ARLA Propertymark has written to the housing minister Christopher Pincher – you can read the letter below – stressing concerns about anticipated and widespread failure in compliance with the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 and the need to extend the requirements for 12 months for all existing tenancies to comply.

A number of agents have adapted their processes for managing tenancies, such as making greater use of technology to allow inspections to continue, or through carrying out more checks on the outside of the properties they manage to maintain roofs and windows and inviting tenants to email photos of the inside throughout the pandemic. However, concerns remain about the ability for letting agents to ensure compliance with the Electrical Safety Standards by April next year.

From Propetymark’s snap survey it was reported that half of 220 letting agent businesses surveyed have more than 60 tenancies signed before the rules came into force that will require every fixed electrical installation at the property to be inspected and tested by April next year. Furthermore, it is not just the test and inspection but the time and expense of arranging remedial work to ensure tenancies are compliant. This is exasperated further under the Regulations which require remedial work to be carried out within 28-days from when a Remedial Notice is served.

Following a second national lockdown in November and currently different rules across the country, depending on what tier an area is in, this has added further layers of management and administration for letting agents in arranging access to property to ensure work is carried out according to Propertymark.

Even before the regulations were passed, Propertymark raised concerns about the number of electricians available to undertake inspections and tests by the April 2021 deadline. With the added complications of the pandemic and access to property, the supply chain capacity issues have not improved and therefore, to help the sector comply with the rules, Propertymark urges the government to extend the requirement for the inspection and testing of fixed electrical installation on all tenancies by at least 12 months until April 2022.

Read the open letter to the housing minister below:

Rt Hon Christopher Pincher MP

Minister of State (Minister for Housing)

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

2 Marsham Street

London

SW1P 4DF

14 December 2020

Dear Mr Pincher,  

Re: Extend the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020

I am writing to express Propertymark’s concerns about anticipated and widespread failure in compliance with the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 and the need to extend for 12 months the requirements for all existing tenancies to comply from 1 April 2021.

Propertymark represents nearly 8,000 letting agents in England and participated in the, then Department for Communities and Local Government, Private Rented Sector Electrical Safety Standards Working Group. We are very supportive of a safe and compliant private rented sector that works for all.

Throughout the pandemic, we are grateful for the support and guidance that the UK Government has provided in allowing the property sector to stay open during local, regional, and national lockdowns. To this end, many agents have adapted their processes for managing tenancies, such as making a greater use of technology to allow inspections to continue or through carrying out more checks on the outside of the properties they manage to maintain roofs and windows and inviting tenants to email photos of the inside.

However, concerns remain about the ability for letting agents to ensure compliance with the Electrical Safety Standards by April next year. From a snap survey of 220 letting agent businesses in September, 50% have more than 60 tenancies signed before the rules came into force that will require every fixed electrical installation at the property to be inspected and tested by April next year. Furthermore, it is not just the test and inspection but the time and expense of arranging remedial work to ensure tenancies are compliant. This is exasperated further under the Regulations which require remedial work to be carried out within 28-days from when a Remedial Notice is served.  

Following a second national lock down in November and currently different rules across the country, depending on what tier an area is in, this has added further layers of management and administration for letting agents in arranging access to property to ensure work is carried out. Moreover, the Christmas period further reduces the time for checks and work to be carried out before next year’s deadline.

In practical terms, letting agents obtain more than one quote for a landlord and remediation work often adds up to thousands of pounds. Importantly, the process relies on tenants to allow electricians into the property to complete the work. In many cases, tenants are reluctant to have tradespeople enter the property, some tenants are isolating, and some have coronavirus symptoms. Collectively, these add additional obstacles for compliance with the rules.

Furthermore, we are aware of cases where work can take up to four hours to complete and letting agents are unable to bulk instruct electricians as they need to do the checks and then the remedial work. As I am sure you can appreciate, there is no point getting all the checks done and not having time to get the work completed.

Even before the regulations were passed, we raised concerns about the number of electricians available to undertake inspections and tests by the April 2021 deadline. With the added complications of coronavirus and access to property, the supply chain capacity issues have not improved and therefore, to help the sector comply with the rules, we urge the UK Government to extend the requirement for the inspection and testing of fixed electrical installation on all tenancies by at least twelve months until April 2022.

On behalf of our members, I ask that you consider the benefits to tenants, landlords and letting agents of extending the requirements for existing tenancies in order to ensure that landlords and letting agents can meet their legal obligations.

If you would like to meet to discuss this issue in more detail, then we would be pleased to do so.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Best wishes,

Timothy Douglas

Policy & Campaigns Manager, Propertymark