular electrician, they are honest with you. Being NICEIC registered like the one who did the report in the video is a good start. I’m registered with Trustmark and NAPIT for that very reason. It doesn’t mean someone who isn’t will be unscrupulous or that I couldn’t be. But it gives the client some reassurance as my standard of work is assessed on an annual basis. Word of mouth is good too. Most people will know a local electrician who they trust to do the work for them. If you need further help just let me know. 😊

[@MrBeefy786]

@@carlf6507Hi Carl. Do I need a new report on a new tenancy or can I give a new tenant a valid 5yr report. Also if a consumer unit is on mcb breakers no rcd is rcd a c3 or a c2 if all tests are complete and the breakers are meeting correct timings.

[@Dog-whisperer7494]

Olivia you are confusing the wiring regulations with electrical safety regulations Page 13 of BS 7671 health and safety executive’s note , as already stated on hear by another viewer. As we should test to the 18th edition of BS7671 and look for any thermal damage or and exposed live parts nothing more nothing less