Is it a legal requirement to have an electrical inspection carried out every 5 years?
11 Answers
Answered by Consider it Done Electrical Services
27th January 2022
Consider it Done Electrical Services answered the question "Is it a legal requirement to have an electrical inspection carried out every 5 years?"
The need for an inspection of the electrical installation every five years is a legal requirement only in the private rented sector. This comes with a couple of other asides too! The law changed to ensure private rented domestic properties were inspected more regularly. An unfair slant is that it doesn’t apply to domestic properties owned by councils, housing associations or corporations. The two asides for more frequent inspections is that of change of occupancy and change of use. So if during the five year period between inspections a tenant leaves and another is due to move in, then the installation has to be inspected. One other point worthy of mention. If the installation is regularly maintained and records kept up to date. The inspections aren’t required. So in essence lots of ifs, buts and maybes. A private domestic property has no legal requirement to be inspected but it has been deemed that a recommendation not exceeding 10 years between inspections is advised. The only compelling point maybe, if your insurance company specifically state on your policy, that you must have had an inspection in the last ten years.
Answered by MRBE Ltd T/A MRB Electrical
2nd May 2020
MRBE Ltd T/A MRB Electrical answered the question "Is it a legal requirement to have an electrical inspection carried out every 5 years?"
Is it a legal requirement to carry out an electrical inspection every 5 years. No, and yes! Confused? So are we! New legislation regarding privately rented homes will require that electrical inspections should be carried out every 5 years. BUT, 5 years is the maximum period, should the installation be in a poor or deteriorating condition the next test may need to be 3 years or 1 year. Changes of occupancy or change of use should also require another inspection. This legislation will not apply to private owned homes, and these may be tested every 10 years or even longer if the installation is in good condition. Commercial properties have various rules, regulations and legislation to work around, many are inspected on an annual basis. The phrase ‘5 year test’ should be banned as it is misleading and inappropriate.
Answered by RCP Installations Ltd
27th February 2020
RCP Installations Ltd answered the question "Is it a legal requirement to have an electrical inspection carried out every 5 years?"
Unfortunately it is not yet a legal requirement for the EICR in rental properties, we carry out numerous inspections and some of the issues found would not be safe under fault conditions. Landlords have a 'duty of care', should there be an issue resulting from a poor electrical installation without a valid EICR then the landlords 'duty of care' what be seriously questioned.
Answered by Hodgson Electrical
8th July 2019
Hodgson Electrical answered the question "Is it a legal requirement to have an electrical inspection carried out every 5 years?"
It is not currently a legal requirement in England for an electrical inspection every 5 years, however if you are renting out a property you have a legal responsibility to ensure the property is in a safe condition and a EICR is the best way of proving this, without a indate EICR you may have trouble proving the installation was safe if something was to go wrong. It should be noted that the government is in talks to make EICRs in domestic properties an actual legal requirement so keep an eye out for these new laws coming into place
Answered by Orman Electrics
18th May 2019
Orman Electrics answered the question "Is it a legal requirement to have an electrical inspection carried out every 5 years?"
it is not mandatory but It is A recommendation that commercial properties have the electrical installation Condition report carried out every five years a rented property carried out every five years or change of tenancy and that a domestic dwelling every 10 years. They’ve been looking to make it mandatory for rented accommodation to have to condition report carried out every five years But this has been going on for a number of years now
Answered by Infinity Electrics & Security Ltd
9th May 2019
Infinity Electrics & Security Ltd answered the question "Is it a legal requirement to have an electrical inspection carried out every 5 years?"
Although it is a recommendation to have it done every 10 years on a domestic property, It is not compulsory at the moment, but there has been a push to make it a legal requirement for landlords to have this work carried out every 5 years recently, but this has been in the pipeline for a few years so may not happen for a while.
Answered by PG Domestic Electrical Services
23rd March 2019
PG Domestic Electrical Services answered the question "Is it a legal requirement to have an electrical inspection carried out every 5 years?"
