Propertymark has issued a new fact sheet in response to The Electrical Safety Standards for Private Tenancies Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2024, to help landlords and agents understand their legal requirements under the new regulations.
The regulations were approved by the Northern Ireland Assembly on 19 November 2024 in response to a public consultation during September 2023.
Once the Private Tenancies Act (Northern Ireland) 2022 gained Royal Assent in April 2022, it provided the Department for Communities with the power to create future legislation for private tenancies over areas like tenancy deposits, information to be issued to tenants, and notice to end periods.
Sections one to six of the Act came into force on 1 April 2023, while sections seven to twelve were slowly introduced once additional regulations were created, some of which have now been introduced.
Applying to all new private tenancies from 1 April 2025, the regulations introduce the requirement for landlords to guarantee that electrical safety checks are completed at a private tenancy and at frequent intervals after the first inspection.
Local councils will have the capacity to issue notices to landlords if they suspect the property does not have a legitimate inspection report.
If a tenancy does not change during 1 April 2025 and 1 December 2025, then an electrical safety inspection must be completed before 1 December 2025.
It will be illegal to commence a new private tenancy without gaining a report from a qualified professional from 1 April 2025. The professional must test and inspect every fixed electrical cable or fixed electrical equipment located on the consumer’s side of the electricity supply meter.
Henry Griffith, Policy and Campaigns Officer at Propertymark, said: “Propertymark welcomes progress taken by the Department for Communities to establish electrical safety standards in private rented homes in Northern Ireland. We thank the department for continuing to work with us following the initial consultation to ensure that the new regulations work in the best interests of the sector. Agents who are members of Propertymark have access to arrange of resources to help them understand the changes and apply it to their businesses.”
Members can view the fact sheet here.