Not yet...........however it looks like that will be changing anytime soon. The Government has been been challenged on this point over the years and for reasons best understood by Whitehall, annual gas inspections are required but not even visual electrical inspections! Perhaps Grenfell has finally pushed a few buttons. I'm sure that many fellow sparks have a multitude of horror stories especially when it comes to electrical DIY. Instructional videos on YouTube don't help! If the law changes in this regard, my personal view is that owner occupied properties should be subject to an EICR every 5 years and that the same should apply to landlords with perhaps a visual inspection being required on change of tenancy is that should take place within each 5 year interval.
Answered by M.E.T Electrical Ltd
22nd March 2019
M.E.T Electrical Ltd answered the question "Is it a legal requirement to have an electrical inspection carried out every 5 years?"
In some property types it is legal requirement, houses of multiple occupation for example. In a private household it is not a legal requirement to have an electrical inspection at all. It may be required by your insurance provider, but then this would still not be a legal requirement. The maximum recommended time period an engineer can allow between inspections is based upon the test results obtained and their judgement of the electrical installation. This may be more or less than 5 years.
Answered by Oak Tree Electrical
24th February 2019
Oak Tree Electrical answered the question "Is it a legal requirement to have an electrical inspection carried out every 5 years?"
Electrical inspections are formally known as Electrical Installation Condition Reports (EICR) but my also be referred to as periodic inspections or landlord reports. In most cases there is no legal requirement for you to have an EICR. The exception to this is for houses of multiple occupancy which must be inspected at least every five years. Regardless of the type of property the Landlord and Tenant Act, the Electricity Safety, Quality and Continuity Regulations and the Electricity at Work Regulations all set legal requirements for electrical installations to be maintained in a safe condition. The conventional way to ensure you comply with all the legal requirements is the have an electrician who is member of a Competent Person scheme carry out and EICR. The industry recomended frequency of inspections depends on the property type. For example it is recommended that domestic accomodation is inspected no less than every ten years and rented domestic accomodation no less than every five years or on change of occupancy. It is also worth checking what requirements your insurance company may have and if you are a landlord what Local Authority requirements may exist. The Electrical Safety First website is a good source for more information about EICRs.
Answered by The-Sparky.co.uk
14th February 2019
The-Sparky.co.uk answered the question "Is it a legal requirement to have an electrical inspection carried out every 5 years?"
An Electrical Inspection, now referred to as an Electrical Inspection Condition Report (EICR) is not a legal requirement. There are a couple of points to be noted here, firstly the legal requirement for an EICR and secondly the time scale. With regards to the legal requirement, BS7671 the Wiring Regulations gives guidance on Electrical Installations. As such it would be used by any appropriate authority (HSE or local government etc) to verify that an installation is safe. As such having an EICR carried out shows that the person responsible for the installation is taking reasonable steps to ensure the safe and continued use of that electrical installation. The EICR will highlight any faults or departures from the wiring regulations and give a view of the overall condition of the installation as to wether it is in a satisfactory or unsatisfactory condition. The time scale for inspections is not bound to 5years, it is at the judgement of the inspector at the time and a number of factors should be taken into consideration, such as the type of installation (domestic commercial or industrial) if it has special locations eg, a hospital, swimming pool, campsite or marina to name a few. The frequency of inspections is determined by a risk analysis and as such a 5year inspection is not an appropriate figure to be used to generalise when an installation should be inspected. All electrical installations should be inspected regularly especially those where the public eg Rented Property, or areas to which the public have access to or workplaces both by a competent person and visually by the person responsible for the installation and the duty of care falls with that person to show they have taken all reasonable precautions to ensure the installation is safe and in a satisfactory condition for continued use.
Answered by Edwards
8th February 2019
Edwards answered the question "Is it a legal requirement to have an electrical inspection carried out every 5 years?"
The answer in some cases is yes but not in all cases. For example: 1/ HMO’s (houses in multiple occupation) Yes 2/ Private family homes, No, provided your insurer or mortgage company do not require it, even then that would be a contractual requirement not a legal requirement.